Amazon Web Services (AWS) CloudWatch is a management and monitoring service built for IT managers, system operators, developers and maintenance engineers. It streamlines the monitoring of customer applications and AWS resources. Cloudwatch collects actionable data, detailed insights and notifies users of application problems that need to be fixed.
However, the capabilities of CloudWatch won’t suffice for every organization. This is why it may be necessary to integrate CloudWatch with other tools in order to further enhance its function. The following is a look at some of the benefits of integrating CloudWatch with curated dashboards for supported AWS services.
1. Single Data Interface
One of the biggest headaches when it comes to managing and monitoring cloud servers and applications is the numerous interfaces and data points that need to be monitored at virtually the same time.
CloudWatch does a fairly good job of aggregating information and making it available in a user-friendly format. Integrating CloudWatch with curated dashboards takes this even further. On a single panel, you can analyze the detailed default and custom metrics with a granularity of as low as one-second.
2. Optimized TCO
The cost of acquiring technology is more than just the initial purchase. How much does it cost you or save you when future expenditure is factored in? The total cost of ownership (TCO) can be vastly different for two applications that have the same purchase price.
Integrating CloudWatch with a curated dashboard gives you greater value for your money by narrowing the time required to resolve any issues. With automated actions and high-resolution alarms, you can free up human resources and focus your team’s efforts on activities that actually grow the business.
3. Deep Insights
When combined with a good third-party dashboard, CloudWatch provides invaluable system-wide information on resource utilization. The data collected is in the form of events, logs, and metrics.
IT administrators can configure notifications to be sent out whenever certain metrics surpass a pre-defined milestone. These notifications can be automatically relayed to the right on-duty person through any one of various communication channels including email, text message, and pager.
4. Long-term Planning
When you are running a rapidly growing business, server capacity can creep up on you. With the right CloudWatch integration, you can extract useful insights in real-time that make long-term resource planning easier. It allows you to not only study current data but also historical performance and emerging trends.
With as much as 15 months of past data, you can plan for future capacity demands with a higher degree of certainty. In the event that IT departments have to submit the request to the company’s senior management or board for approval, they’ll have a solid foundation to back the procurement proposal.
5. Pay as You Go
Technology can be expensive and costs do pile up rapidly. That’s why you should make the most of any opportunity to cut down on costs. One of the advantages of most CloudWatch integration dashboards is that there’s no minimum fee or upfront commitment.
Only pay for features as and when you use them. The charges at the end of the month will be commensurate with your usage. This makes financial planning easier and allows you to vary your monitoring and analytics cost based on what you can afford each month.
6. Reduced Downtime
System downtime may be caused by environmental factors, configuration issues, human error, system vulnerabilities or external attack. When it does occur, it not only diminishes end-user productivity and deteriorates their experience but it also has a direct impact on the business’ bottom line.
Customers can tolerate one-off system outages since even the world’s largest and most sophisticated tech systems in the world are not immune to technical hitches. Few will tolerate regular system breakdown though. By integrating CloudWatch with the appropriate third party dashboards, you can identify looming problems before they spiral out of control and become too expensive to fix.
7. Combat Security Threats
AWS has one of (if not THE) most robustly secure cloud servers in the world. And for good reason. With market dominance and an enormous financial war chest, Amazon has the rationale and the muscle to apply comprehensive measures to secure servers.
Nevertheless, AWS does not have control over what applications clients will install on their servers. That’s why integrating CloudWatch with a curated dashboard is vital in ensuring security threats do not slip past security checks and take root unnoticed. You can better keep an eye on unusual system behavior, unexplainable outages and a mysterious strain on system resources.
Businesses are under ever increasing pressure to ensure their systems are consistent, dependable and efficient. Keeping track of relevant metrics and picking up looming problems before they materialize is key to bolstering your business’ reputation. AWS CloudWatch integration with a credible third party dashboard can help you do that.