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IBM Application Performance Management vs Splunk ITSI (IT Service Intelligence) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 24, 2024

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
50th
Average Rating
6.4
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Splunk ITSI (IT Service Int...
Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
12th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
IT Alerting and Incident Management (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category, the mindshare of IBM Application Performance Management is 0.3%, down from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Splunk ITSI (IT Service Intelligence) is 0.8%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability
 

Featured Reviews

Daniel Tamiru - PeerSpot reviewer
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…
Srinivasulu Soolluru - PeerSpot reviewer
It speeds up incident response by automating alerts and ticket creation
When configuring a dashboard, we can write search criteria. Based on the search criteria, the dashboard shows all the alerts, including the alert time, creation time, and a summary description of the alert. When you add an extra column, such as the user that triggered the alert, the next time he refreshes the dashboard, he wants to know that the alert is acknowledged. We want to improve that comment feature. In the Service Analyzer, we monitor the network infrastructure services and have a KPI for each service. When the value exceeds the threshold value, we can add the colors. For example, we can set it to green when the threshold value is within the limit. If it is red, then the value has passed the threshold. We want more colors in the service analyzer to display all these features.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"IBM Application Performance Management helped us increased our response time by 80% and cost 60% less."
"The initial setup was straightforward and took minimal effort."
"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."
"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."
"It's easy to use."
"In my opinion, Splunk IT Service Intelligence (ITSI) is better than QRadar. With the help of Splunk, we can get results."
"Splunk ITSI can be easily integrated with the incident management platform. You can automate workflows and certain actions can be taken."
"The most valuable feature is event correlation, which ensures that only one ticket is generated per issue, eliminating duplicates and reducing noise from multiple alerts."
"I find the episode review, glass tables, and correlation search features very useful."
"The glass tables are very helpful."
"Splunk Episodes are valuable because it correlates and aggregates all the information, and you do not have one million events to look at and triage, so it is quite convenient."
"The most valuable feature of ITSI is the service KPIs. No other tool provides you with the same level of observability and enterprise security or the search and reporting applications."
"The observability is great and valuable."
 

Cons

"Technical support can be slow and needs improvement."
"The stability is not great and should be better."
"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."
"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."
"It's still missing some platforms. For example, if you look to applications itself, it is missing the interface."
"The demo that was provided to us is not working very well. At times, there are errors."
"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."
"While Splunk has existing add-ons, they are unreliable and do not provide accurate results."
"After upgrading Splunk ITSI from version 4.11 to 4.13, the analyzer stopped finding values for KPS and services."
"They should make it easier to use. Many people are new to it. It is hard and has a steep learning curve."
"Quality-of-life features have room for improvement."
"The problem becomes the price, as Splunk is an expensive product."
"It would be good if an interface was included in the next release."
"Currently, Glass tables in ITSI only display metrics related to KPIs."
"The biggest improvement area is making it open to developers. Right now, it is very closed. It can only be downloaded by people who have a license to and not everyone. If it is open to everybody, more people will use it."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"As I previously indicated, I initiated the IBM and uncovered all its elements. Consequently, I'm not inclined towards a licensing approach."
"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."
"Splunk ITSI is a pay-per-use service that is priced fairly based on the amount of data we use."
"Pricing was pretty good, and it is possible to just add on the features we want."
"Splunk is pretty expensive, but it gives you a decent insight into the data. It is easy to learn, and ITSI has a great interface. You can run those queries and pass the data. I"
"It depends on how big an organization is. If we have a lot of resources, the licensing needs to be upgraded. If we have a small environment, the licensing cost is definitely going to be less."
"The pricing of Splunk is a bit high."
"Splunk ITSI is expensive."
"Splunk pricing is high."
"The licensing is based on data usage."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
21%
Retailer
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
University
9%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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. ...
What is your primary use case for IBM Application Performance Management?
I monitor business applications for more than four end users.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Splunk ITSI (IT Service Intelligence)?
Pricing can vary significantly based on the selected modules and deployment choices. Splunk ITSI tends to be more expensive compared to some open-source solutions.
What needs improvement with Splunk ITSI (IT Service Intelligence)?
Splunk ITSI could benefit from including more features that other solutions support, such as vulnerability management modules. This would help manage vulnerabilities effectively, allowing my organi...
 

Also Known As

IBM APM
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mibtree, EatDrinkDeals.com, IT Performance Advisor
TransUnion, Cox Automotive, Carnival Cruises, Leidos, Econocom, National Ignition Factory, Entrust Datacard, Molina Healthcare, United States Census Bureau
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Application Performance Management vs. Splunk ITSI (IT Service Intelligence) and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.