Splunk AppDynamics Reviews

Our primary use case involves performance monitoring of applications. We use it when an application is deployed, and we need to monitor it from a performance testing standpoint and engineering standpoint.

The solution helps us with performance testing by enabling us to monitor applications. It is particularly useful in identifying and resolving bottlenecks quickly.

The drill-down feature that allows tracing the transaction down to the method level and identifying the specific method causing the problem is very useful. This feature enables faster resolution of issues. Additionally, the tool has good alerting capabilities and stability.

Improvements can be made in the area of AI integration. Dynatrace has its own AI-enabled agent, but AppDynamics does not seem to have a similar feature. This is an area that needs focus.

We have used the solution for about two years.

The stability of the solution is good, and no major glitches were observed.

The solution is easy to scale with no major limitations in terms of scalability. It has enough alerting capabilities to trigger alerts when it finds an issue.

There is good support available when needed.

The process of procurement was slightly tough, but we were not directly involved in the installation or initial setup.

Using AppDynamics provides a potential cost-avoidance benefit. It saves time in analyzing and fixing production issues, though it is not straightforward to quantify the direct savings.

Based on the features it provides, AppDynamics is comparatively cheaper than alternatives like Datadog or Dynatrace. The licensing model, from a cost standpoint, is reasonable.

We have compared AppDynamics with alternatives like Dynatrace, Datadog, and New Relic. When compared with Dynatrace, the process of procurement for AppDynamics seemed slightly tougher. Dynatrace was easier to obtain cost information for.

Focusing on the integration of AI capabilities should be a priority for AppDynamics to improve its offering. Additionally, there should be an easier procurement process. I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

Our customers typically leverage Browser Real-User Monitoring for a variety of purposes. Primarily, they seek to gain insight into end-to-end user experiences. This entails tracking user interactions comprehensively, from frontend actions to backend system responses. They desire seamless correlation between user-triggered actions and the subsequent journey through various backend components such as servers, databases, and APIs. Additionally, they aim to contextualize this data within the broader environment, encompassing infrastructure status, network health, and application performance. Ultimately, they prioritize the ability to view these interactions as cohesive transactions, facilitating efficient troubleshooting and optimization efforts.

Our customers often rely on browser real-user monitoring primarily for troubleshooting slow web application performance. This process is streamlined, often dubbed as 'three clicks to your root cause'. Initially, they identify slow transactions or those exhibiting dependency issues. Subsequently, they employ a drill-down approach to pinpoint problematic areas. This can be executed from either the user's perspective, known as the Browser perspective, or from a session viewpoint. Moreover, they have the flexibility to delve into backend processes, identifying slow or stalled processes. This comprehensive approach enables them to correlate performance issues across all layers, spanning from business processes to infrastructure, network, database, and even security considerations.

Monitoring AJAX requests and understanding user interactions are crucial components of web application performance management. While AJAX requests may seem like standard requests, their monitoring is essential for gaining insights into how users interact with the application in real time. This functionality is a fundamental aspect of modern web development and is vital for ensuring optimal user experience and application performance.

The most valuable feature is the capability to automatically detect and identify encounter rates and problematic sections within transactions. This encompasses all systems, code, APIs, analyses, metrics, and baselines. While this feature remains unchanged, envisioning the ability to effortlessly identify slow transactions and potential causes stands out as an invaluable option. Essentially, it streamlines the management of end-to-end transactions, facilitating seamless troubleshooting and optimization.

The standout feature for real-time performance monitoring in this tool is its ability to seamlessly correlate frontend and backend functions. It provides a comprehensive view across all layers and systems, enabling users to swiftly identify the root cause of any issues. This primary function is particularly valuable, offering precise insights into problem areas and bottlenecks. Additionally, the tool facilitates the identification of peak times and other performance patterns.

The page load time traffic analysis feature has been instrumental in assisting our customers with optimizing the web experience for their users. It enables the identification of slow sessions and offers insights into the factors influencing page load times.

One noteworthy feature is user journey analysis, which enables tracking user interactions and conversion paths on a website. This capability provides insights into where users encounter obstacles or drop off, allowing for targeted optimization efforts. For instance, in an e-commerce setting, it's possible to pinpoint precisely where users abandon their purchases or encounter difficulties, facilitating improvements in those specific areas of the user journey.

