Scout APM: Reasons to Get a New Dog

Nick Saraev  on January 18, 2023

Veteran programmer? Experienced application performance monitoring (APM) connoisseur? Whatever your specific tech chops, you know the importance of ensuring your applications are running optimally.

Every minute a business app is down or slow to respond translates into lost revenue and frustrated customers. That’s why smart businesses rely on APM solutions to monitor and analyze their applications’ performance in real-time. 

They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks - but how about teaching an old dog why it's time to switch their APM? In this article, we'll recap general application performance monitoring principles before diving deep into some new monitoring technology that can improve performance, engagement, and ROI.

Let's get started!

APM recap

APM solutions help tech teams keep their applications running smoothly and efficiently by monitoring server performance, web traffic, and application errors.

The goal of APM is to get ahead of potential issues before they become costly problems. To do this, the solution needs to collect data from the application in real-time and provide feedback on what’s happening within it.

Common features of an APM include: 

Old school APMs and their (many) pitfalls

APM tech has changed dramatically from its first inception. A couple of decades ago, APMs were limited to basic server monitoring and required significant manual configuration. This process was tedious, time-consuming, and prone to errors.

As the need for robust application performance monitoring became more pressing, a new generation of APM solutions was born. These tools had the advantage of being able to collect and analyze data from multiple sources in real-time. But even these "modern" solutions often weren't quite up to snuff—they were expensive, complex, and couldn’t provide all the insights teams needed to get ahead of issues.

Plus, they were "siloed," — meaning they often couldn't integrate disparate data sources into a unified framework. Server response times said one thing, user engagement metrics said another, and logs told a different story altogether. To say it was hard to get an accurate picture of application performance was an understatement!

Integrated APMs

Today’s APM solutions are a far cry from their predecessors. They can collect and analyze data from multiple sources, provide visibility into user engagement, and measure application performance in real-time. Plus, they can be quickly deployed without requiring manual configuration—a huge plus for busy tech teams! 

These integrated APMs offer the promise of quick insights into application performance and pinpointing issues within minutes instead of hours or days. And their reports actually *make sense* - data sources are integrated, insights are actionable, and teams can make informed decisions faster.

But here's the thing: while the technology has improved markedly, many teams are still relying on outdated APMs. They're missing out on key insights and wasting time manually configuring tools that just don't offer the same level of visibility and performance as a modern integrated solution. And the worst part is, most of the time, it's due to inertia - teams are stuck in the status quo and don't know where to turn for a better APM.

How old APMs are costing you money

Treat this as your wake-up call: if you're still relying on old school APMs, your organization is leaving *tons* of money on the table.

No code profiling

Code profiling - the practice of analyzing the performance of individual code snippets - is an invaluable tool for understanding where applications are bottlenecking. By integrating your application's repository, you can gain insight into the performance of specific code blocks — a level of visibility that old-school APMs simply couldn't provide.

Today, integrated APMs like ScoutAPM allows tech teams to profile code in real-time, identify performance issues quickly, and get ahead of problems before they become costly. Is specific code block costing you money? New-school APMs can help you pinpoint and fix it in hours (rather than months or years!)

Real-time alerts

In the past, APM solutions were limited to generating reports on the performance of applications. This was great for providing a snapshot of what happened over time, but it didn't provide any insights into how the application was performing *right now.*

Today's integrated APMs offer real-time alerts and notifications when an application starts to slow down or experience errors. By getting alerted as soon as an issue arises, tech teams can quickly identify and address problems before they become major issues—saving money in lost revenue and customer dissatisfaction.

With a solution like ScoutAPM, you can set custom triggers and alerts for specific application performance metrics and get ahead of issues before they become major problems.

Database queries

Database queries are at the heart of most applications, but they can quickly become a bottleneck if not monitored carefully. In the past, APM solutions often struggled with tracking database performance and generating meaningful reports.

Today, however, integrated APMs like ScoutAPM offer visibility into the performance of individual queries and help teams identify query bottlenecks quickly. With this insight, tech teams can optimize their databases for faster response times and improved user experience—all while saving money in development costs! 

Reasons to get a new dog

Now that we've explored some of the pitfalls of old school APM and highlighted how integrated solutions could save your organization money, it's time to talk about why you should get a new dog!

  1. Cost savings: integrated APMs are more cost-effective than their older counterparts. They require less manual configuration, offer visibility into user engagement metrics, and provide real-time alerts—all of which can save your organization money in development costs. 
  2. Performance gains: integrated APMs offer visibility into the performance of individual code blocks, queries, and user engagement metrics. By monitoring your applications in real-time and getting ahead of issues quickly, you can ensure optimal performance and reduce downtime. 
  3. Customer satisfaction: integrated APMs allow tech teams to identify potential problems before they become major issues. This means users get a better experience with fewer slowdowns or errors—leading to improved customer satisfaction (and higher ROI). 
  4. Proactivity: Lastly, integrated APMs allow tech teams to be proactive when it comes to application performance. With real-time alerts, code profiling, and query visibility, you can get ahead of issues before they become costly problems.

ScoutAPM: A Developer's Best Friend

ScoutAPM is an integrated APM solution that offers all the features of modern monitoring tech in a simple, easy-to-use package. 

Our platform provides visibility into application performance and user engagement metrics in real-time, allowing teams to identify and address issues quickly before they become major problems. Plus, ScoutAPM integrates with your existing tools so you can get the most out of each one without any manual configuration.

To top it off? ScoutAPM is extremely affordable - often saving users as much as 30% as a drop-in replacement. Our fixed monthly fee pricing model is designed to scale with your team and provide you with the best APM solution at a fraction of the cost.

Ready to make the switch? Sign up for ScoutAPM today and see how your new dog can help you get ahead of application performance issues in minutes!