We compared Amazon CloudWatch and SolarWinds NPM based on our users' reviews in five categories. We reviewed all of the data and you can find the conclusion below.
Features: Amazon CloudWatch users liked the solution’s simplicity, intuitive interface, and ability to handle large workloads. Users also praised CloudWatch’s comprehensive monitoring and alerts. SolarWinds NPM is commended for its adaptability and extensive network surveillance functionalities.
Room for improvement: Some reviews mentioned that Amazon CloudWatch could improve performance and dashboard visualization. Others noted that the solution lacked compatibility with some databases. SolarWinds NPM needs improvement in edge computing capabilities and data reporting. Users also said the performance could be better and that they would like to see expanded IPAM functionality.
Service and Support: Customers generally have positive opinions about Amazon's customer service. They commended the support team for its availability and timely issue resolution. While some customers described SolarWinds support as helpful and responsive, others reported delayed responses.
Ease of Deployment: Amazon CloudWatch is generally described as easy to set up. Some users said SolarWinds NPM was straightforward to set up, while others perceived it as complex.
Pricing: Amazon CloudWatch offers a flexible pricing structure based on usage and processing without any separate licensing cost. Some users said that scaling up can be costly due to the need for additional storage space. The cost of SolarWinds NPM varies depending on the customer’s size and requirements. Some users find it costly.
ROI: Amazon CloudWatch offers a return on investment by minimizing the need for manual monitoring. Some users reported immediate benefits from using SolarWinds NPM in terms of security and business outcomes, while others have not.
Comparison Results: Reviewers say that Amazon CloudWatch is a simple, intuitive solution that can handle large workloads, but some mentioned dashboard visualization and customizability as areas for improvement. SolarWinds NPM is a customizable solution that’s easy to deploy and features comprehensive network monitoring capabilities. However, some users consider it costly and voiced concerns about technical support and user experience.
"We can set CPU thresholds using the solution."
"The detection is the most valuable feature."
"The most valuable feature of Amazon CloudWatch is collecting the logs from Lambda."
"It is a robust analytical tool and it goes beyond mere functionality and extends into the realm of providing comprehensive insights."
"Amazon CloudWatch's best feature stems from its ability to monitor app performance."
"We use Amazon CloudWatch for logging."
"The most valuable feature of Amazon CloudWatch is intrusion prevention."
"Scheduling is a valuable feature."
"The product covers our needs for the basic care and feeding of servers, whether they are physical or virtual."
"As we look to add more servers to our virtual environment and to understand the impact, the solution allows us to dig into the historical charts related to capacity planning."
"The product is scalable."
"Can easily be interconnected with other management systems."
"SolarWinds NPM is a scalable solution since it can handle a huge number of users."
"All the features are very good. The monitoring of the equipment, the configuration manager, and the IP address monitoring are great."
"With just three modules, I can monitor server performance (whether it’s a VM, in the cloud, or an on-premises server."
"The biggest thing for me is that it provided enough information for me to monitor. It alerts and provides you with the information you need."
"It is hard to configure; it is not a straightforward tool."
"We'd like the interface to be as easy as Datadog."
"It would be beneficial for CloudWatch to provide an API interface and some kind of custom configuration."
"The product should provide more features."
"The solution should provide human-readable metrics."
"The monitoring part and GUI are areas in Amazon CloudWatch that have shortcomings currently and can be considered for improvements in the future."
"Some of our customers want to use Kubernetes to monitor their CICD flow but Amazon CloudWatch does not support it. We need to use another solution, such as Datadog or Dynatrace has the needed capability."
"I found several areas for improvement in Amazon CloudWatch. First is that it's tough to track issues and find out where it's going wrong. The process takes longer. For example, if I get an exception error, I read the logs, search, go to AWS Cloud, then to the groups to find the keyword to determine what's wrong. Another area for improvement in Amazon CloudWatch is that it's slow in terms of log streaming. It requires an entire twenty-four hours for scanning, rather than just one hour. This issue can be solved with Elasticsearch streaming with Kibana, but it requires a lot of development effort and integration with Kibana or Splunk, and this also means I need a separate developer and software technical stack to do the indexing and streaming to Kibana. It's a manual effort that you need to do properly, so log streaming should be improved in Amazon CloudWatch. The AWS support person should also have a better understanding of the logs in Amazon CloudWatch. What I'd like added to the solution is a more advanced search function, particularly one that can tell you more information or special information. Right now, the search function is difficult to use because it only gives you limited data. For example, I got an error message saying that the policy wasn't created. I only know the amount the customer paid for the policy, the mobile number, and the customer name, but if I use those details, the information won't show up on the logs. I need to enter more details, so that's the type of fuzzy matching Amazon CloudWatch won't provide. If this type of search functionality is provided, it will be very helpful for businesses and companies that provide professional services to customers, like ours."
"They have had a rather large security breach in the past. It's cost some companies customers."
"An area for improvement would be the use of modular licenses, which are not practical for big clients."
"Being able to detect devices that are trying to connect wirelessly would make using this solution much easier."
"Time: A worldwide deployment can be confusing for dispersed users with non-local times. Each node should have a local time (with summer offset if appropriate) & each user should view & report in their local time."
"The product is scalable, but at a cost. Extra modules have to be purchased for each extra server. The initial set up isn't complex, but will require someone who is experienced with the network monitoring system"
"I would like to see integration with antivirus or other security endpoint solutions."
"It would be nice to have a test to check if you can access a particular device via API without installing it and waiting for a poll cycle. You should have the capacity to initiate a test to see if it was reachable and get the results almost immediately."
"Sometimes there are issues when upgrading to a new version of the product."
Amazon CloudWatch is ranked 9th in Cloud Monitoring Software with 40 reviews while SolarWinds NPM is ranked 6th in Cloud Monitoring Software with 147 reviews. Amazon CloudWatch is rated 8.0, while SolarWinds NPM is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of Amazon CloudWatch writes "Instantaneous response when monitoring logs and KPIs". On the other hand, the top reviewer of SolarWinds NPM writes "High-level, comprehensive, and proactive monitoring in a user-friendly interface". Amazon CloudWatch is most compared with Zabbix, Datadog, Google Cloud's operations suite (formerly Stackdriver), Dynatrace and Nagios XI, whereas SolarWinds NPM is most compared with Zabbix, PRTG Network Monitor, ManageEngine OpManager, ThousandEyes and Entuity. See our Amazon CloudWatch vs. SolarWinds NPM report.
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We monitor all Cloud Monitoring Software reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.
