Anyone who has ever tried to run a website knows that success is often determined not by clever design, valuable content, or carefully calculated user experience, but by something as simple as being aware of all server and network issues the moment they arise. The more you’re aware of problems the better you’ll be able to solve them before they cause losses.
In order to do this, the right monitoring tools are indispensable. But how do you choose what is right for your particular case? Let’s talk about it.
1. Know the Possibilities
As you begin your research into finding the best server monitoring software tools for you, it’s important to keep in mind that they all come with various features and availability. While you perform your due diligence, some important factors to look at is how the software measures response times, CPU and memory usage, performance benchmarking, detailed reporting, and all the other functions to ensure your site and network are running efficiently. Once you have this information, the better you can compare the various monitoring tools and decide which one is the best fit for you and your needs.
2. Determine Your Budget
IT monitoring tools can range from high cost to free options. While determining which software is right for you, remember a more expensive program isn’t a surefire guarantee of top-notch quality. Before you decide on a monitoring tool for your business, look at how this will affect your company (pros and cons) and decide how much you can (or have) to invest in server monitoring. Take into account potential costs of any application downtimes caused by lack of efficient monitoring.
3. Select Deployment Variant
This comes down to the choice between SaaS (Software as a Service) and on-site installation. In the past, SaaS offered less functionality, but recent developments in technology have changed that so that it is no longer true in all cases. Today the choice is more or less an issue of preference, so decide what is more convenient to your business, sift out some variants, and make your choice.
4. Run a Test-Drive
Even if a tool seemingly incorporates all the necessary functionality and shows excellent results in demo situation, this doesn’t mean that the monitoring software is going to fare as well in a real operation environment. In order to make sure you don’t pay for a pig in a poke, always test what you buy. Select several monitoring tools that meet most of your requirements and test them. You may run into some difficulty installing these tools, so prepare a scaled-down version of your application and try the software out with every tool you’ve chosen—you won’t know how something works until you actually start using the program.
5. Make Sure You Understand What You Buy
Competition in server monitoring tools is enormous and providers tend to offer basic versions of their solutions at dumping prices. These basic versions usually contain a bare-bones functionality, with most crucial functions being reserved for full or premium versions or expensive add-ons. Always make sure you know what exactly is included in the suite you buy to avoid nasty surprises in the future.
Server monitoring is an important aspect of running a successful site. If your site is not running at its optimal speed and functionality, you’re missing out on connecting with customers, generating leads, and driving sales.
