What are the best IT operations tools for troubleshooting and resolving issues?

Monitoring tools are the backbone of troubleshooting in IT operations. Consider a scenario where a large e-commerce platform utilizes New Relic's APM tool. During a peak shopping season, the tool detects a sudden surge in error rates for the checkout process. This real-time insight allows the IT team to identify a faulty code deployment and roll it back swiftly, preventing revenue loss. Similarly, SolarWinds' NPM helps a multinational corporation monitor their global network infrastructure. When latency issues surface in a remote branch office, the NPM tool pinpoints the problematic router, enabling timely intervention to maintain uninterrupted business operations. These tools are indispensable for proactive management of your IT operation.

The IT monitoring categories listed (not SIEM as it is more of a security tool) are very important but just focusing on these areas means you miss out. I would urge people to also look at are IT Infrastructure Monitoring (ITIM) and Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM). ITIM tools monitor your physical & virtual infrastructure. Switches/routers/servers, etc. Monitor for up/down, throughput, CPU & memory, etc. DEM tools focus on the users experience. DEM incorporates NPM/APM/ITIM and other data to show how individual users are experiencing things. This allows for a better view of individual users issues. Be cautious of APM vendors claiming to provide ITIM functionality as it is rarely as robust as that provided by dedicated ITIM vendors.

Automation tools are integral to IT operations, boosting efficiency and reliability. For instance, a bank employing ServiceNow's ITSM platform automates incident tracking, ensuring swift and documented issue resolution. In another scenario, a corporation relies on Terraform for IaC, enabling rapid cloud infrastructure scaling through code. Meanwhile, a tech startup's use of Jenkins for CI/CD automates code testing, ensuring quality and speeding up development cycles. These tools streamline processes, detect and resolve issues efficiently, and enhance operational excellence.

Troubleshooting tools are IT's lifeline for swift issue resolution. Visual Studio Code aids developers in identifying and rectifying code errors efficiently. In performance testing, Selenium and JMeter ensure a smooth user experience, even during peak traffic events like flash sales. Network woes are swiftly addressed using diagnostic tools like Ping, pinpointing problematic segments for efficient resolution. These tools streamline issue resolution and elevate service delivery, ensuring customer and stakeholder satisfaction.

In addition, consider the following: Specialization: Discuss specialized tools for various IT domains, like network monitoring or cybersecurity analysis. Integration: Explain how tools integrated into broader IT systems streamline issue resolution. Training: Highlight the importance of IT professionals receiving training to maximize tool effectiveness. Open Source vs. Commercial: Compare open-source and commercial tools, considering cost, support, and customization. Cloud-Based Tools: Address the trend of cloud-based troubleshooting tools for scalability and flexibility.

A question that comes up fairly regularly is if you are better off buying a suite of tools from a single vendor or point solutions from multiple vendors. There are good arguments for both approaches: Suites simplify vendor management and (at least in theory) provide integration between products allowing for more effective troubleshooting. Point solutions allow you to access best of breed solutions that meet exacting needs and cover your specific use cases (something that may not be possible with a suite). My general advice would be that if you can find a suite that meets ALL your needs you should go for it. But be careful about suites that do not. It is easy to say "we will adjust our processes for the tool" but difficult to implement.