AppDynamics is an APM and Mobile APM program, with application mapping and predictive capabilities. These capacities enable automated remediation and code-level diagnostics in real time. It can be deployed on-premise or as a SaaS.
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Zabbix
Score 8.7 out of 10
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Zabbix is an open-source network performance monitoring software. It includes prebuilt official and community-developed templates for integrating with networks, applications, and endpoints, and can automate some monitoring processes.
Cisco's AppDynamics solution has been used for several years because it has a low level of complexity for registering alarms, editing dashboards, instrumenting monitoring agents, managing user credentials, and integrating with other systems, stability, and low volume of new …
Zabbix is a great, free solution. While not everything is discovered and configured out of the box, it is a powerful tool that allows for complete customization to what your organization needs as far as a monitoring solution. We've invested the time to make Zabbix powerful, …
Zabbix is cost effective maybe and certainly a good tool but not the best. The other ones have features that Zabbix is missing and we use couple of them.
Platforms for software as a service (SaaS) frequently cater to a large number of users with a variety of needs and usage patterns. Because AppDynamics offers multi-tenant monitoring capabilities to track performance across various customer environments, it is a good choice for SaaS platform monitoring. SaaS providers can maximize resource utilization, proactively detect and resolve performance issues, and provide a dependable and consistent user experience for their clients with AppDynamics.
Zabbix is great for monitoring your servers and seeing alerts when the system uses too much CPU or memory. This allowed the system Engineer to be proactive and add resources to these systems to avoid interrupting the services. Especially servers running operations applications and services. This is one of the best usages for Zabbix.
AppDynamics delves deeply into traceability and profiling at the code level. By identifying and refactoring any hidden performance hogs in our code, we can directly observe the performance improvements.
AppDynamics provides real-time dashboards and in-depth insights into each layer of the application stack, lifting the curtain on performance.
AppDynamics gives us the ability to proactively detect and resolve performance issues. We are able to keep things running smoothly for our users and stop outages.
We can monitor stability and performance prior to, during, and following releases with AppDynamics, which helps to minimize regression risks and facilitate smooth rollouts.
Collecting hardware data - CPU, Memory, Network, and Disk Metrics are collected and reported on.
Flexible design - It is very easy to build out even very large environments via the templating system. You can also start where you are - network monitoring, server monitoring, etc. and then build it out from there as time and resources permit.
Provides a "plugin architecture" (via XML templates) to allow end users to extend it to monitor all kinds of equipment, software, or other metrics that are not already added into the software already.
Very complete documentation. Almost every aspect of Zabbix has been documented and reported on.
Cost - Zabbix is FOSS software and always free. Support is reasonably priced and readily available.
Improving the clarity and comprehensiveness of the documentation could benefit users. Clearer documentation ensures that users can make the most of all the functionalities
Leverages AI and machine learning for intelligent insights, aiding in issue identification and prediction.
Competitive, with AI-driven features becoming increasingly common in APM solutions.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate our likelihood to renew Splunk AppDynamics as a 10. Our leadership is fully committed to the State of Indiana’s Application Performance Monitoring (APM) Program, which has become a national leader within the SLED (State, Local, and Education) vertical. AppDynamics plays a critical role in our ability to deliver reliable, high-performing digital services to citizens and stakeholders. Its capabilities align closely with our strategic goals around operational excellence, proactive incident management, and data-driven decision-making, making it an indispensable part of our technology ecosystem.
It is free. It didn't cost anything to implement (other than my time and the cost incurred for it) and it is filling a badly needed gap in our IT infrastructure. Support is available if we have issues and can be done annually or paid for on a per incident basis as needed. Expansion, updates, and all other future lifecycle activities are likewise free of cost, so as long as someone is able to implement/maintain the software (and the OSS project is maintained) then I imagine the company will never leave it.
Actually, I would like to give it a score of 10 out of 10, but taking into account certain factors such as: the cost of the annual licence, the complexity of installation and configuration, the blurring of setting Splunk AppDynamics over the cloud and especially OpenShift since we use it as a container platform. So, 8 out of 10 looks perfect for it
I think every organization, especially the IT department, needs a tool like this. I know of another product like Zabbix that gives a similar or the same solution, but its range makes it very useful. You can see almost all the device info in one place: disk usage, disk space, network usage, etc.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate the availability of Splunk AppDynamics as a 9. Overall, the platform has proven to be highly reliable and is available when we need it. It consistently supports our monitoring and performance management needs across critical applications and infrastructure. There have been occasional issues with platform availability, such as intermittent application errors or brief unplanned outages. However, these instances have been infrequent and typically resolved quickly, minimizing any significant impact on operations. The stability and uptime of the platform have met our expectations, and we continue to rely on it as a core component of our APM strategy.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate the performance of Splunk AppDynamics as a 6. While the platform generally delivers the expected functionality, we’ve experienced periodic slowness—particularly with page loads and report generation. These performance issues can be frustrating, especially when trying to quickly access critical data during incident response or analysis. One contributing factor may be our use of a shared controller environment with other enterprises, which can introduce resource contention and impact overall responsiveness. In some cases, this has led to delays in accessing dashboards or completing complex queries. Despite these challenges, the platform remains a valuable tool, and we’re exploring options to improve performance, including potential changes to our deployment model and support agreements.
