A mid-sized travel company experienced a surge in website and mobile app traffic due to a spring travel promotion offer, but unfortunately, this did not translate into a proportional increase in conversions. The Application Performance Monitoring (APM) tool they were using provided information on slow booking transactions but lacked insights into the root cause of the problem. As a result, the company's tech team had to invest significant time and effort to identify and solve the issue.
This is a common problem for businesses that invest in an APM tool without ensuring that it is the right fit for their needs. To avoid such issues, consider the following checklist when selecting an Application Performance Monitoring tool:
- Tech-Agnostic: The tool should support your application's entire tech stack, including the framework and programming languages, with scalable support for increased workloads and new software.
- Machine-Agnostic: The tool should provide a single source of data without any gaps on any machine.
- Integrable: The tool should integrate seamlessly with third-party products.
- Easy Setup and Maintenance: The tool should be easy to set up, start collecting data within minutes, and remain up-to-date with ongoing maintenance and updates.
- Full Stack Observability: The tool should provide observability across the front-end, back-end, infrastructure, and the cloud.
- Performance Metrics: The tool should establish performance benchmarks, provide actionable alerts for potential issues, and detect errors before users experience them.
- Root Cause Analysis: The tool should quickly identify the root cause of issues and provide solutions to resolve them.
- User Experience Monitoring: The tool should analyze the user experience by utilizing real user monitoring.
- Intuitive Interface: The tool should be easy to navigate while providing necessary depth and customizability.
- Business Analytics: The tool should provide contextual data and insights linking application performance to business goals.
In conclusion, selecting the right APM tool is crucial for ensuring your applications perform optimally and meet customer demands. By considering the factors listed above, you can make an informed decision and choose an APM tool that suits your organization's specific needs.