AlertSite Reviews

My team uses AlertSite for multiple types of monitoring requirements. The main purpose of the tool is synthetic monitoring where you navigate to the website login, find some patterns, then save the searches.

AlertSite also has a feature called Deja-Click where you can create a recording and configure it to the website, and based on the timeframe, it executes each recording every time, so in case there are some changes in the UI, it gets stuck and it will notify you.

AlertSite is also being used for URL checks, TCP connections, API monitoring, HTTP monitoring, etc., depending on internal applications.

AlertSite benefits our company because we have configured or integrated it with PagerDuty for the alerts, especially because there are specific critical applications we need to check every minute or two, based on our requirements. These critical alerts are configured on AlertSite via PagerDuty, then connected to ServiceNow, so whenever there are issues, alerts are triggered very quickly. Everyone in our team uses AlertSite, and anyone on call finds the tool very useful.

I found multiple features in AlertSite that I like. One is data monitoring history, for example, a history of the blackouts and the data. Sometimes, there's a glitch in the application that AlertSite can capture, and the tool notifies you about that glitch. It also identifies issues that could happen in the future.

AlertSite is also a fast tool that you can use to monitor on-premise servers, internal applications, and even global applications.

The data is available on a single UI in AlertSite, so there's no need to monitor and click on different applications or URLs.

I also love that the tool is quite user-friendly, apart from being fast.

One area that needs improvement in AlertSite is the slow UI. I'm using the classic UI because it's quite user-friendly, or in human-readable format, but it's a little slow. It takes time to load all the monitors, so if that could be sped up, that would be helpful.

The AlertSite support team also needs improvement in terms of availability. Most of the agents in the team aren't available 24 x 7, so if there's something you need to discuss, you need to tell the support team ahead of time to schedule it. Multiple times, when a case comes up during weekends or whenever my team is doing an update, support needs improvement, availability-wise.

I use AlertSite for synthetic monitoring, so whatever is available right now is okay, but if I want to request a new feature on a website, currently, the UI refreshes automatically. I would like to have the option on AlertSite to configure that manually. The UI auto-updates every few minutes, so if I can control that manually, that would be helpful.

I've been using AlertSite for more than five years.

AlertSite is a stable and reliable tool, though there might have been a few times it wasn't, most of the time, it's reliable, and it works.

AlertSite is quite good in terms of scalability. It's already been scaled in my company, and I found it very easy to scale. Every hardware has a licensed capacity, and my team can increase the number of hardware based on the requirements, and at this level, the tool is quite easy to scale.

In terms of support, AlertSite has documentation, though it's not completely updated, I find most of the details to be available, and people can try and sort things out themselves, particularly for basic issues.

The issue is the response time of AlertSite technical support during weekends. On weekdays, the response time is quick, and there's an on-call number you can contact, but normally, my team does updates during weekends and at midnight because during midnight, people are in bed and sleeping, so you need to make the AlertSite support team aware that you'll be doing an update and that you need support, so you'll have to schedule with the team and that takes time.

In terms of setting up AlertSite, for the first version, my team didn't have to do anything because that was handled by the support team. It was just handed over to us after it was set up.

As for the on-premise servers, there was a private node that required my team to work with the AlertSite support team to receive the hardware in the data center. After the hardware was received, my team had to work with the network security team to open the firewall for the URL sensor because the server appliance was in the data center, so the firewall needs to be opened, and after that, it was pretty straightforward.

The AlertSite team had the document, so whatever was required such as codes, was given, then my team worked with the networking team to get it open, then we could connect and use the tool.

I was the only one on my team who did most of the updates, installation, and private nodes. AlertSite deployment only requires one person for an hour or two of work.

How long the initial setup for the tool would take depends on the availability of the internal team, for example, there's a required SLA for the firewall, so this depends on the internal team. It would take two to three days to receive the hardware, and once you receive the hardware, it would be taken to the data center and configured there, etc.

The management team handles the licensing policy for AlertSite. I have some billing details, but I'm unable to share them.

I've focused on enterprise monitoring for the last nine years, so I've worked on multiple monitoring tools such as AppDynamics and Splunk apart from AlertSite, and currently, my team is checking on Elasticsearch as well.

AppDynamics, NudgeAPM, and AlertSite are used for different types of monitoring, so when you're using AppDynamics, the things you can do with it can't be done on AlertSite because AlertSite is used for synthetic monitoring, and you can't do that on AppDynamics as well. All of the tools have different functionalities.

For synthetic monitoring, for example, for your connections and checks, you can configure AlertSite, and the tool is more comfortable to use. My team just needs to configure AlertSite and hand it over to the application team, then it's easier for the team to monitor.

