Nowadays, almost half of traditional small businesses (and nearly 2/3rds of small tech companies in particular) employ cloud infrastructure or hosting services, and for good reasons.
Cloud computing can potentially save money, help with scalability and flexibility and make it easier to test new products and design fresh applications faster. That means, protecting your cloud-based architecture, services, and applications is important to ensure your business flourishes while benefiting from the cloud.
As a reliable uptime monitoring service, we at Hyperping fully understand the importance of monitoring your web-based assets to keep track of functionality and performance. In today’s guide, we’ll review the eight best cloud monitoring tools on the market. Let’s dive in!
What is cloud monitoring?
Cloud monitoring involves evaluating your cloud computing architecture, infrastructure, applications, and services to ultimately determine their performance.
Cloud monitoring tools can support your efforts in managing, monitoring, and evaluating your cloud-based assets. By utilizing the right tool to deal with these tasks, you can expect higher overall customer satisfaction and likely an improved conversion rate.
Why are these tools important?
Let’s now look at some of the key reasons you’ll want to consider a cloud monitoring tool.
Performance visibility
A cloud monitoring tool can give you the chance to perform a detailed analysis of performance metrics. Performance visibility will help you see clearly where your cloud-based applications/services are deficient and what problem areas to prioritize for improving your business’s overall performance.
Virtually disaster-proof
Since the monitoring resources used by a cloud monitoring tool are, of course, cloud-based, it isn’ susceptible to interruptions. So, if your local servers experience an issue, it won’t affect your cloud monitoring software.
Cloud-based solutions are cost-effective
A cloud monitoring tool is unlikely to cost you an arm and a leg. In most cases, cloud monitoring tools are available with subscription-based pricing, making the costs easy to manage. Plus, you won’t need any infrastructural changes since these solutions are cloud-based, which will help keep costs down.
Criteria to consider when choosing a cloud monitoring tool
When looking for the right cloud monitoring tool for you, you’ll want to consider several key points.
Ease of implementation & customization
If a cloud monitoring tool isn’t easy to implement or/and customize, it may prove more hassle than it's worth.
When it comes to ease of implementation, you’ll want to consider what the service requires, such as:
- Provisioning servers and storage
- Establishing databases
- Deploying agents
- Managing various components of the setup on a regular basis
Some tools will offer easier implementation and greater customization than others.
Scalability
You’ll also want to ensure that the tool you opt for can scale smoothly. It goes without saying that as your business grows, the scalability of your third-party tools will become increasingly important.
Security
Nowadays, protecting your data and services from cyber security threats is essential. The same applies to a cloud monitoring tool. You’ll want to ensure that the cloud monitoring tool you're considering has a clear strategy to protect your data from viruses and hackers.
Support
No cloud monitoring tool will be totally risk-free. And, since cloud servers going down can be very costly (according to GlobalDots, that cost is $5,600 per minute for the average business), good support can minimize any losses.
Ideally, the cloud monitoring tool you opt for will have 24/7 support, even during holidays. You don’t want to be left waiting hours or even days to talk with an agent should an issue arise.
Best Cloud Monitoring Tools
Key Takeaways:
- Hyperping - Best overall solution
- New Relic - Best for engineers monitoring/debugging/enhancing their whole stack
- AppDynamics - Well-suited if you want plenty of customization
- PagerDuty - Long list of features
- Solarwinds - Perpetual license for those keen on a long-term investment
- OpsGenie - Plenty of setup configurability
#1: Hyperping
With Hyperping, you can stay on top of downtime. You and your teammates can receive instant alerts through email, slack, SMS, or another platform. Our service can help you minimize downtime and monitor your websites and online services.
Features:
- Built-in monitoring - This feature can let you measure your website’s uptime and receive instant alerts. You can also update your status page in real time.
- Status Page - A status page is the perfect way to keep your users informed whenever an issue arises. Use a beautifully designed status page to provide updates on an incident or site maintenance.
- Real-Time Monitoring - Schedule website and API checked every thirty seconds. Hyperping supports protocols including HTTP, Port and ICMP.
Price:
Hyperping pricing starts from $14 per month, though if you want access to all features, you’ll have to opt for the business plan, which will set you back $199 per month. There’s also a free-forever plan, though features are limited.
Pros:
- Status page service with built-in monitoring (most tools offer just one or the other)
- Simple interface with the essential features
- You can avail of an elegant hosted status page
Cons:
- The free plan is limited, though starting plans are very affordable
Rating: 4.8/5
#2: New Relic
This cloud-based network monitoring and observability platform offers all-in-one observability. New Relic also provides dashboard data for engineers to monitor, debug and enhance their whole stack.