I have been working with it for four years.

The stability of the system is exceptionally robust, with no reported downtime. I would rate it nine out of ten.

Scalability is a straightforward process that involves simply adding more licenses to the existing setup. There are no additional tasks or complex actions required; it's a simple and seamless adjustment. Our customer base consists of enterprises. I would rate it nine out of ten.

The technical support provided is highly professional, swift, and knowledgeable. I would rate it nine out of ten.

Positive

The initial setup is straightforward. I would rate it nine out of ten.

The deployment approach varies depending on client preferences. Some clients prefer a conservative approach and opt for on-premises deployment, while others are more open to cloud-based solutions. Regardless of the chosen deployment method, the process is relatively simple and straightforward. Typically, it can be completed within a short timeframe, such as half a day to a full day.

The pricing falls within the mid-range category. I would rate it between three to five because considering the features provided, it offers value for money. If utilized effectively, the investment is justified. However, for certain businesses, the price may be perceived as slightly high.

I would recommend it, especially if you have critical web applications or internal systems, particularly in finance or the public sector. In today's environment, troubleshooting without such a solution can be extremely challenging. Overall, I would rate it nine out of ten.

The use case involves evaluating a mobile application's performance and user experience. We seek insights into peak usage hours, the application's status, and that of secondary services, such as databases and APIs, to gauge the mobile user experience.

We also want to identify potential bottlenecks and mobile degradation. We aim to ensure that mobile user monitoring is effective, similar to other forms of user monitoring. Although mobile devices present a different medium, they aim to detect errors, service degradations, slowdowns, and other issues. 

In the case of a mobile banking application, AppDynamics Mobile Real-User Monitoring successfully reduced the response time from eight seconds to just one second. In another example, the tool identified an issue within the mobile app, causing lost transactions in the billing system.

The product offers end-to-end visibility. This means seeing a user's actions, such as which mobile version they're using, their operating system, location, and the specific services they're accessing. This visibility allows for effective troubleshooting of their session. Additionally, end-to-end visibility provides insights into how the application performs across different layers, such as the backend infrastructure, including application servers, integrations, and databases.

The tool offers many entry points to observe issues from the backend, for example, through dashboards or tracking business transactions for degradation. You can then drill down to specific user sessions to identify slow ones and trace them back to the backend to understand the issue. That's the product's most useful technical feature. 

The user session tracking feature is embedded in the infrastructure and correlates all lines, including API and database calls. It also correlates with other metrics from the infrastructure and database.

The only improvement I see is intercepting calls in a mobile application without injecting additional code. Currently, when instrumenting or monitoring a mobile application, it's necessary to release updates, prompt users to upgrade, and inject code into the backend. It would be beneficial if there were a method to intercept these calls without requiring users to download and upgrade the application. However, I'm unsure about the feasibility of such an approach. 

Additionally, there's potential for enhancing the pricing structure, particularly as scaling up can become expensive. Given the continual growth of the mobile landscape, revisiting the pricing model could be beneficial. 

I have been working with the product for four years. 

I rate AppDynamics Mobile Real-User Monitoring's stability as nine out of ten. 

I rate the tool's scalability a nine out of ten. 

AppDynamics Mobile Real-User Monitoring's support tickets are tricky. We are a major partner, and we get instant support. 

Positive

I rate the tool's deployment a nine out of ten. It is easy. The deployment time for this solution is typically quite fast. Most typical technologies, such as Java or .NET applications, can take days. However, for more complex scenarios, it might take a few weeks. Overall, the deployment process is generally swift.

The usual deployment process starts with a technical assessment. Following this, the appropriate technology is acquired. Next, access to the client's systems is obtained, enabling the deployment of the agent onto their systems.

I rate AppDynamics Mobile Real-User Monitoring's pricing as seven out of ten. Mobile monitoring is paid based on the number of instances utilizing the mobile monitoring service, which increases as the scale grows. Consequently, your mobile user count can proportionally surpass all other applications.

