SolarWinds Observability Reviews & Product Details

We are able to monitor the network in much greater depth compared to other monitoring tools. It's really easy to add a device or a service to monitoring. And we can use it not only on-prem servers, but also a cloud-hosted version for use. It's really easy to install the software, since all the steps are integrated into one setup. We can use 24/7 customer support not only from SolarWinds, but also from other premium partners like Loop1. We can integrate SolarWinds with any ITSM platform for better visibility. I am using this daily with a few client environments. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

There are too many options, and I need to know all the details to achieve the maximum outcome from the tool. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like SolarWinds Observability because it provides me with clear, real-time visibility into my customers' environments, making it easy to identify issues quickly. It simplifies monitoring, reduces troubleshooting time, and helps me support clients more efficiently. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Sometimes SolarWinds Observability can feel limited in customization, and certain features still need more maturity. A few areas may be slow or require additional steps, which can prolong troubleshooting time. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Easy to install.

Fast time to ROI. Have used several other tools in the past that proved to be much more labor intensive to get ROI (Tivoli Netview, HP Openview Suite, Cisco Works)

Like that they are embracing API monitoring for cloud based monitoring (Like Meraki, Juniper/Mist, etc)

I LOVE the integration with ServiceNow for auto ticket creation, assignment and closure. This is a lifesaver for our org and I have a least a dozen alerts setup for this integration.

SAM makes monitoring pretty flexible - monitoring services, listening ports, hardware health, etc. Made OpenManage essentially obsolete for us.

NCM is great tool for network config backups and comparison / change control. Have been using since was stand alone product and while I miss some of the features from then it is still very good (vulnerability management is very nice feature)

Not a big fan of the Device Tracker. We have been using Netdisco for years and I really like it so have never converted. It may be OK but similar to Cacti (which we also run in parallel) it simply does some things better (single pane view of multiple charts all aggregated - possible with performance analysis but more time consuming to create and not as easy to place on NOC dashboard)

I think the Sunburst security event has really placed a much greater focus on security for Solarwinds. They were pretty relaxed before and have done a 180 on this now.

Online training / videos are pretty good. Documentation is also above average.

We use Netflow and having consolidated it away from Lancope has been a nice single pane / vendor advantage. Not best of breed but good enough to not manage 2 products.

IPAM tool is good but not perfect. Massive improvement over any manual excel or similar. Neighbor discovery, auto scanning, history, integration with DHCP and DNS. All very nice. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Reliability is becoming increasing criticism for me.

For example, I monitor several hundred VMware guests through 2 different vCenter servers. I have alert integrations with ServiceNow to auto open and close tickets and this is especially useful for a widely distributed set of hardware monitoring. Catching failed power supplies, drives, fans, batteries using only SAM (vs Dell OpenManage) and being able to auto open, assign and close tickets is brilliant.... When it works right. Too often in last year (really starting around 2024 release) I see faults in vCenter which Solarwinds tells me should be polled once every 12 hours (not customizable BTW) which are multiple days old (weekend) and have not triggered. Doing nothing more than opening the alert that should have triggered this, walking through each of the tabs or even jumping to the final tab and hitting save will instantly trigger the alert! Support has been unhelpful in diagnosing this so I am forced to monitor the monitor more than I should.

I still have gripes about moving subnets in IPAM - it is clunky and slow though a little better in 2025.x

Lastly, Solarwinds is near the top of most annoying sales upsells and renewals for me. There must be enormous pressure on their sales team because the turnover to our account is very high and they are constantly trying to upsell. I basically ignore now for everything except renewals. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

SolarWinds Hybrid Cloud Observability (HCO) is like a stop for IT engineers for keeping an eye on everything on environment (like server, backup, storage, network, AP, Sensors, UPS etc) setup—either platform is running on-prem, in the cloud, or somewhere in between. Solarwinds pulls together monitoring for networks, infrastructure, apps, and cloud services into one easy-to-use and manage dashboards. We are currently managing 35K + devices and components under a single monitoring roof. It's becomes way simpler because of flexible licensing and smart alerts, it saves time and cuts down on admin work. If someone doesn't have hand-on experience on scripts and languages then he can easily use the manually features (like alert creation, report, any modification). HCO completely transformation and gives better visibility, on license, issues and keep things running smoothly. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