Features:
- Live and in-depth view
- Infrastructure Monitoringupdates on an incident or site maintenance.
- Error Tracking*
Pricing:
New Relic’s pricing isn’t very transparent, as you’ll have to request a demo, or contact their team to get your own custom price. They do have a decent free plan that should keep users satisfied, however.
Pros:
- Praised for its advanced dashboard
- Provides a good overall analysis of your application’s status
- Also offers audit management
Cons:
- UI and design can be clunky
- Not user-friendly for those without sufficient knowledge and experience
- Integration process can be challenging
Rating: 4.5/5
#3: AppDynamics
AppDynamics Application Analytics is a tool for IT operations analytics. AppDynamics, as with many of the top cloud monitoring tools in general, makes it straightforward to capture data from any app in real-time without needing to change any code.
Features:
- Activity Tracking
- Capacity Management
- Real-Time Notifications
- Real-Time Monitoring
- Data Import/Export
- Server Monitoring
Pricing:
Pricing starts from $6 per month for their cheapest plan, increasing to $167 per month for their most expensive, though you’ll still need to get a custom quote regardless. There is a decent free trial, which allows you to try their platform for a full 15-days.
Pros:
- Good level of customization
- Comprehensive tool
- Data import/export is useful if switching providers
Cons:
- Not very user-friendly
- Installation process could be made easier
- AppDynamics Real User Monitoring is arguably not as advanced as tools that specialize in this area
Rating: 4.4/5
#4: PagerDuty
This incident management tool can monitor systems and trigger alerts to help your business stay on top of cloud-based issues. With a range of advanced features, PagerDuty can enhance your digital operations and support you in managing urgent and unplanned work.
Features:
- API
- Alerts/Notifications
- Email Management
- Real-Time Reporting
- Reporting & Statistics
- Self-Service Portal
Pricing:
Pricing starts from $21 - $41, with the option to get a custom plan specifically for your business in their Digital Operations plan. They also have a free plan, which provides on-call and incident response options for smaller teams.
Pros:
- Extensive list of features
- Good value for money
- Free package available
Cons:
- Customer raised concerns that the reporting could be better
- May be more complex and comprehensive than necessary for some users
- Criticism that finding a historical alert can be tricky without knowing the specific alert ID
Rating: 4.5/5
#5: Solarwinds
SolarWinds Web Performance Monitor (WPM) serves the purpose of proactively monitoring and providing alerts for critical website and web-based applications. With this WPM, you can benefit from deep visibility into the performance and status of all your web-based assets.
Features:
- Alerts/Escalation
- Monitoring
- Compliance Management
- Data Visualization
- Version Control
Pricing:
Solarwinds is one of the more expensive platforms on this list. It uses a custom pricing approach (with the example below being one of our quotes), so you’ll need to check the website for a more concrete price for your business.
Pros:
- Praised for its high level of performance monitoring detail
- Network Administrator emphasized the strength of its alerting capabilities
- While very costly, the perpetual license may save you money in the long term if you intend to use a cloud monitoring tool for many years to come
Cons:
- Very expensive tool, whether opting for the subscriptionAbility to edit already created tests typically results in deleting steps and recreating or perpetual license options
- Its recorder can be clunky and only usable with local servers
Rating: 4.5/5
#6: OpsGenie
This cloud-based IT service management (ITSM) tool which also offers issue tracking can give you more control and confidence when things go awry. OpsGenie features native Android and iOS applications which make it possible for users to address issues fast through their mobile devices.
Features:
- Constant Monitoring
- Timely Alerts
- Custom Alert Actions
- On-Call Schedule Management
- Operational Efficiency Analytics
- Post-Incident Analysis
Pricing:
OpsGenie is one of the cheaper options, with prices starting from $9 for their cheapest plan, and $29 dollars for their most expensive. They also have a decent free plan, with basic alerting for up to 5 users.
Pros:
- High level of configurability makes it easy to set up
- Wide range of features available
- Free trial available
Cons:
- Reporting capabilities could be more advanced
- Scheduling UI isn’t very user-friendly
- No premium consulting/integration services (to clarify this is not the same as a lack of integrations - OpsGenie can integrate with 200+ apps and web services)
Rating: 4.7/5
Conclusion
Today we’ve looked at the best cloud monitoring tools on the market in 2023. We also explained what exactly a cloud monitoring tool is and the key criteria to take on board when choosing the right option for you.
If you’re ready to employ a cloud monitoring tool and take your business and brand authority to new levels, consider signing up for Hyperping today.
Our service provides monitoring for websites and APIs, and you and your team can receive instant alerts through emails, Slack, SMS, or elsewhere. Our all-in-one tool offers you reliable uptime monitoring, incident management, and your very own status page service with built-in monitoring.
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