5 Best Cloud-Based Monitoring Tools

Rapid advancements in technology have welcomed the rise of cloud computing. This has changed how we access and manage IT resources, shifting the paradigm to more cloud-based management and monitoring. However, with so many moving parts, maintaining complete visibility and control can be a challenge. This is the hurdle that cloud-based monitoring tools are trying to overcome.

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Table of Contents

Best cloud-based monitoring tools

1. NinjaOne
2. SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor
3. Zabbix
4. New Relic
5. PRTG Network Monitor

• Final Scores

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Note: In this article, we will be referring to “cloud-based monitoring tools” using various terms interchangeably, including “cloud monitoring tools,” “cloud-based network monitoring tools,” “cloud-based monitoring system,” and “cloud network monitoring.

What is a cloud-based monitoring tool?

Managing applications and resources across different servers and data centers can be complex. This is where cloud-based monitoring tools step in. These monitoring solutions provide IT technicians and MSPs with a centralized platform to collect, analyze, and visualize device performance data collected from their IT environments using a cloud-based tool. This not only provides insight into IT infrastructurebut alsoand allows administrators to address potential issues before they impact business operations.

A cloud network monitoring tool requires a multi-pronged approach to provide visibility into a cloud-based infrastructure and all of its components. A cloud-based IT management solution should be able to support the optimal performance of each component of your IT environment. These cloud-based monitoring systems tools are in place to watch over components and endpoints like virtual machines, the applications installed on devices, databases, and network performance. Additionally, cloud-based monitoring tools offer real-time insights, enabling users to optimize resource allocation and troubleshoot problems efficiently.

In fact, a recent downtime survey revealed that 56% of businesses reported a significant impact on revenue due to technology downtime. While many factors may have played a role in those outages, cloud-based network monitoring tools cloud-based monitoring can help mitigate those risks. This is especially important as you consider the range of organizations that can benefit from such solutions. Whether you’re a small managed service provider or a medium-sized organization seeking an IT solution, choosing the right cloud-based monitoring tool is crucial. With so many options available, the process can feel overwhelming. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the best cloud-based monitoring tools on the market to guide you.

What to look for in a cloud-based monitoring tool?

Before we dive into your options, let’s first see what capabilities cloud-based monitoring software should have. Here are five key things to help you with your search:

1. Comprehensiveness

Your chosen IT monitoring tool should provide a broad and detailed view of your entire cloud-based IT infrastructure, including servers, databases, applications, network performance, and security components. It should also offer a holistic view by collecting metrics across the most important aspects of the IT environment.

2. Scalability and flexibility

A cloud-based monitoring tool should adapt to the complexities of a dynamic cloud environment. Moreover, an excellent cloud-based monitoring solution can adapt to a growing cloud and on-premise infrastructure. This encompasses its ability to scale when receiving increasing volumes of data as you add more resources and endpoints.

3. Patch management

Your cloud-based monitoring tool should integrate directly with your patch management system. This will allow a streamlined approach to patch deployment, ensuring the security of your endpoints and reducing the time it takes to resolve vulnerabilities in your IT infrastructure.

4. Real-time monitoring

A great cloud-based monitoring tool offers real-time monitoring to guarantee early detection and resolution of any potential issues. Real-time monitoring empowers you to maintain overall health and prevent downtime proactively.

5. Reliable alert system

A dependable cloud-based management tool has an advantage in robust endpoint monitoring, which becomes more valuable with reliable alerts and notifications. These notifications should be customizable so unnecessary alerts won’t bombard you. Also, a multi-channel alert system is preferable to ensure that the right parties are notified in case of issues. Additionally, these alerts should contain actionable insights to determine the critical issues and the steps to resolve them.

5 tips for choosing the best cloud-based monitoring tool

Here are some tips to help you narrow your search for cloud-based monitoring tools and better understand what truly aligns with your IT requirements:

1. Your monitoring needs

Take note of the most crucial aspects your organization needs to monitor on your client’s IT infrastructure. Choose a cloud-based monitoring tool that provides coverage over these components that you consider the most important.

