What IT operations tools do you use to improve performance?

1 Monitoring tools

Monitoring tools are essential for IT operations managers to collect and display data about the status, availability, and performance of the IT components, such as servers, networks, applications, databases, and cloud services. Monitoring tools can help you detect and diagnose issues, troubleshoot problems, identify trends and patterns, and optimize resource utilization. Some of the common features of monitoring tools are dashboards, alerts, reports, graphs, and metrics. Monitoring tools can be either agent-based or agentless, depending on whether they require software agents to be installed on the monitored devices or not. Some examples of monitoring tools are Nagios, Zabbix, Prometheus, and Datadog.

2 Configuration management tools

Configuration management tools are used to automate and standardize the configuration and deployment of the IT infrastructure and applications. Configuration management tools can help you manage the changes, updates, patches, and versions of the IT components, as well as enforce policies and compliance. Configuration management tools can also improve performance by reducing human errors, increasing consistency, and enabling faster and more reliable delivery. Some of the common features of configuration management tools are inventory, scripting, orchestration, and integration. Some examples of configuration management tools are Ansible, Puppet, Chef, and Terraform.

3 Testing tools

Testing tools are used to verify and validate the functionality, reliability, and performance of the IT systems and applications. Testing tools can help you measure and improve the quality, security, and user experience of the IT services, as well as identify and fix defects and vulnerabilities. Testing tools can also improve performance by enabling continuous feedback, optimization, and improvement. Some of the common features of testing tools are test cases, test automation, test execution, test reporting, and test analysis. Some examples of testing tools are Selenium, JMeter, LoadRunner, and Postman.

4 Log analysis tools

Log analysis tools are used to collect and analyze the log data generated by the IT components, such as events, errors, transactions, and activities. Log analysis tools can help you gain insights into the performance, behavior, and health of the IT systems and applications, as well as troubleshoot issues, identify root causes, and prevent incidents. Log analysis tools can also improve performance by enabling faster and more accurate diagnosis, resolution, and optimization. Some of the common features of log analysis tools are log aggregation, log parsing, log filtering, log visualization, and log correlation. Some examples of log analysis tools are Splunk, ELK Stack, Graylog, and Loggly.

5 Capacity planning tools

Capacity planning tools are used to forecast and plan the future demand, supply, and utilization of the IT resources and services. Capacity planning tools can help you optimize the performance, scalability, and cost of the IT infrastructure and applications, as well as avoid overprovisioning or underprovisioning. Capacity planning tools can also improve performance by enabling proactive and data-driven decision making, allocation, and management. Some of the common features of capacity planning tools are modeling, simulation, prediction, and recommendation. Some examples of capacity planning tools are Veeam ONE, SolarWinds, TeamQuest, and BMC.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?