Simply put, application performance management is the art of managing the performance, availability, and user experience of software applications. APM monitors the speed at which transactions are performed both by end-users and by the systems and network infrastructure that support a software application, providing an end-to-end overview of potential bottlenecks and service interruptions. In pragmatic terms, this typically involves the use of a suite of software tools—or a single integrated SaaS or on-premises tool—to view and diagnose an application’s speed, reliability, and other performance metrics in order to maintain an optimal level of service. Load testing, synthetic monitoring and real-user monitoring, and root-cause analysis are a few of the primary tools to be found in a well-rounded approach to APM. Another significant component of APM is web performance monitoring (WPM), or the use of web-monitoring tools to gauge app speed and uptime. In less pragmatic terms, however, APM is ultimately a perspective—an analytical view brought to bear on every aspect of software performance in order to clearly understand, and continuously improve, the end-user experience.

Source: SmartBear