Auvik vs. IBM Instana

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Auvik
Score 9.9 out of 10
N/A
Auvik Network Management is a vendor-agnostic cloud-based network monitoring and management solution providing automated network discovery. Auvik requires no service hardware or disruptive maintenance cycles and provides onboarding and training for new and existing users. Auvik delivers visibility and automation to reduce friction for IT teams and allow them to give end users the freedom to work wherever and however they…N/A
IBM Instana
Score 8.1 out of 10
N/A
Instana, an IBM company since the December 2020 acquisition, provides APM services for SOA, microservices, containerized applications and Kubernetes, and cloud native applications, as well as discovery and monitoring for IT assets.
$18
per month per Managed Virtual Server (MVS)
Pricing
AuvikIBM Instana
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Essentials
$18
per month per Managed Virtual Server (MVS)
Standard
$75
per month per Managed Virtual Server (MVS)
Self-Hosted
$93.80
per month per Managed Virtual Server (MVS)
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
AuvikIBM Instana
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsPricing is calculated per number of switches, routers, firewalls, and controllers. Everything else is monitored for free.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
AuvikIBM Instana
Considered Both Products
Auvik
Chose Auvik
Auvik was a much better to scale as an MSP and their support offering was far better from my research. Knowledge base, training, and dedicated support/account reps made it an easy decision. As an MSP we need less time maintaining and learning the tools and more time working …
Chose Auvik
Auvik's license structure is simple and affordable. Auvik's license is based on total network devices in your network. They charge only for total number of Switches, Routers, firewalls and Wireless controllers in your network. All other devices license would be free of charge
Chose Auvik
Auvik was the best overall feature set, pricing model, ease of setup, and great technical support.
Chose Auvik
Nicer GUI, easier setup, but considerably more expensive.
Chose Auvik
Auvik has an automatic discovery setting, where Zabbix has to be done per each machine. This slows things down and makes it a little more complicated especially when there is no credentials or anything that is available. Zabbix however has a better uptime compared to Auviks. …
Chose Auvik
Auvik can stand up against any of the big network management and monitoring solutions on the market. I've implemented and used SolarWinds at many organizations for over 15 years. The paradigm that SolarWinds, PRTG, Prime, etc., work under is completely different than Auvik. …
Chose Auvik
Ease of use, professional, and just a better overall product than every other tool out there.
Chose Auvik
Auvik is easier to deploy and more powerful
Chose Auvik
ConnectWise Automate has a network map feature but Auvik is much easier to use.
Chose Auvik
I have previewed several other products, and they all look like a joke compared to Auvik. I have not tested them, however, so I won't say anything further on that.
Chose Auvik
Auvik blows most of these out of the water. We have tried Nagios, Solarwinds and PRTG. We are happy with our choice of Auvik over those.
Chose Auvik
Auvik is a superior tool for MSPs due to its multi-tenant capability, speed of deployment for new customers, and integrations with the current common MSP tools stack. Intermapper is a very powerful and expensive application, so not directly applicable, but Auvik still has many …
Chose Auvik
Auvik is a better solution than Nagios.
Chose Auvik
I came onboard with Solarwinds already installed and running. It took me some time to learn my way around the Web interface. Nice product but a little convoluted for me. We weren't using it to it's full potential. It did work well for network monitoring, and configuration …
Chose Auvik
Auvik was better in two key respects: MSP-friendly pricing and also in the ability for less experienced technicians to set it up and use it.
Chose Auvik
Auvik does a better job of visually giving a representation of how items are connected in the network. Also, the alerts are fast and detailed, which allows fast response to issues when they arise. There are many SNMP details already in Auvik and they have the ability to monitor …
Chose Auvik
Opmanager is more customizable but requires way more man-hours to set up and operate.
Chose Auvik
The out of the box features and alerting with Auvik have been incredibly helpful. The navigation is slightly behind the clarity within the SolarWinds portals, but the alerting is significantly better out of the box.
Chose Auvik
Since we have only evaluated auvik and have solely rested on this as a solution, we have no ability to compare and contrast other vendor offerings such as SolarWinds or HP's network discovery tools.
Chose Auvik
We already have a set tool that we use and we use Auvik to fill in the blanks and double up for backups. not a lot of tools are able to do what Auvik does, but it also goes the other way around. With network monitoring, Auvik does have more features compared to some others. …
IBM Instana
Chose IBM Instana
IBM Instana is great for infrastructure monitoring while AppDynamics is ahead in application monitoring
Chose IBM Instana
We chose IBM Instana for its very affordable price, the ease of use of the solution, which was perfectly suited to our needs and specifications, and the feedback from our teams, who had no trouble getting to grips with it in a very short time.The IBM Instana solution is very …
Chose IBM Instana
IBM Instana provides 60 seconds granularity whereas the other products use time series data
IBM Instana automatically detects the Service Endpoints which helps us trace all the calls pinpointed to service endpoints.
IBM Instana provides complete Auto Discovery with no …
Chose IBM Instana
Well again, it comes back to the application monitor. It does a better job than SolarWinds.
