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Azure Monitor vs IBM Application Performance Management comparison

Microsoft and IBM are both solutions in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category. Microsoft is ranked #4 with an average rating of 7.8, while IBM is ranked #51 with an average rating of 7.0. Microsoft holds a 7.5% mindshare in APM, compared to IBM’s 0.3% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 62% of IBM users who would recommend it.
Azure Monitor
Read 54 Azure Monitor reviews
  • 14,357 Views
  • 12,756 Comparison Views
90% willing to recommend
IBM Application Performance...
Read 7 IBM Application Performance Management reviews
  • 852 Views
  • 550 Comparison Views
62% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 24, 2024

IBM Application Performance Management and Azure Monitor are both prominent tools for tracking the performance of applications. While IBM Application Performance Management excels in deployment ease and customer service, Azure Monitor provides superior features that users find valuable. Despite higher pricing, Azure Monitor's worth is justified by its robust feature set.

Features: IBM Application Performance Management stands out for its real-time analytics, predictive insights, and effective alerting system. Azure Monitor's strengths lie in its extensive integrations with other Azure services, providing a comprehensive monitoring ecosystem and automated diagnostic tools.

Room for Improvement: IBM Application Performance Management needs enhancements in dashboard customization, third-party integrations, and integration flexibility. Azure Monitor could improve its learning curve, simplify complex configurations, and offer a more user-friendly setup.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM Application Performance Management is praised for its straightforward deployment process and effective customer service. Azure Monitor's deployment process can be complex, but it benefits from detailed documentation and community support.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Application Performance Management users find the setup cost reasonable and ROI satisfactory, but Azure Monitor users report a higher setup cost with a compelling ROI due to extensive features.

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Buyer's Guide
Azure Monitor vs. IBM Application Performance Management
April 2025
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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Azure Monitor
Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
4th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
54
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Monitoring Software (5th)
IBM Application Performance...
Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
51st
Average Rating
6.4
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category, the mindshare of Azure Monitor is 7.5%, down from 8.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Application Performance Management is 0.3%, down from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
 

Featured Reviews

Syed Abid - PeerSpot reviewer
Monthly and weekly resource monitoring has improved efficiency
Azure Monitor can improve by adding some kind of storage for logs. I can get the runtime logs alone, yet if Azure Monitor can independently add one gigabyte, two gigabytes, or five gigabytes at least to log storage, I can fix the logs without syncing with Log Analytics Workspace and Sentinel. If they do that, and if they can integrate a little pricing adjustment, it will be profitable for the Microsoft tool.
Read full review
Daniel Tamiru - PeerSpot reviewer
A multi-functional solution but has poor stability and performance-related issues
We are using version 4 of IBM Application Performance Management, and it is deployed on-premises. We use it for internet banking and mainly for application performance on-site. For example, if we face performance-related issues in one of our software or managed services, we use this solution to…
Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The features that are most valuable are the alerting function and also the logging functionality to analyze certain issues using log analytics"
"The most valuable feature is that it's stable. It hasn't crossed any thresholds."
"The tool's most valuable feature is the alert system, which can be set according to our metrics. The integration is smooth."
"I use the solution to monitor the infrastructure and applications."
"The most valuable feature is the universality of their functionalities in all Azure services, including, software solutions."
"The solution works well overall. It's easy to implement and simple to use."
"The solution has tons of valuable features."
"It's a service from Microsoft, so it will scale."
More Azure Monitor pros
"The transaction tracking feature from IBM is the most important feature for us. It is something that provides a terrific value for us and our clients. It has a lot of data sources and agents that are collectors. It is also stable."
"The most valuable feature is the breakdown that it provides, such as a description of the fields for a particular transaction."
"Because we have partnerships with other partners, I can share a bit about what I've noticed with IBM APM compared to other vendor solutions. Specifically, with IBM, the visibility into detailed process information is more tangible. On the OS level, APM displays all processes (or the top 10 processes) that are consuming CPU or resident memory. This is the most important thing that is not always available with other vendors."
"I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten."
"The initial setup was straightforward and took minimal effort."
"It's easy to use."
"IBM Application Performance Management helped us increased our response time by 80% and cost 60% less."
 

