What is our primary use case?
We use Amazon CloudWatch for monitoring applications. We use it for Synthetics and also RAM. Amazon CloudWatch has been very helpful for monitoring our applications. We have been able to create a monitoring account where we get metrics, traces, and application monitoring data in one account. One noteworthy feature is that this is free of cost.
How has it helped my organization?
Amazon CloudWatch has been very helpful for monitoring our applications. We have been able to create a monitoring account where we get metrics, traces, and application monitoring data in one account. One noteworthy feature is that this is free of cost.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable part is the metrics part, which is really good. They recently introduced Application Signals, which we like the most. Additionally, the Synthetics feature is something that we love.
What needs improvement?
There is some delay in logging that they need to improve on. While CloudWatch is good, when compared to Dynatrace, there are several areas for improvement. For instance, Dynatrace has better distributed tracing and a feature like back trace, which CloudWatch lacks. In terms of alerts, we use PagerDuty, but composite alarms and similar features need more work.
For how long have I used the solution?
I would say I have almost three years of experience with Amazon CloudWatch.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Amazon CloudWatch is stable. However, there is some delay in logging that needs improvement.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is pretty scalable. We have not had any problems so far.
How are customer service and support?
Amazon's customer service is very good. They are both responsive and knowledgeable. Depending on the ticket, they connect us with the right resource without having us jump through different channels.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, we used Dynatrace, which is an APM tool. We recently moved to CloudWatch but still use Dynatrace.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Amazon CloudWatch is very simple. On a scale of one to ten, I would rate the ease of setup between nine and ten.
What about the implementation team?
Multiple squads and teams, approximately 200 different teams, have been using Amazon CloudWatch.
What was our ROI?
Return on this investment is still to be discovered. Currently, we are in the middle of migration, paying for both on-prem and CloudWatch, as well as Dynatrace and CloudWatch. Once everything is settled in the cloud, we will have a clearer picture.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
In general, Amazon CloudWatch is cheaper compared to Dynatrace. However, there are potential costs to be mindful of, like running a log query that returns trillions of bytes of data.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I have experience with Dynatrace. Comparing CloudWatch against Dynatrace highlights many areas for improvement.
What other advice do I have?
I would definitely recommend CloudWatch if your applications are running in AWS. If your applications are in a different environment or cloud, I am not sure I would recommend it.
I'd rate the solution six out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.