AppDynamics delivers application performance monitoring excellence
Overall Satisfaction with Splunk AppDynamics
The State of Indiana uses AppDynamics to help support 500+ business critical applications for around 90 partner agencies. AppDynamics places us in a proactive position while supporting these applications for the constituents of Indiana. AppDynamics helps to deliver the best possible support and understanding surrounding these applications and reduces the mean-time-to-resolution when problems arise.
Pros
- Flow mapping the application.
- Identifying where in the application there is slowness.
- Identifying problem database queries.
- SecureApp is critical for identifying security holes in code.
Cons
- High learning curve
- Not always clear where problems lie
- Instrumentations are a heavy lift at times.
- Clear view of all aspects of applciations
- Code-Level instrumentation and view of apps
- SecureApp and the data we receive from for remediation in code.
- BVA for one application reveals over 200k in ROI
- As we mature with AppDymanics the ROI will far outweigh the cost of the product.
Do you think Splunk AppDynamics delivers good value for the price?
Yes
Are you happy with Splunk AppDynamics's feature set?
Yes
Did Splunk AppDynamics live up to sales and marketing promises?
Yes
Did implementation of Splunk AppDynamics go as expected?
Yes
Would you buy Splunk AppDynamics again?
Yes
Splunk AppDynamics Feature Ratings
Using Splunk AppDynamics
200 - We currently have over 200 users leveraging Splunk AppDynamics across various roles within the organization. These users include technical staff such as developers, system administrators, and IT operations teams who utilize the platform for performance monitoring, troubleshooting, and infrastructure optimization. Additionally, business users and end users engage with AppDynamics to gain insights into application performance, user experience, and business transaction analytics. This cross-functional usage supports a wide range of business functions including IT operations, application development, customer support, and business intelligence.
50 - We have over 50 individuals supporting Splunk AppDynamics on an ongoing basis. This includes a dedicated Application Performance Monitoring (APM) team, system administrators, database administrators, network engineers, and members of our security team. Additionally, we leverage Cisco Professional Services for specialized support and optimization.
- Application Performance Monitoring (APM)
- End-User Experience Monitoring
- Infrastructure Monitoring
- Business Transaction Monitoring
- Capacity Planning and Optimization
- Proactive Incident Prevention Through Business Transaction Trends
- Security Event Correlation
- Executive-Level Dashboards for Strategic Decision-Making
- AI-Driven Root Cause Analysis
- Business Impact Analysis
- Enhanced DevSecOps Integration
- Predictive Analytics for Capacity Planning
Evaluating Splunk AppDynamics and Competitors
- Cloud Solutions
- Scalability
- Integration with Other Systems
Several factors influenced our decision to purchase Splunk AppDynamics, but the most important considerations included: Comprehensive Application Performance Monitoring (APM): The ability to monitor end-to-end application performance across complex environments was critical for ensuring reliability and responsiveness. Business Transaction Visibility: AppDynamics provides deep insights into business transactions, allowing us to correlate technical performance with business outcomes. Integration Capabilities: Seamless integration with our existing infrastructure and other monitoring tools was essential for a unified observability strategy. Scalability and Flexibility: The platform’s ability to scale with our growing needs and adapt to both on-premises and cloud environments was a key advantage. Support and Partnership with Cisco: Access to Cisco’s professional services and their commitment to our success added significant value to the solution. The single most important factor in our decision was AppDynamics’ robust APM capabilities, which aligned perfectly with the State of Indiana’s strategic vision for its Application Performance Monitoring Program. The platform’s ability to provide real-time, actionable insights into application health and user experience was instrumental in positioning our program as a national leader in the SLED vertical.
If we had to go through the evaluation and selection process again, one change we might consider is involving a broader cross-section of stakeholders earlier in the process—including more business users and security teams—to ensure their needs and perspectives are fully captured from the outset. While our technical teams led a thorough evaluation, expanding the scope could have helped us identify additional use cases and integration opportunities sooner. Additionally, we might place greater emphasis on proof-of-concept (PoC) testing across a wider range of applications and environments. This would allow us to better understand how AppDynamics performs under different workloads and how it integrates with our existing tools and processes. Overall, while we’re very satisfied with our decision, refining the evaluation process to be even more inclusive and hands-on could have accelerated adoption and maximized value from day one.
