What's needed is a holistic approach to application performance management, one that employs systems that work across application layers as well as across distributed enterprises. Key to getting application performance right is understanding the bigger-picture needs of the organization as defined through practices such as ITIL and COBIT (see "Standards For IT Governance," Dec. 10, p. 35). These governance processes help IT understand what's important. In this Blueprint, we'll explore how to keep those important services up and running.
Changes in the methods for building and deploying applications have rendered impotent many of the techniques historically used to manage application delivery infrastructures. Gone are the days when managing a database server's transaction performance equated to performance management. With the advent of Web services and now Web 2.0 technologies like mashups, today's applications are too complex to manage with last-generation tools and methodologies. New IT governance standards gaining acceptance among technology leaders also require that IT resources be managed more cohesively and proactively.