Chose IBM Instana
Automatic application discovery with one agent installation instead of manual configuration for each application and multiply agents for each technology stack.

Automatic tracing for application calls without the need to add complex configuration and application instrumentation.
Chose IBM Instana
BMC TrueSight Automation for Networks and Dynatrace
Chose IBM Instana
1- ROI is higher as the budget is much less than other
2- the way of calculating license is much better and fit us and this affect the ROI
3- the ease of implementation
Chose IBM Instana
The primary reason we choose IBM Instana was that is was compatible with nearly all of our apps without requiring any modifications to our code. We are really happy that we decided to adopt IBM Instana.
Chose IBM Instana
because of support and better agents for non containeraized workloads, virtual machines and lpars
Chose IBM Instana
IBM Instana meet LMRA requirements, as IBM Instana is more useful to deep-dive each transaction from Real-user monitoring itself when compared to other APM's in the market. Also gives more flexibility especially from the support perspective to identify bottlenecks and to …
Chose IBM Instana
As a DevOps engineer, I've explored various Application Performance Monitoring (APM) tools, including New Relic for real-time insights, AppDynamics for code-level visibility, Dynatrace for AI-driven monitoring, Datadog for comprehensive observability, Splunk for log management, …
Chose IBM Instana
Splunk is also a wonderful tool for log analysis and operational troubleshooting however auto discovery and dependency flow creation makes Instana standout. We have to do a lot of preprocessing to ingest and format data in Splunk and then write complex queries for gathering the …
Chose IBM Instana
We chose IBM Instana for several reasons, and the most important one is that we didn't have to make changes in our code for nearly all of our applications for it to work. We are happy with the decision we made to use IBM Instana.
Chose IBM Instana
We have used them and for the moment we have chosen IBM Instana first of all because of the price because it is accessible and it works in terms of the results we have obtained, also the way of presenting the schemes and the performance of the systems is very good.
Chose IBM Instana
Superior value for money, simpler license approach with automated functions (installation, detection, update, and alarm). Nothing can stop IBM Instana's footprints in the international market as it progressively gains strength and grows in the market. With fair and inexpensive …
Chose IBM Instana
New Relic has it's own perks but when it comes to large infrastructure, we always face some issue at stability but IBM Instana never fails here. In my opinion, Inbuilt dashboard and inbuilt alerting feature what makes IBM Instana better than compared to other tools. I think …
Chose IBM Instana
In my experience, they both have independent strengths and shortcomings, though I have found IBM Instana to be much better for general monitoring and setting up alerts to get ahead of any problems. Contrastly, I think humio/falcon has been easier to use when it comes to …
Chose IBM Instana
We selected IBM Instana because of better support and other products that complement each other.
Chose IBM Instana
We selected IBM Instana because it is more accurate than Datadog.
Features
AuvikIBM Instana
Network Performance Monitoring
Comparison of Network Performance Monitoring features of Product A and Product B
Auvik
7.9
Ratings
4% below category average
IBM Instana
-
Ratings
Automated network device discovery9.60 Ratings00 Ratings
Network monitoring8.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Baseline threshold calculation7.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Alerts8.60 Ratings00 Ratings
Network capacity planning7.60 Ratings00 Ratings
Packet capture analysis7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Network mapping8.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizable reports5.60 Ratings00 Ratings
Wireless infrastructure monitoring7.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Hardware health monitoring8.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
AuvikIBM Instana
Small Businesses
NinjaOne
NinjaOne
Score 9.0 out of 10
InfluxDB
InfluxDB
Score 8.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
PingPlotter
PingPlotter
Score 9.3 out of 10
Logz.io
Logz.io
Score 7.0 out of 10
Enterprises
PingPlotter
PingPlotter
Score 9.3 out of 10
NetBrain Technologies
NetBrain Technologies
Score 9.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
AuvikIBM Instana
Likelihood to Recommend
8.3
(0 ratings)
8.6
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.8
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
7.3
(0 ratings)
8.3
(0 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.2
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.7
(0 ratings)
4.5
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
AuvikIBM Instana
Likelihood to Recommend
Auvik is fantastic for managing multi-site, multi-company networks - very well suited for MSP or consultative technology companies. Navigation is simple and easy between clients and their sites. Auvik is less well suited for managing single sites or single companies - it is really meant to be used at a larger scale.
Read full review
With enterprise IT assets in a multitude of ecosystems, cloud infrastructures and sometimes still left stuck in a legacy on prem architecture, IBM Instana makes it easy to get the right data to drive development and / or DevSecOps processes with tangible input from the target environment itself.
Read full review
Pros
  • Maps out devices to switch ports.
  • Monitors, alerts, and reports on network device and port utilization.
  • Quickly created complete network diagrams.
  • Works well in a co-manage environment enabling teams full but restricted access to specific sites. Integrates well with site specific access in ConnectWise Automate.
Read full review
  • Collecting Kubernetes and Infra level logs and presenting in easy to understand visuals.