Splunk AppDynamics Implementation
- Implemented in-house
Yes - Yes, the implementation of Splunk AppDynamics was broken up into well-defined phases to ensure a smooth and scalable rollout. The phased approach allowed us to manage complexity, engage stakeholders effectively, and tailor the deployment to our organizational needs. The key phases included: Planning and Assessment: We began by identifying key applications, infrastructure components, and business processes that would benefit most from AppDynamics. This phase involved stakeholder alignment, defining success criteria, and establishing a roadmap for deployment. Pilot Deployment: A limited set of applications were selected for initial implementation to validate configurations, test integrations, and refine our approach. This phase helped us identify potential challenges and gather feedback from technical and business users. Full-Scale Rollout: With lessons learned from the pilot, we expanded the deployment across additional agencies and applications. Cisco Professional Services played a critical role in guiding this phase, ensuring best practices were followed and configurations were optimized. Training and Enablement: We conducted targeted training sessions for technical teams, business users, and stakeholders to ensure effective adoption and utilization of the platform’s capabilities. Optimization and Continuous Improvement: Post-deployment, we focused on refining alerting policies, enhancing dashboards, and integrating AppDynamics with other monitoring and incident management tools. This phase is ongoing, with continuous collaboration between our internal teams and Cisco to maximize value. This phased approach was key to our successful implementation and helped establish a strong foundation for our APM program.
Change management was a small part of the implementation and was well-handled - Organizational change management was a relatively small part of our Splunk AppDynamics implementation, but it was handled effectively. Our teams were already familiar with performance monitoring concepts, which helped streamline adoption. The clear communication and collaboration between Cisco Professional Services, our internal technical teams, and business stakeholders also played a key role in minimizing disruption. Key Lessons Learned: Early Stakeholder Engagement Matters: Involving both technical and business users from the beginning helped ensure alignment on goals and expectations, reducing resistance and increasing buy-in. Tailored Training Accelerates Adoption: Providing role-specific training and resources helped users quickly understand how AppDynamics could support their day-to-day responsibilities. Clear Communication Reduces Friction: Transparent updates and consistent messaging throughout the implementation helped manage expectations and build trust across teams. Leverage External Expertise: Partnering with Cisco Professional Services provided not only technical guidance but also change management support, which was instrumental in navigating organizational dynamics. While change management wasn’t a major hurdle in our case, these lessons reinforced the importance of thoughtful planning and stakeholder involvement in any enterprise technology deployment.
- Complexity of Integrating with Legacy Systems
- Initial Performance Tuning
- Data Volume and Retention Planning
Splunk AppDynamics Training
Configuring Splunk AppDynamics
Best Practices for Configuring Splunk AppDynamics Start with a Clear Monitoring Strategy Define key business transactions and critical application components before diving into configuration. Align monitoring goals with business outcomes to ensure meaningful insights. Use Tiered Health Rules Create layered health rules for different severity levels (e.g., warning vs. critical). Avoid over-alerting by setting thresholds based on historical performance data. Leverage Auto-Discovery, Then Customize Use AppDynamics’ auto-discovery to quickly map application flows. Refine and customize discovered components to ensure accuracy and relevance. Focus on Business Transactions Prioritize configuration of business transactions that reflect real user interactions. Use naming conventions and categorization to keep transactions organized and easy to analyze. Integrate with Existing Tools Connect AppDynamics with your incident management, logging, and CI/CD tools to streamline workflows. Use APIs and extensions to automate tasks and enrich data. Optimize Dashboards for Stakeholders Create role-specific dashboards (e.g., for developers, operations, business leaders).Use widgets and filters to highlight KPIs and trends relevant to each audience. Regularly Review and Tune Configurations Schedule periodic reviews of health rules, alerts, and dashboards to ensure they remain aligned with evolving systems and priorities. Use feedback from users to refine configurations and improve usability. Document Configuration Standards Maintain clear documentation of your configuration practices, naming conventions, and alerting logic. This helps with onboarding new team members and ensures consistency across teams.
