Instana Dynamic APM vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor comparison

Instana Dynamic APM
Read 13 Instana Dynamic APM reviews
  • 3,838 Views
  • 3,079 Comparison Views
83% willing to recommend
SolarWinds Server and Appli...
Read 38 SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor reviews
  • 5,067 Views
  • 3,318 Comparison Views
87% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 29, 2023

We performed a comparison between SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor and Instana Dynamic APM based on real PeerSpot user reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

  • Ease of Deployment: SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor takes a long time to set up and opinions on its ease of setup are mixed. Instana Dynamic APM, on the other hand, has a quick and easy setup process that requires minimal maintenance.
  • Features: SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor excels in monitoring processes and services, infrastructure dependency mapping, and network devices' performance monitoring. Meanwhile, Instana Dynamic APM offers real-time data generation, detailed insights into application behavior and user experience, an intuitive interface, and impressive dashboards.
  • Pricing: SolarWinds charges based on device and module count, while Instana's pricing is fair. Some think SolarWinds is costly, particularly for application management, but opinions vary. Instana has extra expenses for data transfer.
  • Service and Support: Some customers find SolarWinds' support to be helpful and quick to respond, while others have encountered issues with long wait times and inadequate knowledge from the support team. Additionally, there have been reports of slow and unreliable IBM support with Instana Dynamic APM, and a longer resolution time with their technical support team.
  • ROI: SolarWinds improves server and application performance, while Instana is a profitable investment.

Comparison Results: Instana Dynamic APM provides real-time data with one-second granularity, has a user-friendly GUI, and offers valuable App Connect middleware for visualizing the main flow and integration node, making it the preferred solution. Instana Dynamic APM also has a fast and easy initial setup process, and reasonable pricing, and has been reported to provide a positive ROI for businesses.

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To learn more, read our detailed Instana Dynamic APM vs. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor Report (Updated: May 2024).
Buyer's Guide
Instana Dynamic APM vs. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor
May 2024
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Categories and Ranking

Instana Dynamic APM
Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
21st
Average Rating
7.4
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SolarWinds Server and Appli...
Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
17th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
Server Monitoring (11th), Active Directory Management (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2024, in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category, the mindshare of Instana Dynamic APM is 1.0%, down from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is 2.2%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
Unique Categories:
No other categories found
Server Monitoring
3.6%
Active Directory Management
0.8%
 

Featured Reviews

Muhammad Jawwad Hassan - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 25, 2023
A really good GUI that is easy for non-technical users to understand
Our company uses the solution for one of our bank clients. We use App Connect middleware to monitor services and applications such as Docker, Kubernetes, MongoDB, and MS SQL Server. We also monitor the bottleneck for all servers.  We currently have 20 users at one of our branches. We plan to expand…
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it_user631218 - PeerSpot reviewer
Apr 27, 2017
We use this product for base and application monitoring.
I always thought we should be able to perform all admin activities using the web portal. Over a period of time, SolarWinds has achieved this. Most of the admin activities can be performed using SolarWinds web portal (such as advanced alerting, web reports, custom attribute editor, report schedulers, etc., which in the past were hosted on the SolarWinds server). I also thought SolarWinds doesn't provide a service navigator map that would drill down from application layer to node level, with PerfStack in place. Most of these things have been addressed. PerfStack can be made more effective. I am sure SolarWinds already has a plan for the same in coming versions.
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

