Application management and monitoring was traditionally begun as a means of streamlining the managerial aspects of operating dynamic applications. Through its ability to monitor the entire infrastructure and various internal components found in most Web applications, these tools simplified the complex process of managing and monitoring application integrity and performance. However, as the application industry continues to evolve and become more advanced, the need for fluid and scalable application monitoring tools is greater than ever before.
Application Complexity and Involvement
As the need for enhanced customer interaction and complex business processes increases, the complexity of Web applications will simultaneously progress. While this is an exciting proposition in terms of business-to-customer interaction and faster critical business processes, the rise in application infrastructure requires new and equally advanced application monitoring capabilities.
Therefore, one of the largest evolutions within the application management and monitoring industry is the methods in which monitoring software will track and manage application processes. Perhaps one of the largest developments within this industry is the location of what are considered critical application components. Many experts suggest the use of virtual hosting and cloud computing will increase the scope of application infrastructure in terms of where components are located. While this allows modern applications to perform dynamic processes, it adds strain on traditional monitoring and management software.
In order to match this demand, many application monitoring solutions would be required to send monitoring and management “agents” across an entire application network, which would span both physical and virtual components. By expanding its reach across multiple platforms, monitoring solutions are capable of gathering data from a wide variety of sources and hosting this information in a single, user-friendly, dashboard. With this setup, application developers and system administrators are able to monitor and manage the dynamic options and processes modern applications now require.
However, one of the the biggest issues plaguing the modern application industry is a reluctance on behalf of IT developers and system administrators to upgrade their application monitoring and management software. While the cost associated with purchasing and implementing an application monitoring solution can be expensive, the risks of running a tool incapable of keeping track of modern applications are far greater. Remember, as your application use and type evolve, so should your monitoring and managing solution.