Supply chain management (SCM) systems, customer relationship management (CRM) platforms, enterprise resource planning (ERP) tools... the list goes on. Software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology is deeply rooted in daily operations across all industries-and success can depend largely on its performance. NETSCOUT research conducted in early 2024 revealed that 76 percent of the companies surveyed had increased the number of SaaS tools and applications in use over the past year. This increase underscores the importance of SaaS observability to ensure reliable, high-quality user experiences and optimal performance of these vital cloud-based technologies.
Poor SaaS performance has the potential to increase business risk in several areas. For example:
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Compliance and regulatory risk. Regulation poses a significant challenge for geographically distributed organizations, particularly those in highly regulated industries such as healthcare, banking, and government. For example, government entities, including state offices, often rely on a range of heavily used commercial SaaS and custom applications, such as the California Statewide Automated Welfare System (SAWS). Comprehensive observability solutions are essential for maintaining the performance of these applications and ensuring adherence to industry standards and regulations. By monitoring service performance in real time through a single pane of glass, organizations can enhance cloud visibility; minimize downtime; and reduce the risks of noncompliance, such as financial penalties or regulatory scrutiny. This proactive approach not only strengthens regulatory adherence but also improves the user experience by providing reliable access, no matter where users log on.
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Operational and financial risk. Disrupted performance of mission-critical SaaS applications can have hefty implications on operations and, in turn, the company's bottom line. In the manufacturing industry, for example, manufacturing execution system (MES) applications are essential for monitoring and controlling the manufacturing process from every stage, including production, quality control, fulfillment, and delivery. If MES application performance is down, operational delays can lead to missed timelines, resulting in major setbacks and delays that negatively impact revenue. Leveraging a proactive network and application performance monitoring solution helps identify the root cause of slowdowns before performance problems surface in daily operations-and resolve them before they can cause a domino effect of disruptions that affect the financial health of an organization.
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Brand and reputation risk. Poor SaaS performance affects employees' abilities to do their job, and often this impedes their interactions with customers. Negative customer experiences lead to customer attrition, and dissatisfaction can affect the organization's overall brand and reputation. Not only that but employees such as customer service representatives and sales teams who rely on SaaS technology to do their jobs lose productivity when degradations occur, which can increase frustration and result in turnover. If employees do not feel supported by their systems and do not see investment from leadership in the technology necessary for them to succeed, they may lose faith in the company. Leveraging a performance management solution helps organizations increase SaaS observability to protect their reputation as a dependable business for customers and a resilient company for employees.
How NETSCOUT Observability Helps
NETSCOUT nGenius Enterprise Performance Management solutions provide comprehensive observability into SaaS performance at essential business edges. Using both synthetic testing capabilities and continuous monitoring with deep packet inspection (DPI) at scale, the solution equips IT teams to proactively address the root cause of performance issues before they emerge and troubleshoot efficiently to minimize performance risk. NETSCOUT observability helps organizations in manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, and many other industries assure quality user experiences and deliver reliable SaaS application performance to maintain business continuity.
Download NETSCOUT's latest ebook "SaaS Observability in the Modern Enterprise" to learn more.