I have experience with two versions of AlertSite. One is SaaS, with UXM, the older version in February. The other version is the private node, where you install private node servers in the data center, then my team connects to the UI to get all the monitoring data.

In terms of AlertSite maintenance, the support team releases updates for the private node servers, so you have to keep that updated for vulnerability. Whenever a new update is released, you have to work on the software internally, and that's it. Sometimes, it's just a quick update that the AlertSite team does without requiring my team to do anything. My team just receives a notification from AlertSite.

The enterprise monitoring team which I'm part of has eight members. Three of the members look into AlertSite issues, so when an application has an issue, the application team would contact my team to identify the error, so my team navigates the AlertSite monitor to get the root cause of the error.

My team uses AlertSite daily, but the upgrades happen rarely, for example, just once every quarter depending on the release.

My advice to anyone planning to implement AlertSite, especially if you want to install private nodes, is to get guidance from the support team and work with the ops team as well to get the implementation done without wasting time configuring it by yourself.

I'm rating AlertSite eight out of ten because it needs improvement in UI performance and support.

My company doesn't have a partnership with AlertSite.

I'm using AlertSite to monitor my portal, particularly whether it's down or it's up. If my portal is down for thirty or sixty minutes, I'll find out the number of failure recurrences, then I'll send a first-layer notification to level one support. If the failure happens more than ten times, then that information will also be sent to support to get the site fixed to avoid any downtime, so this is what I'm using AlertSite for. I'm also using the tool to monitor the company intranet, for example, whether it's down or up. I'm using it on the website called usn.alertsite.com. I didn't install any software on my PC. I just needed to do the configuration on alertsite.com. I'll then download the monitor and I'll record the information and process, and there's a username and password that needs to be inputted to record everything, then I'll upload that to the portal, then AlertSite will show me the availability, the charts, and the statistics to let me know when the site is up, or when it is down.

The best feature of AlertSite is that it shows you a visual graph and also sends you notifications about errors, so you get immediate notifications about errors which means that your support team can start taking steps and more quickly make sure the site is up and that customer experience isn't interrupted in terms of using your system and your products.

AlertSite is a very good tool. It's user-friendly, and you can see everything on the dashboard. Configuring it is also easy.

What needs improvement in AlertSite is the documentation, particularly the lack of documentation. If there's a specific activity you want to do, you can't even find information on how to do it, so you have to contact the AlertSite support team to assist you, and only then would the issue be resolved. At the moment, it's not easy to find or get full documentation on how to deal with different issues. You always have to go back to AlertSite support and get help. The documentation for AlertSite could be improved and it's what I'd like to see in the next release of the tool because at the moment, the documentation isn't complete, so you'll have to contact support, but contacting support isn't an issue because the team responds to you quickly.

I've been using AlertSite for three years now.

AlertSite is a stable tool.

In terms of scalability, AlertSite has no problems. You can add users easily to it.

I'd rate the support for AlertSite five out of five. It's very good.

The initial setup for AlertSite is easy. As for how long the deployment of the tool takes, it depends, for example, for just one monitor, deployment takes a few minutes. I have several monitors, and there's the intranet as well which I need to trace, so for the intranet, I need to wait for my technical team to do the installation. On the server, the team also needs to do some configurations, and only then could I set up each monitor. There was a delay from my technical team during the setup of more than one monitor for AlertSite, so the setup took a few days. In terms of me setting up one AlertSite monitor, the process is pretty fast and only takes me three minutes to five minutes to complete.

As we've been using AlertSite for three years, it's worth the money.

My company pays to use AlertSite, but I'm unsure of the exact costs because it depends on how many monitors you have. I'm only in charge of configuring the tool and I'm more on the technical side, so the decision on licensing and costs is taken care of by the vice president who is responsible for the business side.

I'm not sure about the version of AlertSite I'm using, but I'm using the online AlertSite monitor, the version that's online that you just need to set up. I just log into accounts.smartbear.com and set it up from there.

I'm the only one from my team using AlertSite, and I'm the one who sets up the configuration for it. The notifications from the tool will be sent to different people and different levels within the company. If an error occurs more than a few times, a notification will be sent to management, so the management team needs to pay attention and ensure that errors will be fixed without delay to avoid downtime.

My company went with AlertSite because as a tool, it's fast, easy to maintain, and provides great support. You can reach out to them easily about any issue. Sometimes AlertSite support responds to you immediately, and sometimes it would take a day. One of the vice presidents of my company also proposed AlertSite so it's the tool being used.

