IBM Application Performance Management vs WhatsUp Gold comparison

IBM and Progress Software are both solutions in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category. IBM is ranked #51 with an average rating of 7.0, while Progress Software is ranked #24 with an average rating of 9.5. IBM holds a 0.3% mindshare in APM, compared to Progress Software’s 0.5% mindshare. Additionally, 62% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of Progress Software users who would recommend it.

IBM Application Performance...

Read 7 IBM Application Performance Management reviews

852 Views
550 Comparison Views

62% willing to recommend

WhatsUp Gold

Read 24 WhatsUp Gold reviews

867 Views
700 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

IBM Application Performance...

WhatsUp Gold

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 24, 2024

WhatsUp Gold and IBM Application Performance Management offer network monitoring solutions. Users are happier with the pricing and support of WhatsUp Gold, though IBM Application Performance Management stands out due to its advanced features.

Features: WhatsUp Gold users value its easy configuration, real-time monitoring, and comprehensive alerts. IBM Application Performance Management is praised for its powerful analytic capabilities, integration with other IBM tools, and extensive reporting functions.

Room for Improvement: Users suggest that WhatsUp Gold could benefit from a more modern design and better scalability. IBM Application Performance Management users feel that the platform can be complex and suggest simplification for easier use.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: WhatsUp Gold is praised for its straightforward deployment process and responsive customer service. IBM Application Performance Management, noted for its robust deployment options, can be more challenging to set up but benefits from IBM’s comprehensive customer support.

Pricing and ROI: WhatsUp Gold is considered more cost-effective with quicker ROI, making it an attractive choice for budget-conscious users. IBM Application Performance Management has higher setup costs but is seen as a worthwhile investment due to its extensive capabilities and long-term benefits.

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

Buyer's Guide

IBM Application Performance Management vs. WhatsUp Gold

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

WhatsUp Gold

Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

24th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Monitoring Software (26th), Server Monitoring (14th), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (27th)

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 WhatsUp Gold is 0.5%, 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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Tom Condo

Supervisor Information Services Operations at Seminole County Public Schools

If CPU, memory, or disk space is over-utilized, it alerts us immediately via text or email if there is an issue

When it comes to the intuitiveness of the topology mapping feature, our network architect created a vision diagram of our entire network and then created the links tied into the WhatsUp active monitoring to different spots on our topology map. It's one of the more critical functions we do here. We have the map displayed in different places in our room and help desk. We get alerted via emails but we can also see it visually. It does what it says it's going to do. We find this feature very helpful. The interactive mapping interface for scrolling, zooming, and drilling down on an element to learn about a network issue is good. When we see a network there will sometimes be a spot that has one link. You can go into a particular part of the topology map, scroll in, and see exactly which module it is. All the information is provided. This feature really helps. You can see the correlation between that link and what failed. This feature is very helpful. The interface is fairly intuitive. Some of our users used SolarWinds and Nagios, and WhatsUp is easy in comparison. Once you get set up, the look, feel, and configuration are good. Our network architect had never used it before but he was able to create the Visio and map. It was very simple. He has no problems with it.

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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

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

"It's easy to use."

"The most valuable feature is the breakdown that it provides, such as a description of the fields for a particular transaction."

"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."

"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."

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

"The most important features of WhatsUp Gold are the server health and uptime it provides. Additionally, WhatsUp Gold is a Windows-based solution which is a benefit."

"The most valuable features are network bandwidth monitoring and monitoring device health."

"The user interface is good enough."

"We no longer have to manually search for problems because we are alerted when something in the network goes down."

"The most valuable feature is the auto-discovery function."

"The most valuable feature of WhatsUp Gold is NetFlow and the virtualized maps."

"The solution effectively monitors network devices and servers."

"The interface in the last few years it has been a lot greater, they are much more user-friendly. I like the interface."

More WhatsUp Gold pros

Cons

"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."

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

"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."

"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."

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

"The point system is not clear and clarity around this would improve our understanding of the system."

"Improvements are needed in integration, especially for WhatsApp call and messages. Our region heavily uses WhatsApp Messenger for communication, and integration with this platform would be beneficial."

"You have to invest a few days to become an expert in this solution."

"WhatsUp Gold should work on real-time monitoring and configuration management. If they succeed in doing this, the solution will cover all the network troubleshooting aspects and will be a benefit."

"The interface needs some work."

"The product is old and not updated."

"The pricing for this solution has gone up quite recently, which has led some of our customers to buy an alternative product."

"I would like to see them do an enhancement to the application monitoring. A lot of other products do better application monitoring so they should do some improvements to the application monitoring."

More WhatsUp Gold cons

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."

"As I previously indicated, I initiated the IBM and uncovered all its elements. Consequently, I'm not inclined towards a licensing approach."

"The licensing fees can be paid every six months or on a yearly basis."

"The tool's price is reasonable. WhatsUp Gold is cheaper than SolarWinds."

"The price of WhatsUp Gold is good."

"The most valuable feature is the cost compared to other solutions."

"This is a well priced solution."

"The pricing can be on the expensive side when considering competing products."

"The choice of version depends on the number of points, or devices, that you want to monitor, and this makes the product expensive."

"There are some subscription charges that are quite heavy. I need to pay for support every year and these charges can be quite expensive. Aside from the initial cost for the tool, you need to pay additionally for support."

"There is a license needed to use WhatsUp Gold."

More WhatsUp Gold pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

28%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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 WhatsUp Gold?

The interactive mapping interface for scrolling, zooming, and drilling down on an element to learn about a network issue is good. When we see a network there will sometimes be a spot that has one l...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for WhatsUp Gold?

Clients find the licensing calculator confusing, but we simplify this for them by collecting relevant information first. The licensing is based on devices, providing better cost-effectiveness than ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with WhatsUp Gold?

Improvements are needed in integration, especially for WhatsApp call and messages. Our region heavily uses WhatsApp Messenger for communication, and integration with this platform would be benefici...

See all answers

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Compared 8% of the time

Nagios XI vs WhatsUp Gold

Compared 6% of the time

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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

WhatsUp Gold

March 2025

Download WhatsUp Gold product report

Also Known As

IBM APM

No data available

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

Explore and manage your entire network infrastructure effortlessly with WhatsUp Gold's robust layer 2/3 discovery, creating a detailed interactive map from the edge to the cloud. Monitor devices, wireless controllers, servers, virtual machines, applications, and traffic flows across various environments. Real-time alerts ensure optimal performance, allowing you to meet or exceed SLAs. The platform offers customizable maps, dashboards, and alerts for easy network management. Quickly resolve issues with intuitive workflows, reducing Mean Time to Resolution (MTTR). WhatsUp Gold's integrated log management provides easy visibility and control of device log data, allowing monitoring, filtering, searching, and alerting on syslogs or Windows logs. Archive logs to comply with regulatory requirements and preserve historical data, all through a user-friendly interface. Streamline network monitoring and issue resolution with WhatsUp Gold, making network management efficient and hassle-free.

Progress Software

Sample Customers

Mibtree, EatDrinkDeals.com, IT Performance Advisor

Artoni Trasporti, Austin Independent School District, Banca Marche, Burke County North Carolina, Cambridge University School of Clinical Medicine, Clayco, Community Integrated Care, Desca, Deutsche Bergbau, Flexi-Van, Gropper, Hamleys, Hammonds Furniture, Knowledge IT, Idras S.P.A., Sibeg, Swann Engineering, Trivium Lindenhof

Buyer's Guide

IBM Application Performance Management vs. WhatsUp Gold

April 2025

Free Report: IBM Application Performance Management vs. WhatsUp Gold

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