Our customers for AppDynamics Mobile Real-User Monitoring are enterprises. If they have a critical mobile application, I think it's necessary to consider a monitoring tool. When your business relies on it, you need visibility into what's happening—peak hours, virtual access, performance, user experience, drop-off rates, conversion rate, and other relevant metrics.

Integrating AppDynamics Mobile Real-User Monitoring with existing mobile application infrastructure is generally straightforward, although there's room for improvement to make it even easier. I would rate it at nine out of ten in terms of ease of integration. However, sometimes, clients hesitate to interfere with their CI/CD pipelines. 

I rate the overall product a nine out of ten. 

The solution offers a real-time view of the things happening in a database. 

You have a live view of what happens when something goes wrong on the production or support side. You don't have to scramble and do guesswork. We can identify the query that creates the bottleneck or slows the performance of the database system. It can give you points on how to debug and fix the system. 

The solution needs to support IBM products. 

I have been using the solution for seven to eight years. 

AppDynamics Database Monitoring is stable. 

The solution's deployment is easy. 

AppDynamics Database Monitoring is expensive. I rate it a seven to eight out of ten. 

I rate AppDynamics Database Monitoring a nine out of ten. 

My company uses AppDynamics Server Monitoring for end-to-end application performance monitoring. The solution is integrated with the database managed by back-end and end-user teams.

The most valuable feature of the solution is that it automatically gets connected with all the entities. The solution discovers your transactions automatically without any customized configuration class or classes or method declaration, like some of the previous solutions we used in our company. Even for databases and end users, you can connect all the entities without much customization and user intervention, which are a few things I like about AppDynamics.

The analytics portion of AppDynamics Server Monitoring could have been better. In the analytics portion, I could not find a user-friendly interface for querying, and analytics sometimes gives the wrong results, so it is not well connected in the back-end. I feel that analytics could have been better in searching and running the analytical queries.

I have been using AppDynamics Server Monitoring for five years. My company is a customer of the solution.

It is a stable solution. Stability-wise, I don't see any problems in the solution.

Scalability is a problem for my company since we have deployed the solution on an on-premises model. Scalability would not have been a problem if the solution had been deployed on a SaaS model.

My company has around 3,000 to 4,000 users of the solution.

The solution's technical support was good. I rate the technical support a nine out of ten.

Positive

Though I have experience with Splunk, I would not be in a position to compare AppDynamics Server Monitoring with Splunk since I currently don't use Splunk.

I was also working with a solution named CA Wily. Dynatrace is better than AppDynamics since it offers more features and granularity. Dynatrace is something where I could find that it is better than AppDynamics. With all other solutions in the market, I feel AppDynamics is good.

With synthetic monitoring, Dynatrace is good at giving the data and granularity. Dynatrace OneAgent can be used on any stack irrespective of the platform, which I think is a feature AppDynamics introduced recently. Dynatrace performs better than AppDynamics in the aforementioned areas.

The installation phase of AppDynamics Server Monitoring is pretty easy, and it depends on how we automate the process. The solution integrates with your environment. If you have the pipelines, you can integrate them into your pipeline, the steps for which are well documented by AppDynamics, and since it goes with the application, I don't see there is any downside with the installation. Operation-wise, the product is all okay.

The solution's deployment depends on a variety of factors since, in our company, we don't do manual deployments, so it doesn't take any time for us to deploy it. In our company, we just declare the arguments before the application installation. Whenever there is a new release, the AppDynamics agents will work on the deployment without any issues, so we don't feel a lot of time is taken during the installation phase. When the users are installing the solution manually, it may take quite a lot of time. Our company did not have any dependencies during the product's installation phase, so we didn't deploy it as a central team. A team to whom an application has been assigned is given the steps. My team just helps other teams integrate the playbooks into their environment, and they deploy it themselves, so we don't track the time taken for deployment.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model, so it is a bit difficult because we have to maintain the platform. It would have been easy to maintain if my company had opted for a SaaS platform.