No - we have not done any customization to the interface
No - we have not done any custom code
Not at this time.
Splunk AppDynamics Support
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Kept well informed | Slow Resolution Poor followup Problems left unsolved Escalation required Need to explain problems multiple times Support doesn't seem to care Slow Initial Response |
We have not purchased premium support for Splunk AppDynamics at this time. However, it is currently under consideration as part of our upcoming Enterprise Agreement renewal. As our usage of AppDynamics continues to grow and the platform becomes increasingly critical to our operations, we recognize the potential value of enhanced support services to ensure faster issue resolution, proactive guidance, and improved overall responsiveness.
Yes - Yes, we have experienced and reported bugs within the Splunk AppDynamics platform. While some of these issues have posed challenges, Cisco Professional Services has been instrumental in driving resolution efforts. Their involvement has significantly improved the turnaround time and ensured that the bugs were addressed effectively. Although the initial support response times have occasionally been slower than expected the collaboration with Cisco has helped us navigate and resolve these issues to our satisfaction.
Yes, there was a notable instance when Cisco provided exceptional support for Splunk AppDynamics. We encountered a complex bug that was impacting the accuracy of our business transaction monitoring across several critical applications. The issue was affecting our ability to track performance metrics and respond to incidents effectively. Cisco Professional Services stepped in promptly, dedicating resources to investigate the root cause and coordinate directly with the AppDynamics product team. Their deep technical expertise and proactive communication were instrumental in not only identifying the issue but also implementing a fix and validating the solution in our environment. They kept us informed throughout the process and ensured minimal disruption to our operations. This experience demonstrated Cisco’s commitment to our success and reinforced the value of having a strong support partnership, especially when managing mission-critical systems.
Using Splunk AppDynamics
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Like to use Relatively simple Well integrated Consistent Convenient Feel confident using Familiar | Requires technical support |
- Real-Time Application Flow Mapping
- Business Transaction Monitoring
- Alert Configuration and Policy Management
- End-User Monitoring (EUM)
- Custom Instrumentation and Configuration
- Data Retention and Historical Analysis
- User Role and Permission Management
- Alert Noise and Tuning
Splunk AppDynamics Reliability
Integrating Splunk AppDynamics
- F5 Load Balancers
- ServiceNow
- Splunk Enterprise
- Cloud Platforms (AWS & Azure)
The depth of integration with Splunk AppDynamics in our environment is moderate to advanced, depending on the system. For some platforms, such as ServiceNow and Splunk Enterprise, the integration is fairly deep allowing for automated incident creation, data correlation, and enhanced observability across logs and performance metrics. These integrations have been instrumental in streamlining workflows and improving incident response times. For other systems, such as F5 load balancers, the integration was more challenging. It required custom configurations and coordination across multiple teams to ensure accurate data collection and visibility. The complexity stemmed from the need to align AppDynamics agents with network traffic patterns and ensure compatibility with existing infrastructure. Difficulty Level: Achieving these integrations ranged from straightforward to complex. While AppDynamics provides APIs and documentation, some integrations—especially with legacy or highly customized systems—required significant effort, including Custom scripting and configuration Deep understanding of both AppDynamics and the target system Support from Cisco Professional Services for troubleshooting and optimization Despite the challenges, the integrations have added substantial value, and the lessons learned have helped us develop repeatable processes for future deployments.
- Identity and Access Management (IAM) Platforms
- Configuration Management Databases (CMDB)
- Enterprise Data Warehouses and BI Tools
- IT Automation and Orchestration Tools
I believe most vendors have some level of support for these integrations.
- File import/export
- Single Signon
- API (e.g. SOAP or REST)
- ETL tools
Not at this time.