*here is a limitation from the tool that Dell does not expose much volume information over WMI hence we are unable to monitor the disk operations on the dell servers. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It is a comprehensive solution that covers a wide variety of monitoring requirements. From network devices, to traffic, to servers. Other aspects like storage, web performance, etc.

Secondly, the simplicity of using the product from a user perspective. It does not require you to edit any config files, or keep a track of files to set up and modify your monitoring needs Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Technical support or other resources available do not provide enough information or support for integrations using the SWQL studio. There should be resources available to learn, implement and troubleshoot integration issues. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I particularly like the clean, customizable dashboards that make it easy to view infrastructure health at a glance. Alerting is well done and versatile, enabling us to detect issues before they affect users. It works well in cloud environments and other SolarWinds solutions, making consolidating monitoring in one place easier. Implementation was relatively easy for the team. We use it daily to monitor servers and services, which has improved our response times. Their customer support is also responsive and helpful when we run into issues. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The expense can be steep for tiny teams, especially with more modules. Due to so many features and choices, bringing on new users can be challenging. The interface can sometimes seem a bit dated in certain places compared to newer competitor systems. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

SolarWinds Observability has been a game changer for our infrastructure monitoring. The most helpful aspect is the unified view it provides across metrics, logs, and traces, which makes troubleshooting and root cause analysis much faster. The customizable dashboards and real-time alerts are easy to configure and keep our teams proactive. Upsides include its scalability, ease of deployment, and clear visibility into both cloud and on-prem environments. It’s helped us reduce downtime and improve performance monitoring significantly. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The user interface can feel a bit cluttered at times, especially for new users who are still learning their way around. Some of the more advanced features require a steeper learning curve or deeper customization. Integration with certain third-party tools isn't as seamless as we'd like, and pricing can get high as more features and nodes are added. Occasional delays in data sync or alerting have also been noticed during peak usage. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I'm genuinely impressed with Solarwinds Observability. It's truly been a game changer for how we monitor our entire IT environment. What stands out the most is the unified view it provides. Instead of juggling multiple tools for different aspects of our infrastructure, SO brings everything together seamlessly. We can monitor apps, infrastructure, networks, and logs all from a single pane of glass. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Despite the wide range and extent of data SO collects and the depth of insights it can offer, navigating the platform can feel like wading in molasses. The Dashboards often suffer from noticeable loading times and refreshing delays. What you would think would be quick, ie. insightful glances at critical metrics, often turns into a test of patience. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I like best about SolarWinds Observability is the unified view it offers across infrastructure, applications, and logs — all from a single dashboard. It's incredibly helpful to correlate metrics, traces, and logs for root cause analysis, especially in hybrid environments. The customizable dashboards are intuitive, and the AIOps features help reduce alert noise, making it easier to focus on real issues. It's a huge time-saver for monitoring complex systems. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The initial setup and configuration can be overwhelming, especially for teams new to observability tools. Some documentation is outdated or unclear, and onboarding large environments requires time and effort. Also, pricing can escalate quickly as more nodes or features are added. Lastly, customer support response times could be improved. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like the new per-Node cost model. It is also a very mature product with good coverage of historical / on-prem environments. The flexibility of alerting is great too. The product is easy to use with a lot of documentation available. Users also find it easy to use. It's easy to ingegrate due to on-prem database. Implementation is relatively easy too. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

We have issues with stability and reliability of the product sometimes. Also it's still far behind competition when it comes to Cloud and containter based monitoring, AI features and log monitoring. Customer support is not great, with support reps not looking into root causes and just trying to clear or reinstall things. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.