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Top 50 Cloud Monitoring, Management Tools: Which Are Best?

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When it comes to finding the 'best' cloud monitoring and management tools, there's no shortage of options. No doubt, customers and service providers want to optimize, manage and monitor workloads and containers across Amazon Web Services, IBM SoftLayerMicrosoft Azure and Office 365, GoogleOracleSalesforce.com and other public clouds. NOTE: The list below is from 2016. NEW: Check out our 2017 list here. To help VARs, managed services providers (MSPs) and IT consultants understand the playing field, ChannelE2E has compiled this list of cloud monitoring and management software. The list of tools is presented in alphabetical order. 1. Amazon CloudWatch: This is a monitoring service for AWS cloud resources and the applications you run on AWS. You can use Amazon CloudWatch to collect and track metrics, collect and monitor log files, set alarms, and automatically react to changes in your AWS resources, the company says. 2. AppDynamics: Focused on application performance management (APM), AppDynamics has been one of Silicon Valley's strongest growth stories in recent years. Mostly used by DevOps and custom application developers to pinpoint issues in new or custom applications. AppDynamics offered ChannelE2E an update on its partner engagements in December 2015. 3. AppNeta: The SaaS-based tool offers APM capabilities across four integrated modules -- TraceView (code-level app performance monitoring); AppView (synthetic transaction monitoring); FlowView (application-aware traffic analysis); and PathView (network health and performance). 4. Aternity: Their primary focus is end-user experience management -- a hot topic for today's service providers. The company's tools monitor mobile, virtual and physical devices. Much of the focus is on helping IT service desks. 5. Avnet Cloud MarketplaceThe distributor's online marketplace allows partners to select and activate a range of cloud services. 6. Bitnami Cloud Tools:  As of January 2016, the tools help you manage and monitor AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform. 7. BMC Cloud Operations ManagementThis platform is designed to offer proactive performance monitoring and capacity management. 8. CAdvisor: Analyzes resource usage and performance characteristics of running containers. 9. CA Unified Infrastructure Management: Also called CA UIM, the IT monitoring solution can oversee traditional and cloud environments. The technology is built upon CA's 2010 buyout of Nimsoft, though plenty of enhancements have arrived since that time. 10. Cisco CloudCenter (formerly CliQr)An application-centric cloud management solution to manage applications in data center, private cloud, and public cloud environments.

Next: On to cloud monitoring and management tools 11-20

11. CloudMonix: Offers monitoring and automation for Azure and AWS. As of early 2016, OpenStack support was coming soon. 12. CodeTwo Office 365 Migration: The aptly named tool helps service providers to migrate customers from Exchange Server to Office 365. 13. Compuware Gomez: Also known as Dynatrace Synthetic Monitoring, the SaaS platform helps service providers to optimize the performance and available of web, mobile, streaming and cloud applications. 14. ConnectWise CloudConsoleUnveiled at IT Nation 2015, ConnectWise's console allows MSPs to manage Office 365 billing and more. 15. DataDog: Still venture funded as of early 2016, Datadog offers "cloud-scale monitoring" across dozens of cloud and software platforms. 16. Dynatrace: Another application performance management (APM) specialist -- though the company offer specializes in network performance analysis. 17. Enow MailscapeI wildly popular tool for remotely monitoring and managing Exchange Server and Office 365. 18. Exoprise CloudReady MonitorAn increasingly popular option for monitoring Office 365, Box, DropBox, Google and more. 19. IBM SmartCloud MonitoringIBM's offering tracks physical and virtual infrastructure, what-if capacity analysis, and policy-driven analytics. 20. Idera: Designed for service providers, database professionals and IT professionals to monitor and manage data center environments. Don't overlook the acquired CopperEgg platform -- now known as Uptime Cloud Monitor.