My advice to anyone using the tool for the first time is to first be clear in terms of usage purposes. For example, my company knows what it wants from AlertSite and uses it for immediate tracking of site downtimes. The tool pays attention to errors and downtime, so the customer experience isn't delayed or affected, especially as my company has a system that runs for twenty-four hours, so if there's downtime, the business will be interrupted. My company wants the site to be up all the time, and AlertSite helps make that happen. Currently, my company has two levels in terms of how notifications are escalated. If the first escalation isn't solved within three hours, it will be escalated to level two or the management level. Management quickly takes action and makes sure the site is up as soon as possible, and this is the main reason my company uses AlertSite. The tool delivers as expected, so I recommend others to use it. It's easy to use and with it, you can visualize what's happening. It gives reports in text format and a visual format, and AlertSite will tell you the problems on your site, and if you're a technical person, you'll understand what the reports mean, so you can chase the right group of people to fix the issue quickly.

I'd give AlertSite a nine out of ten because the remaining ten percent is reserved for the documentation as that needs improvement.

My company is a customer of AlertSite.

SmartBear AlertSite is being used for URL monitoring and multistep transaction-based monitoring. 

Our organization works with anything within application monitoring. We work with the end customer to understand their pain points and then propose the monitoring solution, which includes strategic consulting and designing the overall monitoring implementation solution. 

We leverage the SaaS locations that the solution offers, plus we have spun it on-premises on a Private Node Server. This appliance is deployed within our own network, which we host and manage.

The most valuable features of AlertSite are the reach and the varied analytical capabilities, and the dashboard. There are custom reports available along with the inbuilt reports.

The solution is easy to navigate with a user experience that is right on the UI front. 

AlertSite requires improvements related to security, even at the enterprise level. Our organization has encountered many security-related findings with respect to how the security standards have been implemented. 

For example, the Log4j issue that occurred last year, impacted SmartBear products. Since we were hosting the appliances on our intranet network we had a significant risk. The turnaround time of the response to provide an updated release caused us to struggle.

In future releases, I would like the ability to get more data points with regard to some of the unique requirements that we have. For example, the OTP, or one-time password code, is something that is generated and sent over to an individual's mobile device or mail. Over the past few months, the requirement has been sent over to a specific mobile application. This means that only mobile devices are getting the code. If SmartBear provided this functionality where we only need to give the end client's email ID or that specific endpoint's email ID, it would make things much easier. We would not need to create our own script. 

We have been consistently using AlertSite for three and a half years.

We have never had any concerns with the stability of AlertSite with respect to SaaS prioritized locations or with our on-premise set-up. 

AlertSite is scalable within the SaaS environment, as the vendor manages this. With respect to the on-premise infrastructure, we have faced a number of issues. We had to set up maximum capacity benchmarks.

We have a team of eight administrators as well as over 200 recipients who are either power users or read-only, that have access to AlertSite.

I have contacted customer service and support several times. When we first began to use the solution, we would reach out to get more granularity in terms of the advanced functionalities that were available. Particularly scripting techniques and best practices, even for the on-premise appliances. 

Now, we contact support for more unique issues like multi-factor authentication and new functionalities that have evolved. 

Overall, I would rate technical support a four out of five. They are not available 24/7 and their team is located in the United States.

Positive

Prior to using AlertSite, we were using Micro Focus SiteScope and BPM. 

Historically, SmartBear AlertSite was used by another service line within the organization. When the team discovered we were looking into proof of concept by evaluating and exploring other solutions, the service owner contacted us to advise that SmartBear AlertSite was available in the service line and was available with the existing contract.

After we completed the proof of concept with regard to the capabilities the solution offered, we felt that it was a fit. It was one of the latest and greatest tools in terms of modern technologies. We were very interested in the extension, it was user-friendly and an easy-to-use solution. 

The initial setup of AlertSite is straightforward. The user interface is not complicated making the setup fairly simple.

The implementation of AlertSite was a migration project. Our company has close to 600 different monitors. From the Micro Focus tool stack, we were moving over monitors to this new platform. The implementation took four months. 

There was a multi-step transaction-based monitoring. The synthetic monitoring required script creation related to the various use cases that we have. 

The return on investment of this solution is well witnessed in our organization because of the integration and various capabilities that it offers to interact with the upstream or downstream systems. It has been used in our organization as a proactive indicator for any priority-one or severity-one incidents that are triggered. 

Before the end customer is opening an incident ticket, the tool is smart enough with regard to the scheduling that we have done it. From this perspective, the end customers are seeing the value. As tool owners, or solution providers, we also are happy. The high incidents are getting captured, and the team is benefiting from this.

We have an annual contract with AlertSite. The cost is high.