2. Pricing that fits your financial constraints

When searching for a cloud-based monitoring tool, look for a solution that caters to your current budget. Choose the one that offers flexible pricing models tailored to your organization.

3. Your organization’s future growth

For growing MSPs and IT teams, consider your current and future needs, when choosing a cloud-based monitoring tool that can scale with your business.

4. Ease of use

Nothing beats an IT solution that makes your workflow easier and more efficient. Take advantage of a cloud-based monitoring tool with less complexity to help your team decrease their time onboarding and focus on more essential tasks.

5. Reliable support

Monitoring tools are crucial in maintaining uptime and troubleshooting issues. You need a provider with reliable customer support in case you encounter some difficulty using their service. Aside from that, choose a service that offers free unlimited onboarding and training to reduce the learning curve for your team.

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Now that we have established the key factors to consider when choosing a monitoring tool, let’s examine the top 5 cloud-based monitoring tools. Let us also see and how they compare against the criteria above:

The top 5 best cloud-based monitoring tools

All G2 & Capterra ratings data as of October 2024.

1. NinjaOne

NinjaOne is a multi-awarded remote monitoring and management suite with features perfect for growing managed service providers (MSPs), small businesses, or enterprises. This IT monitoring solution offers comprehensive support for Windows, MacOS, and Linux endpoints. NinjaOne also boasts superior application deployment and management solutions, all within a centralized tool. Simplifying complex IT tasks is easy using NinjaOne’s IT automation features, which help reduce manual workloads and streamline processes.

Strengths of NinjaOne

• Endpoint management. NinjaOne’s built-in endpoint management features offer functionality built for how IT teams work—regardless of size. NinjaOne boasts a suite of endpoint management features, such as device monitoring and performance management, designed to streamline operations and enhance overall IT efficiency. As a top-rated endpoint management solution, NinjaOne empowers MSPs and IT teams to navigate the complexities of modern IT environments.
• Comprehensive visibility. NinjaOne’s “single pane of glass” software gives IT teams and technicians an extensive overview of their entire cloud-based IT infrastructure. This centralized platform allows you to monitor every component, ensuring you get the most out of the features you pay for.
• Intuitive interface. A cloud-based monitoring solution needs a simplified user interface so that it’s easy for IT teams of any skill level to use. This provides users with less time to learn the platform and more time to start their IT tasks immediately. While every new software comes with a small learning curve, NinjaOne aims to minimize onboarding time with a professional-grade but user-friendly interface.
• Scalability. Cloud environments are dynamic, and IT infrastructures can grow rapidly. That’s why NinjaOne is built with scalability in mind. NinjaOne seamlessly adapts to your needs, scaling effortlessly to handle increasing workloads without sacrificing performance.
• Remote monitoring and alerting. NinjaOne’s standout performance in remote monitoring and alerting helps MSPs to proactively identify IT issues before they escalate. It provides real-time insights and customizable notifications so MSPs can address problems the fastest way possible. Not only that, NinjaOne’s remote monitoring eases the burden of IT teams by reducing instances of on-site fixes – minimizing downtime for clients. This empowers technicians to deploy patches, configure systems, and troubleshoot problems efficiently, all from a centralized location.

Who is NinjaOne best for?

NinjaOnes’s extensive support for MSPs and IT teams of any size makes it a powerful competitor in the cloud-based monitoring landscape. Growing MSPs may have a very limited time for processes such as onboarding and training their team. NinjaOne addresses this challenge with free unlimited onboarding and training.

In fact, NinjaOne’s MSP ROI survey reveals that 92% of its users were already fully operational in under a month. The report also shows that it only took under six hours to onboard a new technician for 89% of its users. From the start, NinjaOne is dedicated to saving MSPs’ time and increasing their productivity.

NinjaOne reviews on G2

NinjaOne reviews on Capterra

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2. SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor

SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor is a comprehensive monitoring tool marketed to IT professionals and network administrators. It helps them manage network infrastructure more efficiently.

The platform offers alerting capabilities, including anomaly-based alerts powered by AIOps, ensuring swift response to emerging issues. Additionally, SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor features customizable dashboards, allowing IT teams to focus on the most critical network performance metrics for their specific needs.

