Checkmk vs VMware Aria Operations for Applications comparison

Checkmk and VMware are both solutions in the Cloud Monitoring Software category. Checkmk is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.4, while VMware is ranked #22 with an average rating of 9.0. Checkmk holds a 5.3% mindshare in CMS, compared to VMware’s 1.5% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Checkmk users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of VMware users who would recommend it.

Checkmk

Read 9 Checkmk reviews

3,111 Views
2,760 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

VMware Aria Operations for ...

Read 12 VMware Aria Operations for Applications reviews

1,021 Views
922 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Checkmk

VMware Aria Operations for ...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 2024

VMware Aria Operations for Applications and Checkmk are competing in the application monitoring and management category. VMware Aria Operations gains an edge with pricing and customer support, while Checkmk impresses with its comprehensive features and flexible monitoring capabilities.

Features:VMware Aria Operations for Applications provides application performance monitoring, predictive analytics, and support for diverse cloud environments. Checkmk offers advanced monitoring for various infrastructures, detailed health checks, and automation features. VMware Aria Operations is known for its extensive cloud integrations, while Checkmk provides a flexible monitoring stack with in-depth customization.

Room for Improvement:VMware Aria Operations could improve in adapting its features for non-cloud environments, expanding customization options, and enhancing on-premises support. Checkmk can improve by simplifying its user interface, offering better mobile access, and streamlining its initial setup process to suit less technical users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service:VMware Aria Operations offers streamlined deployment for cloud-native environments with responsive customer service. Checkmk supports various networks with its modular architecture and extensive documentation. VMware Aria Operations focuses on deployment simplicity, while Checkmk prioritizes configurability and extensive support resources.

Pricing and ROI:VMware Aria Operations presents a competitive initial setup cost with a strong return on investment for those in the VMware ecosystem. Checkmk's cost structure, driven by its open-source model, leads to favorable cost-benefit outcomes over time. VMware Aria Operations attracts organizations seeking comprehensive cloud integration, while Checkmk's model benefits businesses prioritizing flexibility and extendability.

To learn more, read our detailed Checkmk vs. VMware Aria Operations for Applications Report (Updated: February 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Checkmk vs. VMware Aria Operations for Applications

February 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Checkmk

Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring

13th

Ranking in Cloud Monitoring Software

12th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Monitoring Software (11th), Server Monitoring (5th)

VMware Aria Operations for ...

Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring

29th

Ranking in Cloud Monitoring Software

22nd

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (27th), Container Monitoring (7th)

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Cloud Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Checkmk is 5.3%, up from 3.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Aria Operations for Applications is 1.5%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Paolo Sala

Application performance and System monitoring at Agos

A reasonably priced tool for system and application monitoring

The main room for improvement is in the solution's presentation and the integration area. In our company, we use the integration capabilities from ServiceNow. We also have another big monitoring solution in place in our company, which is Dynatrace. At the moment, there doesn't exist an out-of-the-box integration for Dynatrace. I think that the integration and the exporting of the data collected are areas where Checkmk lacks but should try to improve the most. The only implementation of Checkmk that allows high availability is the virtual appliance that has the option for the availability of a different box. Otherwise, you have to find a way to implement it manually with some custom solution, which could be an improvement.

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ToniLindberg

senior consultant at Virtual Consultants Sverige AB

Troubleshooting capabilities have improved application monitoring and support engagement

I can see what happens end to end, which is pretty beneficial. The solution has troubleshooting capabilities, providing a direct connection to knowledge base articles from VMware Broadcom. When I encounter an error, I can search directly within the system to see what solutions have been employed by others. It has a familiar interface, which makes it easy to get started.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"Overall, from one to ten, I rate Checkmk a nine."

"Checkmk helps me compare data and foresee issues."

"The alerting system in Checkmk really works properly."

"The initial setup of Checkmk was easy...It is a very stable solution."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it has a lot of different pieces, and they all work together...It is a very scalable solution. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."

"We can monitor multiple sites using the product."

"The most valuable features of Checkmk are its resource monitoring, infra monitoring, and log factor configuration."

"Checkmk was built on a platform that was user-friendly, and I could build my charts easily."

More Checkmk pros

"It has a familiar interface, which makes it easy to get started."

"The most valuable aspects of the solution are its ease of use and its ease of implementation."

"The stability of Aria Operations for Applications has improved significantly over the years."

"Tanzu itself, integrated with multiple solutions, bestows support and security upon a container platform, especially when it comes to managing open-source container platforms such as Kubernetes."

"No issues with stability."

"The features I find most valuable is the querying and alerting capabilities."

"I gladly recommend VMware Aria Operations for Applications because it is cost effective and has commendable AI response capabilities."

"VMware Aria Operations for Applications offers significant features such as real-time statistics, the ability to identify possible issues within the VM environment, and helpful heat maps."

More VMware Aria Operations for Applications pros

Cons

"The main challenge for us is that we're moving from Nagios to Checkmk, and we're still getting used to the new way of working."

"I think that the integration and the exporting of the data collected are areas where Checkmk lacks but should try to improve the most."

"Checkmk does not allow running scripts at varying intervals."

"The initial setup is a bit complex."

"It is easy for tech-savvy people, but newcomers might find it intimidating."

"If an alert is generated for a specific pattern in the log, and if Checkmk catches that log, it will stay there even after the alert is resolved."

"Sometimes we receive alerts, and it can become annoying when you acknowledge an alert. It is very clunky when you acknowledge the alert. The process is not very intuitive, and there are instances where it feels a bit cumbersome to acknowledge an alert."

"Checkmk does not work too easily with the PowerStore. I use a PowerShell script as Checkmk runs on Linux and a Windows system, connecting with the Checkmk agent."