Whether a person would view the solution as a cheap or expensive product depends on how that person negotiates with AppDynamics. In some other organizations, I have seen a different price for AppDynamics Server Monitoring. Though the product may come across as an expensive solution, I have worked with organizations that have negotiated very well on the pricing part with AppDynamics and secured the solution at a very competitive price. In short, the price of the solution is something that depends on how you negotiate with AppDynamics. AppDynamics Server Monitoring is a very expensive product, but if you negotiate well, you get value for money. If you can't negotiate with AppDynamics over the price, you won't get value for money. My company used to make early payments toward the licensing costs of the solution, but now my company has opted for a different licensing model. I am unsure if my company makes additional payments apart from the licensing costs of the solution.

My company is a bank, so we can't we could not go with the SaaS model of deployment, because of which we have some dependencies on maintenance. As a product, it requires a lot of maintenance.

Around six to seven employees do the solution's maintenance.

I would tell those planning to use the solution that when it comes to AppDynamics, the adoption phase has always been a big challenge since people from AppDynamics only install AppDynamics Server Monitoring, and then they forget it. I would tell others to work on the right adoption method and metrics, like VictoriaMetrics or Golden Signals while keeping an eye on optimizing those configurations so that you always get to see the right picture.

I rate the overall product a nine out of ten.

The solution effectively detects anomalies in the system.

The solution's most valuable features are its end-user monitoring and AI functionalities.

The solution's pricing could be improved and made more competitive.

I have been using AppDynamics Server Monitoring for four years.

I rate the solution’s stability an eight out of ten.

The solution is more suitable for enterprise businesses. Around 2,000 users use the solution in our organization.

I rate the solution’s scalability an eight out of ten.

The solution provides good and helpful technical support.

Positive

The solution's initial setup depends on the environment. Our deployment was challenging and took a while because our environment is a bit complex.

AppDynamics Server Monitoring is an expensive solution. The solution costs 5,000 per user.

Dynatrace is the solution's main competitor. We chose AppDynamics Server Monitoring because of its flexibility and ease of deployment.

The solution was deployed on the cloud for our organization. We use the solution's alerting system for server management, and it works fine. I would recommend the solution to other users.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

We use the product to optimize application performance by monitoring database transactions and extracting insights for troubleshooting issues.

AppDynamics significantly reduced our organization's Mean Time to Resolution (MTTR), enhancing team productivity.

They could align the product strategy to evolve as a complete solution similar to Cisco Observability.

We have been using AppDynamics Database Monitoring for seven years.

The product's stability needs improvement. They could stabilize the authentication platform. Additionally, they need to improve microservices monitoring and log analytics.

I rate the stability a seven out of ten.

We work with around 100 AppDynamics Database Monitoring customers.

The technical support service team could be more knowledgeable.

The initial setup process is straightforward. We need to deploy the agent on the box and connect it to the controller. There are various deployment options available.

We take assistance from managed service providers for implementation.

We buy the platform's yearly subscription. I rate its pricing a six out of ten.

In one of the scenarios, a retail company encountered transaction failure issues. The problem was not with the card or payment system but the database operations. By utilizing AppDynamics, the team traced end-to-end transactions and identified a database latency problem.

Monitoring the entire end-to-end system allows us to pinpoint performance issues in the database. Tracking the user journey helped us identify the issues between the middleware and the database.

The topology view feature helps in effective monitoring. However, this feature was developed six years ago and still needs to be updated. The application needs broader improvements and reshaping for this particular area.

Database scaling or migration projects play a supportive role throughout the development, monitoring, and troubleshooting phases. During development, it integrates seamlessly with the SDLC. It detects and resolves performance issues, ensuring database availability and minimizing downtime.

I rate it an eight out of ten.

I use the solution in my company for application performance monitoring.

The most valuable features of the solution are diagnostic sessions and alerts. The diagnostic features and ability to create custom dashboards are the key features of the tool.

The integration ability of AppDynamics with other performance testing tools is an area with shortcomings where improvements are required.

I have been using AppDynamics for two to three years.

It is a stable solution.

My company has purchased a scalable version of the product.

I have experience with the solution's technical support. The solution's technical support is fine and responsive. I rate the technical support a nine out of ten.

Positive

The product's initial setup phase was difficult. There is a need for those involved in the setup process to go through the proper documentation and training available from AppDynamics.

I rate the product's initial setup phase a four on a scale of one to ten, where one is the difficult setup process, and ten is the easy setup phase.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.

The product's deployment phase is taken care of by our company's DevOps team.