"It's great for monitoring services and applications."
"The detailing of our application behavior and user experience is most valuable. In case there is an issue, we typically use Instana to figure it out. We can drill down to the application and figure out what's going on and where the issue is."
"If a key monitored value has crossed a threshold, it sends out an alert. And the solution is able to intelligently find out if something is beyond the range that it normally resides in."
"It is a stable solution."
"Visually, it's very good. It provides everything needed for dynamic detection, which is very useful."
"We can easily perform root cause analysis using the tool."
"The platform’s most valuable feature is the ability to monitor the performance of containers for request and response analysis."
"Sometimes it's able to provide a proper RCA on its own. It's able to correlate different events that occurred and that becomes like an RCA in itself."
More Instana Dynamic APM pros
"Identifying the problem statement is easy."
"The more valuable feature of this solution is the Exchange feature."
"SSL Certificate Monitoring and Expiry Alerting"
"It's good at monitoring system-specific things like ports, services."
"I adore the NTA module that provides deep details on ingress/egress traffic for any interface. With a few clicks, you can correlate who is accessing what and when, beside the bandwidth consuming applications/users."
"The solution is end-to-end from the network and the application to the processes. Everything about the enterprise infrastructure is being covered by the solution. It's easy to use and easy to navigate and one of the leaders among monitoring solutions."
"The features like trends, capacity planning, recommendations, and diagnostics are the main items I focus on for added value."
"Monitoring the components on your devices with out of the box monitors or the ability to create new ones (SAM)"
More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor pros
 

Cons

"New Relic has a better UI in terms of how it presents the data."
"Many managers, as well as our customers, used to ask for reports, such as "top X number of queries that are slow," or "top pages that have the highest number of issues." This is something that can be improved by Instana. Currently, they don't have that kind of reporting available out-of-the-box."
"We'd always like to see additional functionalities."
"Its SLI and SLA features need improvement in setting up alerts."
"Maybe log monitoring could be better."
"The integration could be improved with more plugins or open API."
"They could improve the product’s dashboards and provide more dashboard options."
"I think that Instana should improve the university and the certification process, so the users can find experts in Instana with their certification module process."
More Instana Dynamic APM cons
"It should also be easier to upgrade SolarWinds. AppDynamics is harder to deploy but easier to upgrade. So AppDynamics takes a lot of time and effort to install, but you can upgrade it in minutes. SolarWinds is the opposite. It's easy to deploy, but upgrades take forever. To date, nobody can complete it on time, so the production environment is sitting idle."
"PerfStack can be made more effective. I am sure SolarWinds already has a plan for the same in coming versions."
"The stability, flexibility, and ease of use could be improved."
"They should incorporate more artificial intelligence. There should also be more predictive features."
"An additional feature that would improve this solution is the ability to complete root cause analysis."
"The product does not explain why a problem occurred."
"It lacks a user experience for measuring things like the end-to-end time for which a user waits for a specific response in the system. In the application layer, it has some very basic stuff. You have to build your own with manuscripts and things like that."
"The tool’s report feature created issues for us. We needed to gain skills to use that feature. The tool’s customization is not easy since you have to reconfigure the whole system."
More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is $1,200 per year which is a bit high compared to other vendors."
"Instana Dynamic APM is more affordable for small and medium-sized companies compared to other vendors."
"Its pricing isn't a big pain point. Its pricing seems to be better than some of the other competing products in the market, but they also have some of the features and functionalities that are better than Instana."
"The solution is less expensive than one of its competitors."
"Pricing is quite competitive. Dynatrace, AppDynamics, and New Relic were all several times more expensive than Instana, both the on-prem and the SaaS versions. Price-wise they are a lot more competitive than anyone else out there."
"The solution's pricing is comparable to other products."
"It's reasonably priced and manageable, especially for individuals who grasp the significance of application monitoring."
"Its licensing is on a yearly basis. It is just the standard price, but it can vary depending on the current rate of the dollar."
"I like the pricing for this SolarWinds product."
"I have always said SolarWinds is very “proud” of their products, meaning they are expensive. I cannot afford to purchase all the licenses I need for all the SolarWinds products."
"Understanding the counts of objects to monitor will determine the licensing need. In terms of pricing, it’s not cheap but it’s not expensive as larger vendors whose products don’t have all the features or integrations."
"The solution is overpriced in terms of application management."
"I think SolarWinds' pricing is very decent compared to other competitors in the market."
"SAM is not per server so the pricing model can be deceiving. If you have an enterprise environment, you will quickly exceed your licensing quickly. You should know this before going in."
"Pricing and licensing is fair for what you get. It does have a great bang-for-the-buck appeal."
More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
26%
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Educational Organization
41%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Instana Dynamic APM?
The platform’s most valuable feature is the ability to monitor the performance of containers for request and response analysis.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Instana Dynamic APM?
Instana Dynamic APM is more affordable for small and medium-sized companies compared to AppDynamics and Dynatrace.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Instana Dynamic APM?
They could improve the product’s dashboards and provide more dashboard options. Additionally, the server and database monitoring needs enhancement compared to other vendors.
See all answers
What do you like most about SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?
Identifying the problem statement is easy.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?
The price is too high. The tool is overpriced. We don't need all the features. The product must minimize the features and reduce the price. It all comes down to pricing. The customers find it prett...
See all answers
What needs improvement with SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?
The biggest pain point is root cause analysis. It is difficult to analyze, assess, and warn my IT department about what will happen in the next five hours. It is also difficult to use AIOps to redu...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