More Checkmk cons

"The solution could be expensive, which might be a limiting factor."

"The main problem I have is that the license cost is very high."

"Its billing model is consumption-based. I understand the consumption-based model, but it is not necessarily easy to estimate and guess how many points or how much we are going to consume on a specific application up until we get to that point. So, for us, it would be helpful to have more insights or predictability into what we can expect from a cost perspective if we are starting to use specific features. This can potentially also drive our consumption a bit more."

"The return on investment is best suited for organizations that do not have the resources for a dedicated VM environment team. However, the cost of the product doesn't show significant benefits."

"They could make it more easy to plug-in data so that a nontechnical person will be able to use it, like accountants or finance people. That way they don't have to ask us."

"An area for improvement would be more in-depth reporting, such as analyzing disk IO during business hours compared to after hours."

"The initial setup should be easier and more seamless."

"I find that there could be improvements in the support service response time, as the urgency varies unless specified as Priority 2 or 1 cases."

More VMware Aria Operations for Applications cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Checkmk is a fairly reasonably priced solution."

"The price of Checkmk is cheaper compared to other enterprise products."

"The product is affordable."

"Different locations require different setups. In your terms, around 300 to around 400K USD."

"The licensing costs are very high, particularly when you consider that we have to purchase a level 1 license for every integration, such as the load balancer, HAProxy, and the MSSP. And if you want to use vSAN, that's another license. Then, of course, Tanzu Observability has its own separate license."

"I don't have the details. In our case, there is a mixture in place. We have production usage, and we are also doing training for VMware. So, we also have a training instance. It is worth the money you would spend on it. That's because if you were to build all of this yourself by using some of the open source tools, then you would need a lot of time."

"I would rate the pricing as three out of five."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Checkmk?

The most valuable feature of the solution is that it has a lot of different pieces, and they all work together...It is a very scalable solution. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Checkmk?

I will get more information about Checkmk when the proof of concept is done. It's going to be before the summer. There will be a report about the tool and a recommendation to use it. So far, it loo...

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What is your primary use case for Checkmk?

Checkmk ( /products/checkmk-reviews ) is a monitoring tool, so that's what I will use it for. Right now, it's not in production, but it's in a proof of concept phase. It looks good, so probably, du...

See all answers

What do you like most about VMware Tanzu Observability by Wavefront?

VMware comes with a support team, and if you have trouble, you can easily create a ticket, and VMware will help you. Therefore, the best aspect is the support.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware Tanzu Observability by Wavefront?

The cost of VMware Aria Operations for Applications is fair and reasonable compared to what we receive in support and packages from VMware.

See all answers

What needs improvement with VMware Tanzu Observability by Wavefront?

I find that there could be improvements in the support service response time, as the urgency varies unless specified as Priority 2 or 1 cases.

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Checkmk

March 2025

Download Checkmk product report

Buyer's Guide

VMware Aria Operations for Applications

March 2025

VMware Aria Operations for Applications report

Download VMware Aria Operations for Applications product report

Also Known As

No data available

Tanzu Observability, Wavefront, Wavefront by VMware, VMware Tanzu Observability

Overview

Checkmk is a powerful tool for monitoring IT infrastructure, providing vital insights on servers, databases, network devices, and custom applications.

Primarily used for supervising IT infrastructure, Checkmk helps organizations ensure service availability by monitoring hosts, processes, load, storage, and network appliances. With support for both Linux and Windows environments across multiple data centers, Checkmk performs compliance checks and preserves historical data for core network devices.

What are the key features of Checkmk?

Auto-discovery: Automatically identifies new hosts and applies monitoring rules.
Custom monitoring: Enhances MySQL performance tracking.
Slack integration: Provides immediate downtime alerts.
Graphical trend analysis: Offers 400 days of trend data.
Multiple site monitoring: Ensures seamless data synchronization through task automation.
Resource and infrastructure monitoring: Configures log factors to fit budget constraints.
System metric imports: Includes servers, SQL, file systems, and application monitoring.

What benefits and ROI should users look for in reviews?

Time-saving: Auto-discovery and task automation streamline processes.
Proactive alerts: Immediate downtime notifications optimize response times.
Historical insights: Long-term graphical trend analysis aids strategic planning.
Cost efficiency: Resource monitoring aligned with budget constraints.

Checkmk is deployed extensively in large enterprise environments for monitoring critical infrastructure. It proves particularly useful under conditions of frequent power outages or network issues, helping maintain smooth operations. While the alert acknowledgment process and interface require improvements, and the lack of an agent-less platform complicates server management, the strengths in auto-discovery, integration, and comprehensive monitoring make Checkmk a strong contender for IT infrastructure monitoring.

Checkmk

VMware Tanzu Observability by Wavefront is a powerful tool for monitoring and analyzing the performance and availability of applications and infrastructure in real-time.

With its comprehensive monitoring capabilities, visualizing and analyzing data becomes effortless. The real-time alerting system ensures timely issue resolution, while scalability and a user-friendly interface provide a seamless experience for smooth operations.

VMware

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

1. Atlassian 2. Cisco 3. Databricks 4. DigitalOcean 5. Equinix 6. Fidelity Investments 7. Google 8. Hewlett Packard Enterprise 9. Honeywell 10. IBM 11. Intel 12. JetBlue Airways 13. LinkedIn 14. Lyft 15. Mastercard 16. Microsoft 17. MongoDB 18. Netflix 19. Nvidia 20. Oracle 21. PayPal 22. Pinterest 23. Qualcomm 24. Red Hat 25. Salesforce 26. SAP 27. Spotify 28. Square 29. TMobile 30. Twitter 31. Uber 32. VMware

Buyer's Guide

Checkmk vs. VMware Aria Operations for Applications

February 2025

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