In my last post on the Ipswitch blog, I described how the Internet of Things (IoT) will change the nature of the IT team's role and responsibilities. The primary purpose of initiating an IoT strategy is to capture data from a broader population of product endpoints. As a result, IoT deployments are also creating a new set of application performance management (APM) and infrastructure monitoring requirements.
New APM and Infrastructure Monitoring Requirements for IoT
Historically, traditional APM and infrastructure monitoring solutions were designed to track the behavior of a relatively static population of business applications and systems supporting universally recognized business processes.
Even this standard assortment of applications, servers and networks could be difficult to properly administer without the right kind of management tools. But, over time most IT organizations have gained a pretty good sense of how to handle these tasks. And determine if their applications and systems are behaving properly.
Now, the APM and infrastructure monitoring function is becoming more complicated in the rapidly expanding world of IoT.
In a typical IoT scenario, IT organization could be asked to monitor the performance of the software that captures data from a variety of "wearables". And, these software-enabled devices might be embedded in various fitness, fashion or health-related products. Each of them pose differing demands to ensure their reliable application performance.
In another situation, sensors might be deployed on a fleet of vehicles and the data being retrieved could be used to alert the service desk if a truck is in distress, or it might be due for a tune-up, or simply needs to change its route to more cost-effectively reach its destination.
The Key to Successful IoT Deployments
Regardless of the specific use-case, the key to making an IoT deployment successful is properly monitoring the performance of the software that captures the sensor data. Not to mention the systems that interpret the meaning of that data and dictate the appropriate response via an application initiated command.
Therefore, an IoT deployment typically entails monitoring a wide array of inter-related applications that could impact a series of business processes.
For example, an alert regarding a truck experiencing a problem could trigger a request for replacement parts from an inventory management system. This can lead to the dispatch of a service truck guided by a logistics software system. It could also be recorded in a CRM, ERP or other enterprise app to ensure sales, finance and other departments are aware of the customer status. Ultimately, the information could be used to redesign the product and services to make them more reliable, improve customer satisfaction and increase corporate efficiency.
Monitoring these applications and the servers that support them to ensure they are operating at an optimal level across the IoT supply-chain is the new APM reality.
The IoT infrastructure is a lot more complicated than traditional application and server environments of the past. Given that, unified infrastructure monitoring solutions that provide end-to-end views of application delivery can provide significant management leverage.
Related article: The Internet of Things: A Real-World View