Dynatrace vs Instana Dynamic APM Logo
Dynatrace vs Instana Dynamic APM
Compared 36% of the time
AppDynamics vs Instana Dynamic APM Logo
AppDynamics vs Instana Dynamic APM
Compared 20% of the time
New Relic vs Instana Dynamic APM Logo
New Relic vs Instana Dynamic APM
Compared 8% of the time
Elastic Observability vs Instana Dynamic APM Logo
Elastic Observability vs Instana Dynamic APM
Compared 8% of the time
IBM Application Performance Management vs Instana Dynamic APM Logo
IBM Application Performance Management vs Instana Dynamic APM
Compared 8% of the time
More Instana Dynamic APM Competitors
Azure Monitor vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor Logo
Azure Monitor vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor
Compared 18% of the time
Dynatrace vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor Logo
Dynatrace vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor
Compared 17% of the time
AppDynamics vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor Logo
AppDynamics vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor
Compared 14% of the time
Prometheus vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor Logo
Prometheus vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor
Compared 6% of the time
Nagios XI vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor Logo
Nagios XI vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor
Compared 4% of the time
More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Instana Dynamic APM
June 2024
Instana Dynamic APM reportDownload Instana Dynamic APM product report
Buyer's Guide
SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor
May 2024
SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor reportDownload SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor product report
 

Also Known As

No data available
SolarWinds SAM
 

Learn More

Instana
SolarWinds
 

Overview

Instana’s Enterprise Observability Platform, powered by automated Application Performance Monitoring, discovers and maps all services, infrastructure, and their inter-dependencies automatically. Instana ingests all observability metrics, traces each request, profiles every process, and updates application dependency maps in real-time to deliver the context and actionable feedback needed by Dev+Ops to optimize application performance, enable innovation, and mitigate risk to help them add value and efficiency to the pipeline. Learn more at https://instana.com.

SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor (SAM) delivers powerful application and server monitoring capabilities for IT pros, enabling them to diagnose and troubleshoot performance issues faster. Do not let slow applications and downtime impact your end-users and business services. Pinpoint the root cause of application issues across various layers of the IT stack. SolarWinds SAM is affordable and easy to deploy, use, and customize. You can automatically discover your system's environment and start monitoring in about an hour. No professional services or consultation needed.

 

Sample Customers

Daxko Lifts Fitness Studios Through COVID Regulations with Quick Engineering PivotsAltissia Meets SLAs to Support Student DeadlinesImmocloud Unlocks Observability to Modernize Real EstateEnento Group Boosts Service Reliability with Real-Time Visibility into Application Performance Instana’s Observability for Amazon EKS Helps Yara Deliver Digital Farming Solutions
Andr. L. Riis AS, NetSuite
Buyer's Guide
Instana Dynamic APM vs. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor
May 2024
Free Report: Instana Dynamic APM vs. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor
Find out what your peers are saying about Instana Dynamic APM vs. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor and other solutions. Updated: May 2024.
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