IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor comparison

IBM and SolarWinds are both solutions in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category. IBM is ranked #61, while SolarWinds is ranked #18 with an average rating of 7.4. IBM holds a 0.2% mindshare in APM, compared to SolarWinds’s 1.6% mindshare. Additionally, 50% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 89% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

IBM Tivoli Composite Applic...

Read 2 IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager reviews

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276 Comparison Views

50% willing to recommend

SolarWinds Server and Appli...

Read 42 SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor reviews

3,263 Views
2,160 Comparison Views

89% willing to recommend

IBM Tivoli Composite Applic...

SolarWinds Server and Appli...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 24, 2024

IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager and SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor are two leading solutions in server and application monitoring. Users are generally happier with the features and user reviews of SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor, while IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager receives more positive feedback for pricing and customer support.

What features are offered by IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager in comparison to SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?

IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager is valued for its extensive monitoring capabilities, integration with other IBM tools, and robust alerting system. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor provides a comprehensive feature set, ease of customization, and in-depth performance metrics. Users find SolarWinds features more intuitive and easier to use.

What areas of improvement can be found in IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager in comparison to SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?

IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager could improve in simplicity, ease of setup, and better documentation and support resources. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor could enhance scalability, real-time monitoring accuracy, and offer a more transparent pricing model.

How is the ease of deployment and customer service of IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager in comparison to SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?

IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager experiences a more complex deployment process, which can be time-consuming without expert assistance. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor offers straightforward setup and user-friendly deployment. IBM provides extensive support options, whereas SolarWinds is noted for its responsive and helpful customer service team.

What setup costs and ROI can be seen with IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager in comparison to SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?

IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager tends to have a higher initial setup cost and requires more investment in skilled personnel for optimal deployment, though users acknowledge long-term ROI in managing large-scale environments. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor provides a more cost-effective solution with quicker ROI due to lower setup costs and faster deployment times.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager vs. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager vs. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

June 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 Tivoli Composite Applic...

Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

61st

Average Rating

6.6

Reviews Sentiment

4.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SolarWinds Server and Appli...

Ranking in Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

18th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Server Monitoring (12th), Active Directory Management (10th)

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability category, the mindshare of IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager is 0.2%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor is 1.6%, down from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

Featured Reviews

Christian Campos

Sales manager at Prodeo Innovation

Integrates well with IBM technologies, but it's outdated and lacks essential features

Implementing synthetic monitoring for our Internet banking site has been challenging. The installation process is difficult, requiring continuous support and specialist expertise due to our limited knowledge of managing it effectively. I have concerns about the complexity of the tool and the challenges in managing it effectively. The support provided is not satisfactory, and the specialists available lack sufficient training and expertise in using the tool.

Read full review

Carlos Camargo

Senior Operations Manager at Sencinet

Provides user-friendly API features and has straightforward deployment process

One product area that could benefit from improvement is the synchronization of licensing periods across different modules. The misalignment of licensing terms can present commercial challenges when adding new modules or additional pollers. Additionally, the granularity of polling times for specific components could be enhanced to better meet individual customers' needs without impacting the entire polling pool.

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

"The solution is very stable. We never had any issues with stability."

"IBM's main value lies in its integration with its own technologies, which can be seen as a benefit in environments where IBM products are extensively used."

"One of the most valuable features are the reports. They're pretty good. Also, the ease of installation and customization for the client is another feature that we value. SolarWinds has a lot of features but these are the ones I like the most. We also like that the KPIs have the ability to be preset."

"SSL Certificate Monitoring and Expiry Alerting"

"There are many valuable features, including the network configuration manager, and the network performance manager."

"SolarWinds SAM has significantly improved our workflow by allowing us to develop a comprehensive knowledge base of known errors and automate responses to specific alerts."

"We use the solution as a central monitoring tool. We use it to monitor every transaction that has a relation to the organization’s infrastructure."

"The application dependency feature identifies issues between applications and servers or within the network where the application is hosted. It highlights related problems, whether related to packet processing or other issues, enabling the creation of alerts and reports accordingly."

"It is simple to implement and can provide fairly decent Windows-based monitoring, beyond simple SNMP. It is great for monitoring newbies and smaller shops."

"The solution is great for monitoring. If something is going wrong, we can immediately find the root cause."

More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor pros

Cons

"The user interface was not good."

"The installation process is difficult, requiring continuous support and specialist expertise due to our limited knowledge of managing it effectively."

"This product has no real downside unless they fail to continue development of its capabilities."

"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."

"For each poller, SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor can only monitor up to ten thousand components, which restricts scalability."

"One area that could benefit from improvement is its performance"

"Currently SolarWinds SAM offers AppInsight for modern versions of: IIS, Exchange, SQL Server. They have shown to be powerful and insightful tools. However, AppInsight needs to be offered for more applications: Citrix, SharePoint, AX, etc."

"One product area that could benefit from improvement is the synchronization of licensing periods across different modules"

"A lot of times, we have to do a lot of manual cleanups."

"When you implement SolarWinds on a larger scale my customers complain about the speed."

More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would rate the pricing a nine to ten. It is very expensive."

"The solution is overpriced in terms of application management."

"Price can always be lower. It is neither on the expensive side nor on the cheap side. We have worked with them for a lot of years, so we get a discount due to the size of the installation."

"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's price is reasonable. Though it's on the higher side, the tool is worth the money."

"I would rate the pricing for this solution a three out of five."

"When planning for the number of licenses to purchase, make sure you understand all of the elements within an application required to really understand performance well. In our case, we quickly came to the conclusion that an unlimited license for SAM was the way to go."

"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."

"We are on an annual license to use the solution. The price of the solution is expensive. The price is based on a bunch of factors, such as the number of engines and elements."

More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor pricing and cost advice

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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability solutions are best for your needs.

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

37%

Government

Healthcare Company

Computer Software Company

Educational Organization

26%

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?

Identifying the problem statement is easy.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?

The initial cost is quite high, but the renewal cost is reasonable.

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What needs improvement with SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor?

There are no specific features or functionality I would like to see improved or enhanced in SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor at this time. I have not encountered any missing features or fu...

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Comparisons

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Compared 21% of the time

IBM Application Performance Management vs IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager

Compared 19% of the time

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Dynatrace vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

Compared 19% of the time

Azure Monitor vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

Compared 18% of the time

Splunk AppDynamics vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

Compared 10% of the time

Prometheus Group vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

Compared 7% of the time

Zabbix vs SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

Compared 5% of the time

More SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

June 2025

IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager report

Download IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager product report

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

May 2025

SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor report

Download SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor product report

Also Known As

Tivoli Composite Application Manager

SolarWinds SAM

Overview

IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager for Application Diagnostics on z/OS manages real-time problem detection, analysis, and repair to help maintain the availability, performance and general health of on-demand composite applications. it can gain in-depth diagnostic information for specific application requests to identify the root cause of problems. This software provides a consistent way to manage composite applications throughout Java EE application environments. Set alerts to help detect and fix potentially troublesome situations before they affect users. It can resolve performance issues faster and reduce downtime costs.

IBM

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.

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

Michelin Tire Corp

Andr. L. Riis AS, NetSuite

Buyer's Guide

IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager vs. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

June 2025

Free Report: IBM Tivoli Composite Application Manager vs. SolarWinds Server and Application Monitor

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