IBM Application Performance Management vs ServiceNow Cloud Observability comparison

IBM and ServiceNow are both solutions in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category. IBM is ranked #51 with an average rating of 7.0, while ServiceNow is ranked #41 with an average rating of 7.5. IBM holds a 0.3% mindshare in APM, compared to ServiceNow’s 0.4% mindshare. Additionally, 62% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of ServiceNow users who would recommend it.

IBM Application Performance...

Read 7 IBM Application Performance Management reviews

852 Views
550 Comparison Views

62% willing to recommend

ServiceNow Cloud Observability

Read 4 ServiceNow Cloud Observability reviews

771 Views
593 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM Application Performance...

ServiceNow Cloud Observability

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 24, 2024

IBM Application Performance Management and ServiceNow Cloud Observability compete in the application performance monitoring and cloud orchestration categories. ServiceNow Cloud Observability has the upper hand due to its advanced features, despite higher costs.

Features: IBM Application Performance Management offers robust monitoring capabilities, user-friendly analytics, and versatility across different environments. ServiceNow Cloud Observability provides comprehensive cloud orchestration, advanced integration features, and high adaptability for cloud systems.

Room for Improvement: IBM Application Performance Management could enhance scalability, real-time data processing, and advanced reporting. ServiceNow Cloud Observability needs better integration, customization options, and simplified initial setup processes.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM Application Performance Management is known for straightforward deployment and responsive customer support. ServiceNow Cloud Observability offers excellent cloud-focused deployment but can struggle with initial setup intricacies. Both provide strong customer service.

Pricing and ROI: IBM Application Performance Management has competitive pricing with substantial ROI due to its efficient monitoring capabilities. ServiceNow Cloud Observability, while more expensive, delivers high ROI through advanced features and integration capabilities.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Application Performance Management vs. ServiceNow Cloud Observability Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Application Performance Management vs. ServiceNow Cloud Observability

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

IBM Application Performance...

Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

51st

Average Rating

6.4

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

ServiceNow Cloud Observability

Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

41st

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

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 IBM Application Performance Management is 0.3%, down from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow Cloud Observability is 0.4%, up 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

Daniel Tamiru

Manager, Database & System Administration at Awash International Bank

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…

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VinayKumar16

Senior DeliveryManager at ITC Infotech

Provides ease of use in areas like analytics and reporting

The feature of the tool that is more impactful for cloud performance stems from the area revolving around analytics and reporting. It is an easy-to-use tool. There is something known as performance analytics within ServiceNow that offers complete analytics, which offers end-to-end analytics along with the KPI metrics with what we have in place and so on. With the aforementioned aspects of the tool, I think we should be able to create a dashboard according to the operations view called the operation dashboard view, specifically for C-level executives.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The initial setup was straightforward and took minimal effort."

"IBM Application Performance Management helped us increased our response time by 80% and cost 60% less."

"It's easy to use."

"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 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."

"The solution Lightstep/ServiceNow has a couple of pretty advanced functionalities to help us investigate a deviation and help the development teams have better observability in the environment using distributed and complex services."

"To a certain extent, it is possible to save on the costs of the product."

"The ability to create a stream based on different parameters, operation name, service name, URL, tags, and URI part, is one valuable feature."

"The UI is very intuitive."

Cons

"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."

"It's still missing some platforms. For example, if you look to applications itself, it is missing the interface."

"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."

"The stability is not great and should be better."

"The demo that was provided to us is not working very well. At times, there are errors."

"Technical support can be slow and needs improvement."

"The support team could be better. Because of the different versions of different tactics of integrating reactive code base, the documentation is not very clear if someone has to be onboard. I would rate the documentation of Lightstep a five out of ten. It could need improvement."

"In terms of licensing, users would want the product to offer them the ability to tailor the tasks offered in the solution to suit their needs."

"The design of this solution is not very intuitive and probably could come with more friendly tips for beginners."

"The dashboard and graphics must be improved."

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."

"The product is expensive. I rate the tool's pricing model an eight out of ten."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

24%

Computer Software Company

13%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

19%

Computer Software Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Retailer

11%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

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

What do you like most about LightStep?

The UI is very intuitive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with LightStep?

There are a lot of workflows and connectors. In terms of licensing, users would want the product to offer them the ability to tailor the tasks offered in the solution to suit their needs.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for LightStep?

I use the solution in my company since it has multiple tenants available. Basically, what happens in business is that you have a hybrid setup model, and for that, you extensively use a cloud platfo...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Datadog vs IBM Application Performance Management

Compared 13% of the time

IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager vs IBM Application Performance Management

Compared 9% of the time

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Grafana vs ServiceNow Cloud Observability

Compared 34% of the time

Datadog vs ServiceNow Cloud Observability

Compared 19% of the time

Helios vs ServiceNow Cloud Observability

Compared 19% of the time

Dynatrace vs ServiceNow Cloud Observability

Compared 17% of the time

New Relic vs ServiceNow Cloud Observability

Compared 10% of the time

More ServiceNow Cloud Observability Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

April 2025

IBM Application Performance Management report

Download IBM Application Performance Management product report

Buyer's Guide

ServiceNow Cloud Observability

March 2025

Download ServiceNow Cloud Observability product report

Also Known As

IBM APM

LightStep

Overview

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

ServiceNow Cloud Observability is a comprehensive platform designed to enhance visibility, control, and performance monitoring of your IT infrastructure and applications. It seamlessly integrates log management, trace management, metrics monitoring, and infrastructure monitoring in real-time, leveraging AI and machine learning for automated tasks and actionable insights. With benefits including improved visibility, faster incident resolution, enhanced application performance, simplified IT operations, and reduced costs, this cloud-native solution is ideal for businesses of all sizes with complex IT infrastructures. It integrates seamlessly with ServiceNow IT Operations Management (ITOM), supports OpenTelemetry standards, and provides AI-powered insights along with pre-built dashboards and reports.

ServiceNow

Sample Customers

Mibtree, EatDrinkDeals.com, IT Performance Advisor

InVision, Twilio, Lyft, Yext, DigitalOcean,

Buyer's Guide

IBM Application Performance Management vs. ServiceNow Cloud Observability

April 2025

Free Report: IBM Application Performance Management vs. ServiceNow Cloud Observability

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