Next: On to cloud monitoring and management tools 21-30

21. Ingram Micro CloudNow a marketplace where partners can source, activate and manage a range of cloud applications for customers. 22. Kaseya 365 Command: Offers MSPs one interface to manage Office 365, SharePoint, OneDrive and more. 23. Keynote Systems: A cloud-based tool for mobile testing and mobile app monitoring. 24. Librato CloudWatch: Now owned by SolarWinds, this monitoring and management tool gathers data from AWS, Heroku and other sources. 25. Loggly: A wildly popular cloud log management service. 26. LogicMonitor: I've been tracking LogicMonitor since about 2012. The company's platform supports higher-end MSPs -- especially those that want to manage midmarket infrastructure (on premises or in the cloud) for customers. 27. LogicNow: The company's MAX RemoteManagement tools allow MSPs to manage Office 365 and Google Apps for Work. 28. ManageEngine: I first got to know ManageEngine's team nearly a decade ago (has it been that long). The company works with IT professionals and MSPs. Keep an eye on ManageEngine's cloud monitoring tools. 29. Microsoft Cloud Monitoring: The technology giant offers numerous Azure-centric monitoring and management tools. 30. Monitis: Another application performance monitoring specialist, Monitis helps service providers deliver on promised SLAs. Once owned by GFI Software, I'm checking to see who now controls this platform.

Next: On to cloud monitoring and management tools 31-40

31. NagiosThe well-known provider of IT monitoring and management tools also has cloud monitoring capabilities for AWS, EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) and S3 (Simple Storage Service). 32. Netuitive: An aspiring provider of so-called "adaptive" monitoring, the service can oversee everything from AWS to real user monitoring (RUM) from end-user browsers. 33. New Relic: Another hot growth company, New Relic competes in the application performance management market. And as of late 2015, the company was expanding a partner program. 34. OPNet: Acquired by Riverbed in 2012. Check out the R-R-R area for more details about the toolset, now part of Riverbed SteelCentral. 35. Oracle Application Performance Monitoring Cloud Service: Allows DevOps teams and service providers to find and fix application issues, Oracle asserts. 36. PagerDuty Cloud Monitoring: The platform allows service providers to comb through data from monitoring systems. The result? Support pros spot issues before they cause things to break, and handle critical incidents efficiently, the company claims. 37. Palerra Loric: Combines threat detection, predictive analytics, security configuration management and automated incident response and remediation into a single management platform. 38. Prometheus: An open source service monitoring system that’s increasingly popular for Docker monitoring. 39. Rackspace Cloud Monitoring: This was built upon Rackspace's 2010 buyout of CloudKick. More recently, Rackspace has introduced cloud monitoring services for third-party clouds like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. 40. RedGate SQL Monitor: Ninety-one percent of Fortune 100 companies use RedGate's software. SQL Monitor, for proactively managing databases on-premises or in the cloud, is part of the product family.

Next: On to cloud monitoring and management tools 41-50

41. Reliam: Actually, they're more of an MSP that offers Amazon management services. 42. Riverbed SteelHead SaaS: A portfolio of tools that enhance SaaS performance. Basically, the management platform locates the fastest path from end users to their SaaS applications. 43. Ruxit: An all-in-one performance management platform. Has the ability to monitor VMware, AWS, Docker and other workloads. 44: ScienceLogic: The cloud monitoring company grew bookings by 180 percent in 2015 -- though we don't know actual revenue or profit figures. You'll find partner program info here. 45. Scout: An application monitoring platform that calls itself an alternative to New Relic. The company’s “docker-scout” container provides an “instant monitoring environment” for your host and containers. 46. SolarWindsWell-known for a range of monitoring and management tools. 47. Sensu open source monitoring framework: Look here for  the hiroakis/docker-sensu-server container. 48. SplunkStorm: Best known for its ability to help IT managers analyze and troubleshoot cloud application performance issues. 49. Stack Driver: Positions itself as "intelligent monitoring" for AWS infrastructure. 50. Sumo Logic: Offers a SaaS-based log analytics platform. It can monitor workloads and migrations for errors, warnings, performance and availability issues across cloud and on-premises infrastructure stacks.

Bonus... We just Couldn't Stop At 50

51. Sysdig, a hosted service that tracks storage, visualization, alerting  and more.   52. VMware: Offers a range of options for cloud management, including the vRealize offerings. 53. Zabbix: An open source monitoring solution for networks and applications. 54. Zenoss Cloud Monitoring: The company offers cloud monitoring packs for AWS, CloudStack, OpenStack, Azure and VMware vCloud. Well, that's all for now. But I'm sure we overlooked quite a few. What tools did we miss? Let me know: [email protected].
Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.