Benefits

• Network management. SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor offers a user-friendly approach to network management.
• Easy installation. The platform prioritizes being straightforward when it comes to installation for those who have IT expertise.
• Network mapping. SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor can also create maps to visualize your on-premises and hybrid networks.

Drawbacks

• Integration. One of the tool’s drawbacks is the lack of app integration to with other essential products and services.
• User-interface. According to some user feedback, the complex interface may overwhelm new technicians.
• Feature set. Some reviews say that while the platform has useful features, some of the most essential ones are only available in more expensive tiers.

SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor reviews on G2

SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor reviews on Capterra

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3. Zabbix

Zabbix is an enterprise-class, all-in-one open-source solution for MSPs and IT administrators to monitor their IT environment on-premise or in the cloud. This enterprise monitoring system features a centralized console that gives administrators a broad overview of their IT stack. The platform also offers professional training to help users navigate the platform more effectively

Benefits

• Amazon CloudWatch integration. Zabbix integrates with Amazon CloudWatch, which is a useful tool for gathering metrics.
• VM support. The platform is also a trusted monitoring tool for virtual machines, making it a flexible monitoring solution.
•  24/7 uptime. Zabbix aims to guarantee 24/7 uptime to negate the risk of data loss for your infrastructure.

Drawbacks

• Limited scalability. Some users say Zabbix has limited scalability, suggesting the platform could improve this to handle increasing devices and data sets.
• Setup. Some Zabbix users find the setup process challenging. They say that making the initial configuration process less complex can enhance it.
• User-interface. Some users of the platform also pointed out that the user interface could use some refinement to become more intuitive.

Zabbix reviews on G2

Zabbix reviews on Capterra

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4. New Relic

New Relic is one of the more recent IT solutions on the market. It offers monitoring tools that help IT administrators and MSPs to identify and troubleshoot IT infrastructure issues. The platform features essential capabilities like anomaly detection, which profiles metrics to determine which ones are going against baselines. It also has synthetic monitoring, simulating global traffic to proactively identify and troubleshoot issues.

Benefits

• Customizable dashboard. New Relic showcases a customizable dashboard that gives MSPs more control over the management of their IT environment.
• SQL query capability. The platform is also capable of executing SQL queries to ensure databases’ optimal performance.
• Integrations. New Relic integrates with numerous tools to further extend and maximize the solution’s functionalities.

Drawbacks

• Mobile app. Its mobile app companion may be a handy tool for IT administrators, but the application itself could be improved.
• User interface. Some reviews of New Relic also highlight how its user interface may present a challenging learning curve for some customers.
• Documentation. Some users stated in their feedback about New Relic that documentation could be improved by ensuring that it is always updated and comprehensive.

New Relic reviews on G2

New Relic reviews on Capterra

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5. PRTG Network Monitor

PRTG Network Monitor is an integrated IT solution that provides real-time monitoring and analysis of network performance on-premises and in the cloud. The platform is marketed as a solution that’s suitable for businesses of all sizes. It provides monitoring capabilities for an infrastructure’s network, applications, database, servers, etc.

Benefits

• Visualization. PRTG Network Monitor’s custom maps and dashboard are key features of the solution to help administrators understand their network infrastructure better.
• On-premise installation. The platform also offers on-premise installation so administrators can have more control over data, configuration, and updates.
• Freeware monitoring. PRTG Network Monitor offers a tier that provides a freeware monitoring solution for up to 100 sensors for life.

Drawbacks

• Navigation. Some PRTG Network Monitor customers pointed out that the platform’s user interface can be overwhelming, especially if you’re new to it.
• Pricing. While the pricing is transparent, it can get costly since users have to purchase a license based on the number of nodes to be monitored.
• Sensor setup. Some users of the platform noted the complexities of configuring the sensors, which could become overwhelming.

PRTG Network Monitor reviews on G2

PRTG Network Monitor reviews on Capterra

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Comparison of cloud-based monitoring tools (G2)

Comparison of cloud-based monitoring tools (Capterra)