1. Identify All Required Integrations Begin by cataloging all systems and platforms that need to interface with Splunk and AppDynamics. Key integrations may include Identity and Access Management (IAM): Azure AD, Okta, LDAP for unified authentication and role-based access control. F5 Load Balancers: For injecting AppDynamics EUM agents and monitoring traffic patterns. Cloud Platforms: Azure: Integration with Azure Monitor, App Services, and Resource Meticais: Integration with CloudWatch, CloudTrail, EC2, ECS, and Lambda. Custom ETL Pipelines: For ingesting business-specific metrics and logs into Splunk and AppDynamics using APIs or HTTP Event Collector (HEC). Network and Security Tools: Firewalls, proxies, and SIEM systems for comprehensive observability.2. Prioritize Integrations Based on Business Impact 3. Collaborate with Cisco Professional Services Engage Cisco’s experts to: Validate integration architecture and design. Assist with configuration of AppDynamics agents and Splunk connectors. Ensure best practices for scalability, performance, and security. Provide training and documentation for long-term sustainability.4. Coordinate with Agency Stakeholders Work closely with internal and external stakeholders to: Align integration goals with business and operational priorities. Define data ownership, access policies, and compliance requirements. Establish timelines, testing protocols, and success metrics. Ensure change management and user adoption strategies are in place. Implementation and Validation Develop a phased rollout plan starting with high-priority integrations. Conduct integration testing and performance validation. Monitor and optimize data flows and dashboards. Document configurations and provide knowledge transfer sessions.
Relationship with Cisco
During the procurement process, we were able to negotiate several key terms with the vendor that aligned with the State of Indiana’s strategic and operational needs: Pricing and Discounts We secured favorable pricing through volume discounts and multi-year commitments, ensuring cost-effectiveness and long-term value. Flexible Licensing Model The vendor provided flexibility in licensing to accommodate our evolving usage patterns and future scalability needs. Professional Services Engagement We negotiated dedicated support from Cisco’s Professional Services team, which has been instrumental in the successful implementation of our APM program. Training and Enablement The agreement included training sessions and enablement resources to ensure our internal teams could effectively manage and optimize the platforms. Support and SLAs Enhanced support terms and service-level agreements (SLAs) were established to ensure timely issue resolution and ongoing operational reliability. Implementation Timeline and Milestones We worked with Cisco and agency stakeholders to define clear implementation milestones, ensuring alignment with project timelines and business priorities.
1. Establish Clear Objectives Early Define your business goals and technical requirements upfront. Share these with the vendor to ensure alignment and avoid unnecessary upselling.2. Leverage Your Account Manager Build a strong relationship with your Cisco Account Manager—they can be a valuable advocate for your needs. Use them to navigate complex licensing models, escalate support issues, and coordinate with internal Cisco teams.3. Request Simplified Licensing and Pricing Documentation Ask for clear, scenario-based licensing guides tailored to your environment. Request a breakdown of costs by product, feature, and usage to better understand total cost of ownership.4. Engage Professional Services Strategically Use Cisco Professional Services for complex implementations, architecture reviews, and best practice guidance. Clearly define deliverables, timelines, and success criteria in your services engagement.5. Involve Stakeholders Early Include agency stakeholders in planning and decision-making to ensure buy-in and smooth implementation. Regularly communicate progress and challenges to maintain transparency.6. Negotiate for Flexibility Seek flexible terms around licensing, scaling, and contract renewals. Consider multi-year agreements with built-in reviews to adjust based on evolving needs.7. Focus on Value Realization Shift post-sale conversations from additional sales to maximizing the value of existing investments. Request roadmaps, use case workshops, and ROI assessments to guide platform adoption.8. Document Everything Keep detailed records of agreements, configurations, and decisions. This helps with future audits, renewals, and internal knowledge transfer.
Upgrading Splunk AppDynamics
Yes - Yes, the upgrade process was well-coordinated and executed with minimal disruption to operations. The vendor provided clear documentation and support, which helped ensure a smooth transition. Yes, while the upgrade was largely successful, there were a few unexpected impacts that required attention. These included minor configuration adjustments and updates to agent compatibility. Fortunately, our professional services team and vendor support were responsive and helped us quickly resolve these issues.
- Improved Platform Stability and Performance
- Expanded Observability Features
- Enhanced Integration Capabilities
- Support for OpenTelemetry
- Streamlined User Experience
- Enhanced AI and Machine Learning Capabilities
- Greater Integration with OpenTelemetry
- Improved Cloud-Native Support


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