Cisco Systems's latest AppDynamics developments -- targeting application, infrastructure and network monitoring -- could have some key benefits for MSPs (managed IT services providers).
The high-level pitch goes like this: AppDynamics is developing a so-called Central Nervous System for IT Operations. Businesses, in turn, will gain "full visibility, deep insights, and automated actions across all technology domains that run modern companies: the application, infrastructure, and network," Cisco asserts.
Cisco AppDynamics: Where Do MSPs Fit In?
The big question: Is the Central Nervous System strategy multi-tenant for MSPs today -- right now? If not, will it be multi-tenant for partners in the future?
Matt Chotin, senior director of technology strategy at AppDynamics, offered this response to ChannelE2E:
"Yes, this is possible for an MSP assuming their application architecture provides a clean way to identify and isolate customer boundaries. Multi-tenant architectures tend to have enough unique qualities that you really have to look at the specific application to know how information flows, networks, are built, etc. and what can cleanly be presented in a single dashboard vs. requiring each tenant to have its own view."
Cisco acquired AppDynamics for $3.7 billion in January 2017. At the time, AppDynamics focused mainly on application performance monitoring (APM). Fast forward to present day, and AppDynamics has extended into such areas as a Serverless Agent for AWS Lambda.
AppDynamics Integrates with Cisco ACI
Plus, AppDynamics integration with Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure has arrived. As a result:
"For the first time, application and network teams have a shared view with correlated visibility from application code to underlying network configuration and policies, empowering them to collaborate more easily in delivering flawless performance and great user experiences."
Rivals are also evolving their APM systems -- and engaging MSPs. Key names to know include New Relic, Datadog and tools from SolarWinds (among others). In many cases, the software and cloud tool providers are diversifying their APM systems -- extending them toward infrastructure and network monitoring.