  • Tracing the end-to-end journey of an event and also categorizing by technology and Endpoints
  • Built-in and custom alerts help to monitor almost all of scenarios without much additional configuration.
  • Ability to create Applications to logical group important flows
Read full review
Cons
  • The map is not easy to quickly zoom in and out of or pan around. Usually requires a lot of filter toggling. Keyboard shortcuts for this would be nice.
  • Better global settings that can be pushed to multiple client organizations
  • Security groups/RBAC for user permissions across multiple clients
  • Ability to change the URL
Read full review
  • I believe that the "live" option in monitoring does not truly update the status in real-time, thus I must manually update to feel comfortable.
  • The call analysis tool might be improved, third-party resources are restricted, and the pricing is slightly more than competitors in comparable categories.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Because it's an amazing product.
Read full review
Instana has been able to fulfill our all requirement and provide out of box solution for multiple component like AWS RDS Monitoring and real time alerting setup on basis of that. it is also easy to integrate with other open-source alerting and monitoring tools which makes it easier to incorporate into our solutions
Read full review
Usability
The program can be a bit unwieldy at times, however the majority of information is displayed in a readable and friendly way. The maps and popup information box from the bottom can be harder to use on a smaller screen but on a 1080p+ display tends to work fine.
Read full review
IBM Instana totally alters our monitoring approach since it increases the stability of the system and simplifies the process of problem solving. And since it helps to lower the degree of alert exhaustion that we experience, it is a total game changer for us.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
We have never had a major outage or impact that was noticeable.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Performance
Pages can be slow to load on larger sites but tends to be fine for most clients.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Fast response and knowledgeable. If the technician does not know, they will look for the information and get back to you.
Read full review
IBM instana support team is good but when we ask them for support, they keep asking same thing again and again and mostly there is no solution
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Auvik's license structure is simple and affordable. Auvik's license is based on total network devices in your network. They charge only for total number of Switches, Routers, firewalls and Wireless controllers in your network. All other devices license would be free of charge
Read full review
As a DevOps engineer, I've explored various Application Performance Monitoring (APM) tools, including New Relic for real-time insights, AppDynamics for code-level visibility, Dynatrace for AI-driven monitoring, Datadog for comprehensive observability, Splunk for log management, Stackify Retrace for error tracking, and Raygun for crash reporting. Each tool offers distinct features, and the choice depends on specific use cases, technology stacks, and organizational needs. Thorough evaluations, considering factors like ease of use, integration capabilities, and scalability, help in selecting the most suitable APM solution for effective application monitoring in a DevOps environment.
Read full review
Scalability
Auvik has worked on sites with 15+ offices connected with VPN's and we have not encountered any issues with the monitoring. On larger sites the map can be a bit cumbersome to read however it can be cleaned up easily with device filters.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
  • We are at an initial stage of device onboarding and Auvik already provides quick network documentation without having to worry about updating; this is done dynamically.
  • Helpful for MSP in that it uses role-based access control to present customer-focused device management, and simplifying administration for monitoring and alerting, dashboards and reports, and billing.
Read full review
  • Let's me monitor and pinpoint issues across multiple critical systems and applications that work in tandem, reducing drastically, the time in identifying root cause and solving the issues.
  • Let's me deep dive into issues found with a lot of detailed information about particular requests , and find proper solutions by my own research or even with Gen AI assistant using Watson.x or you could prompt your AI solution of choice as well.
  • All systems fail at some point, so IBM Instana gives stakeholders ease that large complex and critical systems that affect the very livelihood of people is being observed with pinpoint precision and that issues are addressed promptly and with compass pointing north towards the problem's root cause and solutions.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Auvik Screenshots

Screenshot of a display of the big network picture used to narrow down possible devices to investigate. Auvik pulls data from sources like CDP, LLDP, and forwarding tables to meticulously model the Layer 1 network diagram. Layers 2 and 3 are built from ARP tables, IP assignments, and VLAN associations to show what’s on the network, where it is, and how it’s connected.Screenshot of Auvik’s automated inventory, which uses network protocols to detect and capture full details for every device on the network including make and model, serial number, IP address, and the physical switchport the device is connected to. If the device is known but not its location, Auvik can find the device and every other device it’s connected to.Screenshot of lifecycle data, pulled from supported devices to show whether they’re on current or expired support contracts, whether there are more up-to-date software versions available, if devices are eligible to receive critical security updates, and if devices are still available for purchase.Screenshot of Auvik's over 50 pre-configured alerts tuned to industry best practices and ranging from informational to emergency. Its pre-configured alerts can be tweaked, added to, and the frequency of how often notifications are sent can be changed.Screenshot of Auvik TrafficInsights, which leverages machine learning and traffic classification to show which applications—like Dropbox, Netflix, or Slack—or protocols are using up the bulk of the network’s bandwidth.Screenshot of Auvik's centralized syslog for all network devices where they can be viewed directly from the device dashboard for more context, to more quickly troubleshoot network issues.