The tool is expensive.

My company chose AppDynamics over other products in the market since we found it to be the most compatible tool with the products we used in our organization.

The product's installation process is a bit difficult. Users need to thoroughly understand the documentation and take care of the setup phase to be able to use certain features offered by the tool, which, technically, is something that users should be able to use. Generating heap dump for Java usage and Java application monitoring are areas that can be pretty difficult with the product.

I rate the overall tool a nine out of ten.

We use it to monitor the end-user responses of Oracle and Microsoft SQL. We still use OEM for deep dives.

The product provides visibility to the end-users who didn’t have visibility before.

Visibility to the end-users is a valuable feature.

The solution must improve security and setup. It runs off its own box now. The metrics could be standardized. It should add more databases.

I have been using the solution since 2016.

I rate the tool’s stability a seven out of ten.

I rate the tool’s scalability a six out of ten. We run quite a few servers.

I have used a lot of database monitoring products like OEM and SolarWinds SQL Sentry. We chose AppDynamics Database Monitoring because we bought APM.

The tool is deployed on the cloud, but we put an agent on-premise. The initial setup is straightforward. There are some complexities if we want additional features like automatic password rotation. We needed five people to deploy the product. It requires maintenance. There's not a great way to know when it's not reporting. We have to figure it out. It does not have a good alarm system to notify us when it stops.

We have seen a return on investment.

The price is okay.

We’re planning to replace the solution. It is a good tool. Overall, I rate the solution a six out of ten.

The main use case for AppDynamics in our company is monitoring and managing the performance of our web and mobile applications. 

We use AppDynamics to identify and resolve performance issues, such as slow loading times or transaction errors. It also helps us track the availability of our applications and ensure an optimal user experience for our customers. 

Additionally, we use AppDynamics reporting and analytics to make informed decisions about the scalability and sizing of our infrastructure, allowing us to provide quality, reliable service as we grow.

AppDynamics has improved our organization in a number of ways. 

First, it gives us complete visibility into the performance of our applications, allowing us to proactively detect and fix issues before they impact users. This has significantly reduced downtime and improved user experience.

Additionally, AppDynamics provides us with detailed information about the performance of the underlying infrastructure, including servers, databases, and external services. 

This has allowed us to identify bottlenecks and optimize resources, improving operational efficiency and reducing unnecessary costs.

The most valuable features of AppDynamics are its real-time monitoring capabilities, deep problem diagnosis, transaction mapping, reporting and analysis, and real-time alerts. These features allow us to proactively detect and fix performance issues, optimize our infrastructure, and make informed decisions to improve the user experience. 

Real-time monitoring helps us stay aware of any anomalies and respond quickly, avoiding costly downtime. 

Deep diagnostics allow us to quickly identify the root causes of problems, accelerating resolution time. 

The transaction map gives us complete visibility into the flow of our applications, helping us identify bottlenecks and prioritize improvements.

As for areas of improvement, AppDynamics could benefit from greater integration with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. This would allow the tool to automatically analyze and correlate application performance and behavior data to detect patterns and anomalies not evident to users. 

Additionally, the ability to track performance in multi-cloud environments would be valuable as many organizations are adopting hybrid cloud or multi-cloud strategies. In terms of additional features, it would be beneficial to include a capacity management module that allows operations teams to proactively plan and adjust capacity, avoiding performance issues related to lack of resources.

I have been using AppDynamics for three years

AppDynamics offers good scalability. The tool is designed to handle large enterprise environments, with the ability to monitor and manage complex, distributed applications.

We did not previously use a different solution. 

The product requires in-depth knowledge of the infrastructure and the application to be monitored. 

You need to install and configure agents on the appropriate components, which can take time and require a careful approach.

Before investing in AppDynamics, evaluate your needs, compare prices, consider long-term value, and make sure you understand the details of the licensing and support offered.

We did not evaluate other options. 

I'd advise users to make sure they dedicate enough time and resources to properly configure and customize the tool. This includes defining relevant metrics and thresholds, setting effective alerts, and customizing dashboards to reflect specific needs and goals. 

A proper setup will ensure that companies get the most value from AppDynamics and can take full advantage of its application monitoring and management capabilities.