AppDynamics has its own community site that includes forums and a knowledge base. On the forums, you can converse with other members of the community and ask technical questions as you have them. Though this forum isn’t filled with people there are active members for you to gain some valuable insights.
The setup is the most time-consuming portion of using zabbix. It takes a lot of effort to shape it into a usable format and even then it can get very messy. It's not exactly intuitive and as mentioned the UI seems a bit antiquated. If I was to roll out a monitoring solution from scratch, I'd probably look for alternatives which are easier to use and maintain.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate the online training for Splunk AppDynamics as a 7. The training was generally acceptable and covered the core concepts and functionality of the platform. However, there were some challenges with communication during sessions—particularly around clarity and instructor engagement—which occasionally made it difficult to fully grasp certain topics. Additionally, the training could benefit from being more focused and tailored to specific roles or use cases. A more structured approach with clearer learning paths and practical, hands-on examples would enhance the overall effectiveness and help users apply the knowledge more confidently in real-world scenarios.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate our satisfaction with the implementation of Splunk AppDynamics as a 9. The deployment process was smooth and well-coordinated, thanks to the collaborative efforts between Cisco Professional Services, our internal business stakeholders, and agency technical teams. Key Insights from the Implementation: Cross-functional Collaboration Was Critical: Engaging both technical and business teams early in the process ensured that the platform was configured to meet a wide range of operational and strategic needs. Value of Expert Guidance: Cisco’s Professional Services provided invaluable expertise, helping us navigate complex configurations and tailor the solution to our environment. Their involvement accelerated deployment and ensured best practices were followed. Importance of Planning and Communication: A well-defined implementation roadmap and regular communication across teams helped us stay aligned, manage expectations, and address challenges proactively. Scalable Architecture: We designed the implementation with scalability in mind, allowing us to expand usage across agencies and applications without major rework. Overall, the implementation laid a strong foundation for our APM program and positioned us for long-term success.
We are a mainly Windows environment, so it would be useful if we could have used Active Directory to deploy agents. As of version 4.2, Zabbix has announced a new agent MSI file to allow exactly that. Unfortunately, we didn't have that option. Also, for Linux and MAC deployments, there is no simple way to deploy that. Using remote scripts you may be able to create something, but most places will opt for either SNMP (agentless) or manual installation of agents to add to Zabbix. A way of deploying agents via discovery would go a long way to helping in the adoption of the tool.
It is distinguished from these programs because the platform provides visualizations of application processes, showing the interplay between various parts and services. Understanding the architecture of complicated apps and finding their weak spots is greatly aided by this.
We're using the Solarwinds suite as our global monitoring standard, but it is very complex and its licensing model makes it difficult to monitor a wide range of technologies. So, we're using Zabbix as a complement on our monitoring process. Zabbix is a way more flexible and has free integrations to a wide range of technologies. It is also more 'user friendly' and easy to manage.
While the overall value of the Splunk AppDynamics platforms is strong, the pricing structure and contract terms can be complex and difficult to navigate. Unit pricing, licensing tiers, and billing frequency are not always intuitive, which can make it challenging to align purchases with the State’s evolving needs. I rely heavily on our Account Manager to help interpret and tailor the licensing model to our specific requirements. Their support has been invaluable in ensuring we make informed decisions. The most impactful change would be to simplify the licensing and pricing model. Clearer documentation, more transparent pricing tiers, and streamlined purchasing processes would significantly improve the experience and reduce administrative overhead.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate the overall scalability of Splunk AppDynamics as a 7. The platform is designed to support enterprise-wide deployments across multiple departments and sites, and it performs well in large-scale environments. Its architecture allows for horizontal scaling and supports a wide range of application types and infrastructures. However, the agent management and deployment process can be complex and time-consuming, especially when onboarding a large number of applications or systems. Coordinating agent installation, configuration, and updates across diverse environments requires careful planning and often significant manual effort. Streamlining these processes—perhaps through more centralized management tools or automation—would enhance scalability and reduce operational overhead. Despite these challenges, once deployed, AppDynamics scales effectively and provides consistent performance and visibility across the enterprise.
Our experience with the professional services team supporting Splunk AppDynamics has been exceptional. They demonstrated deep technical expertise, strong collaboration skills, and a clear understanding of our business objectives. Their guidance was instrumental in the successful implementation of our APM program and platform integration. The rating of 9 reflects our high level of satisfaction, with a small margin left to acknowledge that continuous improvement is always possible. Overall, their support has been a key factor in the success of our deployment.
AppDynamics has played a pivotal role in optimizing our applications for a seamless user experience. The proactive monitoring and quick issue resolution have translated into improved user satisfaction and increased retention rates.
The initial cost and effort associated with implementing AppDynamics might be considered a negative impact, particularly for organizations with budget constraints. However, the long-term benefits have justified this initial investment.