For anyone considering implementing AlertSite for the first time, I recommend that first and foremost they do very clear inventory documentation. This can then be given to the sales representative at the beginning of the proof of concept so that the cost can be anticipated based on future workload.

When considering the tool's capabilities, your requirements may be XYZ, but you should still explore the other functions within the tool that can be leveraged. The solution not only offers simple URL monitors, or synthetic monitors, it also provides you the ability to execute network-level monitoring and gives you the ability to exhibit that API value retrieval mechanism.  

If someone is interested, they should go ahead with the demo setup environment and do the POC. 

Overall, I would rate AlertSite a seven out of 10. While there are a lot of positive points, there is still room for maturity of the solution. 

For this platform, I was the single point of contact. This was purchased from SmartBear in order to have monitoring solutions for our Intel infrastructure.

At the time,  AlertSite was used to monitor cloud applications for availability and latency, as well as user login, whether they logged in or not.

In terms of benefits, we were able to monitor traffic and the network.

I was the only engineer on the project. I am aware of the ins and outs of AlertSite. This solution has numerous advantages. It's extremely simple to configure. Either digital monitors or single-URL monitors are simple to configure and build. We are monitoring the web activity.

The location feature is useful. It also includes an internal server. It is possible to monitor the user platform from a public location. Basically, any specific browser user from the location.

It is simple and very easy to use.

In terms of reporting, I would say it is intermediate. In my opinion, there is room for improvement there as well, particularly in terms of customer entitlement and how everything works. For example, when I go to select a report, the general comment is that there is no time stamp, and availability, the filter needs more options.

There are more areas for improvement, at least in my opinion. The first is location. We have public as well as private locations. The private locations are not that great and effective. 

In terms of support, it is all based on the cost of the subscription that our company purchased. But it wasn't great, and it could've been much better. 

The third and most important aspect is automation. It is not compatible with all of the product platforms that we use. I am monitoring on a budget, and the capture rate for HTML vera code is limited.

If I had to rate it out of five, I would give it 3.5.

In terms of alerts, you should be able to use modified alert features that can be customized using widgets. Users should be able to customize alerts and code, as well as be given instructions on how to do so.

I last worked with AlertSite two months ago.

I don't remember which version I was using because I no longer use the product. But I could confidently say it was the most recent because we had the option of downloading the most recent versions automatically.

AlertSite is a stable product.

As a platform the performance is good. There were no discussions, and there were no failures.  However, if performance on the application level was addressed, as well as support, it could have been a good platform to use.

We had a team of five specific members who were using this solution.

AlertSite is a scalable solution. There are no limitations on the monitors added to it.

The ticket was not cited as properly. None of the cases they raised at the time were addressed. Support can be difficult at times. 

If we could have a better support team that would enhance the experience overall.

AlertSite was our first and largest. For our network traffic monitoring requirement, we eventually had to use Dynatrace.

AlertSite may have more PCP traffic capability for network monitoring, such as SMP or network traffic monitoring, when compared to Dynatrace.

It was pretty good, though you will need some knowledge or documents.  With that, it's very simple, it can be done by an intermediate person. It's easy to create and monitor.

We purchased the license once and had the option of selecting the number of user licenses.

I would recommend AlertSite if they don't have any complex monitoring solutions.

AlertSite would be successful if its requirements were simple. However, if they're working with a complex infrastructure, they might have to wait for the background to improve features before using them.

I would rate AlertSite a seven out of ten.

I work on an airline project, and I use AlertSite to monitor profiles and certain notes and some booking channels. We use it for check-ins and seat maps as well.

If there are any issues, it triggers an alert within 30 seconds. When it triggers the alert, we go ahead and check it immediately. The alert is triggered on a real-time basis.

AlertSite sometimes triggers false alerts or fake alerts, which needs to be rectified. When we see an alert and go ahead and run certain tests on it, the test always passes. However, on the main screen, it shows up as critical. Therefore, the false alert needs to be fixed.

The UI needs to be changed because currently, it has only two types, black and white. We also cannot add certain monitors to it.

I've been using it for approximately one and a half years to two years.

Most of the time, AlertSite works perfectly. During the past two years, it has gone down only once or twice.

When our project started, we were only monitoring the kiosks using an application known as AppDynamics. We were working only on just two applications. However, AppDynamics was having a lot of problems with the load and was going down often. To balance the load, we introduced AlertSite, and half of the work of AppDynamics went to AlertSite. Now, we monitor 50% on AppDynamics and 50% on AlertSite.

The initial setup is easy and took us about three weeks during the transition.

I would definitely suggest using AlertSite and would rate it at nine on a scale from one to ten.