In today’s digital world, there are a lot of complicated terms for businesses to discover. Every day, we’re unlocking new technology, tools, and processes, which means more complex language to get our heads around. Application performance monitoring or APM is just one of those concepts.
Though the A and P, in this case, are the same, the M can either stand for monitoring or application performance management on the other hand. Because the terms are so closely related, you’d be forgiven to thinking that the concepts are actually interchangeable. However, this isn’t the case. There are significant differences between both options to be aware of.
What is App Performance Monitoring & Management?
Let’s start with the most common answer to what is APM that is often asked about. When you monitor the performance of an application, you use technology to keep a close eye on what’s happening with a specific system.
While proper monitoring can identify where an app might be failing to deliver the right results, the key to success in most business environments today is keeping a close eye on how various pieces of technology work.
The tools throughout your business landscape are essential to keeping everything running smoothly in your organization. If one of those tools starts to falter, the quicker you can react, the more likely it is that you’ll be able to avoid any significant issues. Crucially, the right monitoring systems give you access to a better understanding of how all your processes and people work together in the current landscape.
While monitoring systems give you a better view of what’s going on in your landscape, management systems take a different approach.
The top application performance management tools don’t just give you an overall picture of your software environment. These solutions also give you a better idea of how you can utilize your resources as effectively as possible.
With the right management systems, IT leaders can spot app performance issues and identify the correlation between the performance elements of other hardware and software aspects of the environment. This approach is critical for business leaders and IT departments wanting to understand which systems are necessary for enterprise growth.
The Major Difference
The most important thing to remember when you’re separating monitoring and management tools is that monitoring is just one step of a full strategy for better control and optimization. Most basic tools for evaluation and analysis will give you an overview of how a certain tool or service works.
However, these systems don’t give you the extra technology you need to take control of what’s happening.
On the other hand, with a full system for management, you can compare how applications perform at different times of the day, and in unique situations. You can see where issues are developing in your stack and figure out what the next move might be. More importantly, you can begin to take steps towards solving issues and creating better outcomes.