Cons

"This solution could be improved with more out-of-the-box functionalities and artificial intelligence to complete event correlation."
"The query builder could be better. In comparison to other monitoring tools, in order to use Azure Monitor, your engineers need to have KQL experience. If they don't, it's not intuitive as a system."
"We cannot use AI services with the solution."
"I'd like the solution to do more around vulnerability assessment. It's lacking in the product right now."
"The solution needs better monitoring. It requires better log controls."
"It's really complex to retrieve or query the logs in Azure Monitor."
"What I feel is when I open a screen of Azure, some places are very complex to navigate to. It is not very user-friendly when it comes to accessing certain sections."
"The price could be lower but it is not a must."
More Azure Monitor cons
"Technical support can be slow and needs improvement."
"The demo that was provided to us is not working very well. At times, there are errors."
"It's still missing some platforms. For example, if you look to applications itself, it is missing the interface."
"The stability is not great and should be better."
"With APM, we noticed that the agent can cause a lot of issues for the application, making the agent very unreliable. Many issues are happening, and we've had to discuss it with support to try and get a fix. It affects application availability, and sometimes actions fail because of the agent, degrading the performance of the application."
"They should focus on potentially enhancing the dashboard to make it more contemporary and adding some customization options. Furthermore, there might be room for improvement in the pricing policy."
"Its web user interface is a little bit old in comparison to other solutions, such as New Relic, and it should be improved. Its scalability and technical support should also be improved. Currently, it is scalable, but only in a vertical way. They provide good technical support, but the initial steps for a new case can be improved to fasten the resolution process."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Azure Monitor is cheaper compared to other third-party monitoring tools."
"Regarding pricing, Azure Monitor is free with Azure license, so there are no additional costs for using it."
"Customers of Azure Monitor must pay an amount that depends largely on how many services they need to integrate and the storage space required in terms of logs, etc. If they only have a few small services to monitor, the price won't be too high, but on the opposite side of the spectrum, it can certainly get pricey."
"The price of the solution is reasonable."
"The licensing is a monthly fee."
"There is a monthly fee for the alerts triggered and the data stored."
"The Azure Insight is a little bit expensive."
"The tool is expensive."
More Azure Monitor pricing and cost advice
"IBM APM is one of the cheaper products on the market, while everything necessary to get started is included in the license."
"The licensing fees can be paid every six months or on a yearly basis."
"As I previously indicated, I initiated the IBM and uncovered all its elements. Consequently, I'm not inclined towards a licensing approach."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
28%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

How does Splunk compare with Azure Monitor?
Splunk handles a high amount of data very well. We use Splunk to capture information and as an aggregator for monitoring information from different sources. Splunk is very good at alerting us if we...
See all answers
What do you like most about Azure Monitor?
Azure Monitor is a very easy-to-use product in the cloud environment.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Azure Monitor?
Azure Monitor can improve by adding some kind of storage for logs. I can get the runtime logs alone, yet if Azure Monitor can independently add one gigabyte, two gigabytes, or five gigabytes at lea...
See all answers
What do you like most about IBM Application Performance Management?
I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten.
See all answers
What needs improvement with IBM Application Performance Management?
They should focus on potentially enhancing the dashboard to make it more contemporary and adding some customization options. Furthermore, there might be room for improvement in the pricing policy. ...
See all answers
What is your primary use case for IBM Application Performance Management?
I monitor business applications for more than four end users.
See all answers
 

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Compared 10% of the time
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New Relic vs Azure Monitor
Compared 5% of the time
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Compared 35% of the time
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Compared 21% of the time
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Compared 13% of the time
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Compared 13% of the time
IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager vs IBM Application Performance Management Logo
IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager vs IBM Application Performance Management
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More IBM Application Performance Management Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Azure Monitor
April 2025
Azure Monitor reportDownload Azure Monitor product report
Buyer's Guide
Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
April 2025
IBM Application Performance Management reportDownload IBM Application Performance Management product report
 

Also Known As

No data available
IBM APM
 

Overview

Azure Monitor is a comprehensive monitoring solution offered by Microsoft Azure. It provides a centralized platform for monitoring the performance and health of various Azure resources, applications, and infrastructure. 

With Azure Monitor, users can gain insights into the availability, performance, and usage of their applications and infrastructure. The key features of Azure Monitor include metrics, logs, alerts, and dashboards. Metrics allow users to collect and analyze performance data from various Azure resources, such as virtual machines, databases, and storage accounts. 

Logs enable users to collect and analyze log data from different sources, including Azure resources, applications, and operating systems. Azure Monitor also provides a robust alerting mechanism that allows users to set up alerts based on specific conditions or thresholds. These alerts can be configured to notify users via email, SMS, or other notification channels. Additionally, Azure Monitor offers customizable dashboards that allow users to visualize and analyze their monitoring data in a personalized and intuitive manner.  

Azure Monitor integrates seamlessly with other Azure services, such as Azure Automation and Azure Logic Apps, enabling users to automate actions based on monitoring data. It also supports integration with third-party monitoring tools and services, providing flexibility and extensibility. 

Overall, Azure Monitor is a powerful and versatile monitoring solution that helps users gain deep insights into the performance and health of their Azure resources and applications. It offers a wide range of features and integrations, making it a comprehensive solution for monitoring and managing Azure environments.

Microsoft
The IBM Application Performance Management portfolio provides visibility, control and automation of your mission-critical applications. It helps pinpoint the root cause of application's issue more quickly and resolve the problem. The integrated capabilities cover the five key areas: discovery, end-use experience, transaction tracking, enterprise diagnostics and analytics. It also easily monitors applications to ensure optimal performance to extend your hybrid management environment capabilities, to measure the customer experience from multiple locations and to further eliminate blind spots in your application environment.
IBM
 

Sample Customers

Rackspace, First Gas, Allscripts, ABB Group
Mibtree, EatDrinkDeals.com, IT Performance Advisor
Buyer's Guide
Azure Monitor vs. IBM Application Performance Management
April 2025
Free Report: Azure Monitor vs. IBM Application Performance Management
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We monitor all Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.