Making Monitoring Easier For ASPs

Response Networks Inc. on Monday revealed its Pulsar EQM network and application-monitoring software, which the company says will help application service providers subscribers better monitor the performance of their hosted apps.

Management service provider Ideal Technology Solutions Inc. is getting set to offer the new monitoring software to its ASP customers, says executive VP Bob Skinner, and to businesses that using Ideal for Lotus software.

As a beta tester, Ideal is using the software to monitor its almost 200 customers. Response Networks software tests the applications and network performance by mimicking typical user actions on each application it's monitoring. It then records the response time for each action. IT managers will be able to view the results via a Web browser.

"Response Networks has spent a lot of time trying to understand the shift in the way IT organizations are buying technology," says Theo Forbath, an analyst for NerveWire. "In order for ASPs to deliver their services effectively, they need to put performance information in front of every end user and prove their application-delivery capabilities."

But other analysts warn performance-monitoring software isn't enough to make successful hosting engagements. According to Mika Yamamoto Krammer, an analyst with Gartner, businesses need to establish strong relationship- and project-management skills, and use those abilities to maintain successful outsourcing relationships.