8 Questions to Ask APM Solutions Providers

The Editors at Solutions Review list the big questions to ask APM solutions providers when you’re in the market for AppSec.

Your IT team comes to you and recommends purchasing an APM solution. But what is APM, and how important to your enterprise can it be? Application Performance Management (APM) is important to enterprises because it enables them to proactively monitor, manage, and optimize the performance of their applications. APM solutions provide visibility into the performance of applications and help identify issues before they impact end-users. APM solutions enable enterprises to improve the user experience, reduce downtime, and optimize resource utilization by monitoring application performance metrics such as response time, throughput, and error rates. Additionally, APM solutions can help enterprises identify opportunities for optimization, such as code refactoring or infrastructure improvements, that can lead to cost savings and better overall application performance. Ultimately, APM is critical to ensuring that an enterprise’s applications perform at their best, meet end-user expectations, and support business goals.

The Editors at Solutions Review have put together a list of the best questions to ask APM solutions providers when shopping around– before you shake hands and make a serious purchase.

APM Solutions Providers: 8 Questions to Ask When Shopping Around

When chatting with APM solutions providers, be sure to ask these critical questions before you lock it in with the sales rep.

What Types of Data Sources Can Your APM Solution Monitor?

This question is vital because different APM solutions may have varying capabilities when monitoring various types of data sources, such as application code, logs, metrics, or traces. It’s important to understand what types of data sources are critical for your organization’s applications and ensure that the APM solution you choose can monitor them effectively.

How Does Your APM Solution Provide Visibility Into Application Performance?

This question will help you understand how the APM solution tracks and displays application performance metrics. A good APM solution should provide easy-to-read visualizations and dashboards that allow you to quickly identify issues and drill down to root causes.

How Does Your APM Solution Handle Alerting and Notifications?

An APM solution should provide alerts and notifications when issues arise with your applications. It’s important to understand how the APM solution handles these alerts, whether they’re delivered via email, SMS, or other methods, and whether they can be customized to meet your organization’s needs.

What Types of Analytics and Reporting Are Available with Your APM Solution?

This question will help you understand the types of analytics and reporting available with the APM solution. A good APM solution should provide comprehensive analytics and reporting capabilities that allow you to track trends over time, identify areas for improvement, and demonstrate the impact of optimizations.

What Level of Customization is Available with Your APM Solution?

This question will help you understand the level of customization available with the APM solution. Depending on your organization’s needs, you may need to customize the APM solution to fit your specific requirements. It’s important to understand what types of customization are available and how easy it is to implement them.

How Does Your APM Solution Handle Security and Compliance?

This question is vital to ensure that the APM solution complies with any relevant security and compliance regulations, such as GDPR or HIPAA. It’s important to understand how the APM solution handles sensitive data and what types of security measures are in place to protect it.

What Types of Integrations Are Available with Your APM Solution?

This question will help you understand what types of integrations are available with the APM solution. Depending on your organization’s needs, you may need to integrate the APM solution with other tools, such as CI/CD pipelines, logging solutions, or incident management tools. It’s important to understand what types of integrations are available and how easy it is to implement them.

What Types of Support and Training Are Available with Your APM Solution?

This question will help you understand what types of support and training are available with the APM solution. A good APM solution should provide comprehensive documentation, training materials, and support to ensure you can get the most out of the solution. It’s important to understand what types of support and training are available and how responsive the vendor is to support requests.

This article on questions to ask APM Solutions Providers was AI-generated by ChatGPT and edited by Solutions Review editors.