ITSM specialist SolarWinds introduced the next generation of its Observability platform, designed to provide comprehensive visibility and management for hybrid IT environments.
The updated platform, available in both self-hosted and software as a service (SaaS) options, helps organizations monitor on-premises infrastructure and cloud-native systems, addressing the visibility gap that many businesses face as they adopt hybrid IT setups.
The platform offers broader infrastructure monitoring, expanded cloud observability for AWS, Azure and Kubernetes, and enhanced AI-driven alerts.
The Observability platformโs artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) capabilities reduce alert fatigue with AIOps and a customized metrics-powered solution designed to automatically prioritize and surface real problems.
โThis eliminates repetitive tasks, empowers end-users to resolve their own issues, and guides agents with the next steps and responses,โ said Cullen Childress, SolarWinds’ senior vice president of product.
The AI handles the repetitive actions and offering suggested resolutions with pre-populated responses to enable โquick and confidentโ action.
He explained Observability helps reduce alert fatigue by leveraging machine learning-based alerts that filter out routine notifications and focus on behavioral anomalies.
This process, combined with composite alerts that trigger only when both static thresholds and anomalous behavior are detected, helps streamline alerts and focus on the most critical issues.
Additionally, automated alert clusters organize related alerts into a timeline, making it easier to trace the initial issue responsible for the alert, improving the efficiency of monitoring and issue resolution.
Childress noted all SolarWinds AI and automation features are built on the companyโs AI by Design foundation.
Improved Network Performance Analysis
SolarWinds has also improved network performance analysis, allowing users to monitor critical metrics like latency and throughput, helping to detect and resolve issues early.
The update enables coverage for more devices and increased scale through support for more SD-WAN solutions, including Fortinet, Meraki, Viptela, VeloCloud, Prisma, Aruba Silver Peak and next-generation wireless infrastructure.
The platform also integrates advanced capabilities to support software-defined wide-area networks and includes an enhanced vulnerability and risk dashboard for increased coverage across devices.
Observabilityโs poller capacity– the ability of an infrastructure monitoring platform to collect and process data from monitored devices, applications, or systemsโhas also been boosted.
โThis increases the security capabilities for customers choosing to go the self-hosted route and can also reduce their infrastructure poller costs by up to a third,โ Childress said.
He noted many existing monitoring solutions require IT organizations to choose between focusing on on-premises or cloud environments, creating significant observability gaps for those managing hybrid architectures.
โThis is why the ability to manage on-prem and cloud-native assets simultaneously and cohesively is crucial,โ said Childress.
He explained that such flexibility enhances performance, supports flexible deployments, and optimizes IT costs and resources.
Maximizing Visibility with AI
According to Childress, customers need the freedom to choose what and how they observe in a way that aligns with their specific organizational needs.
โA one-size-fits-all approach will only widen visibility gaps,โ he said, highlighting that organizations are structured differently.
He emphasized that maximizing visibility, while leveraging AI-driven insights, is key to deriving valuable decision-making insights across a network.
Observability addresses this need by providing comprehensive visibility across hybrid IT landscapesโcovering both on-premises and cloud-native environments.
โWe support customers throughout their IT strategy journey, whether they are on-prem today, transitioning, or fully in the cloud,โ he said.
The update follows two announcements SolarWinds made in May, including integrating a purpose-built generative AI (GenAI) engine into its Service Desk offering and a free online evaluation and assessment toolย called the ITSM Maturity Model.