During every waking moment in our lives, we interact with a series of applications that deliver us certain digital experiences. For the most part, we are not even aware of how much these experiences affect our lives and to what extent we rely on them. In this way, the use of digital services has become a continuation of human behavior, impulsive, subconscious action – a “digital reflex”.

The survey, conducted for three years by AppDynamics (since recently part of the Cisco family), examines user behavior, attitudes, and expectations from digital services. According to the latest report from 2019, the appetite for digital services is growing, because people use an increasing number of applications every day. In fact, they have become so integrated into our daily lives that respondents used 4 times more applications per day than they were aware of.

When the expected experience is not delivered due to any malfunction, users notice it. Moreover, the consequence can be irreparable damage not only to the brand but also to the business as a whole.

That is why it is important that in the era of digital reflexes, service providers understand that first-class performance and impeccable user experience are no longer something to strive for, but are the ultimate for achieving business results.

As many as 69% of users said that they reflexively use digital services, automatically, with very little awareness of it.

At the end of 2019, while we were already in the middle of the fourth industrial revolution (which brought machine learning, artificial intelligence and robotics), the global pandemic COVID-19 changed everything. More or less overnight, the world started working from home, in numbers that had never been seen before. Companies were forced to redefine existing or develop new business models.

There is no doubt that even after the pandemic subsides, some trends will remain in mass use than before: work from home, digitalization of customer services, digital commerce, contactless delivery of goods, use of online and on-demand platforms, etc.…

Companies need to revise their approach to user experience. First impressions are created online, relationships are forced through applications and purchasing decisions are made based on the digital experience. Today, user experience is primarily digital.

That is why it is now more important than ever for digital services (and the brands behind them) to provide users with personalized world-class content and experience, to recognize and reward consumer loyalty, and (why not) to compensate for a bad digital experience.

It is obvious that a turning point has come for many brands. They have to start taking digital performance seriously or risk falling behind in the race. After all, poor digital performance can ruin a brand’s reputation. More than half of respondents are willing to pay more for a company’s product or services if their digital services are better than the competition. However…

It is clear that the digital transformation has not slowed down or paused due to the global health crisis – in fact, it has accelerated. Which suggests the question: How do we prioritize business and IT activities during this unprecedented period?

Undoubtedly, IT and business leaders will have no fewer challenges in the months ahead.

Teams will need more support in terms of application experience to use the benefits in business terms.

Finding tools and solutions that will enable them to get closer to consumers is just the beginning of these efforts. Besides, companies need to gain insight into relevant data that will help them make proactive decisions in order to protect businesses exposed to current challenges, while preparing them for the journey ahead.

• Make decisions and take actions based on factual insight
• Focus on application performance
• Compare performance with desired business results

Once again, in today’s digital world, applications are no longer an add-on or an upgrade, they are the bloodstream of business. Users no longer wonder if something will work – they expect it.

Therefore, when business transactions are compromised due to interruptions, slowdowns, or “hiccups” in the digital experience, the result can be not only a loss of sales but also a reputation and trust.

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) tools enable real-time monitoring and root-cause analysis of operational problems, which help keep the application efficient and profitable.

AppDynamics APM provides complete insight into the most critical services and business transactions that make up the app, enabling businesses to identify potential problems, ensure optimal use, and provide an outstanding online user experience.

What does APM measure?

APM includes monitoring application behavior, comparing parameters with expected values ​​in real-time, alerting and collecting data at the source of any problem, analyzing data to assess business impact, and adjusting the application to solve similar problems before affecting the user experience.

Business iQ, the first of its kind, monitors to the level of program code and translates it into a correlated view of business performance, technological performance, and user experience, ie. gives a cross-section of the Business Health Dashboard. Monitors and reports on the most critical paths within the application – identifies critical points where users leave the application due to the inability to complete the transaction. It measures the impact of digital investment and proactively manages digital business processes by identifying a “bottleneck” before the user notices performance degradation.

The Central Nervous System is a concept based on the use of artificial intelligence that automates anomaly detection and root-cause analysis. This significantly reduces the Mean Time to Repair MTTR and avoids incidents.

The technological world is constantly evolving, software applications are becoming more complex, dynamic, and distributed more than ever. No matter how complex the application environment is, users still expect the application to run anytime, on any device, from anywhere in the world. This makes monitoring the performance of business-sensitive applications crucial to running a successful and competitive business.

  “Impeccable digital performance has become the standard for every business. The winners will be those who manage to constantly function above that level. “

Jim Cavanaugh

Vice President, APJ

AppDynamics

As a result of the digital transformation and the current pandemic, a new battlefield was opened, which positioned APM as an absolute necessity of business.

User expectations are growing, along with the need for applications.

Your application is your business.

The time of efficient operation of the application is the only KPI that counts in modern business. It will also be the only KPI based on which the results of company directors in five years will be measured.

See the full AppDynamics report on the link.