Azure Monitor is a Microsoft service designed to help you monitor the performance and availability of your applications and resources, both in the Azure cloud and on-premises environments. It essentially collects data on how your applications are running, analyses it, and then allows you to take action based on that analysis.

Azure Monitor resulted from the unification of two formerly separate Microsoft services in 2018: Application Insights and Log Analytics. Prior to 2018, these services offered application performance monitoring and log data analysis, respectively. Unifying them created a more comprehensive solution for collecting and analysing data about Azure resources.

How Azure Monitor helps with Application Monitoring

Azure Monitor is a powerful service offered by Microsoft that provides comprehensive application monitoring capabilities. It acts as a central hub for collecting, analysing, and visualising data from various sources, including:

• Azure resources: Azure Monitor automatically collects metrics and logs from most Azure services, providing insights into their health and performance.
• On-premises environments: You can extend Azure Monitor’s reach to your on-premises infrastructure, gaining a unified view of your entire application ecosystem.
• Custom applications: Application Insights, a service integrated with Azure Monitor, empowers you to monitor custom applications built on various platforms.

By leveraging Azure Monitor and Application Insights together, you can:

• Proactively identify and troubleshoot application issues: Set up alerts to be notified of performance degradations or errors.
• Gain deep insights into application behaviour: Analyse metrics and logs to understand user behaviour, identify usage patterns, and optimise your application.
• Ensure application availability and performance: Monitor your application’s health in real-time and take corrective action if needed.

 Importance of Azure Monitor

• Proactive Problem Detection:  Azure Monitor keeps a watchful eye on your applications, spotting potential issues before they snowball into major problems. By constantly monitoring metrics and logs, it can identify anomalies and alert you before downtime occurs.
• Performance Optimisation:  With Azure Monitor, you gain valuable insights into how your applications are performing.
• End-to-End Visibility:  Azure Monitor doesn’t limit itself to just the application itself. It offers a comprehensive view, encompassing everything from the underlying infrastructure to the application code. This holistic view allows you to trace issues across the entire application stack for better troubleshooting.
• Improved User Experience:  By keeping your applications healthy, Azure Monitor indirectly contributes to a better user experience.
• Cost Management:  Azure Monitor can help you identify areas where your applications are consuming excessive resources.

Job opportunities

• Azure Administrator: This role involves managing the overall health of Azure resources, which includes using Azure Monitor for performance and security monitoring. Salary expectations include $110,000 – $130,000 per year.

• Cloud Support Engineer: These professionals provide technical support to cloud users, and a strong understanding of Azure Monitor is helpful for troubleshooting issues. Salary expectations include $80,000 – $100,000 per year.

• DevOps Engineer: Incorporating Azure Monitor into the DevOps toolchain enables automation and continuous monitoring throughout the development lifecycle. Salary expectations include $110,000 – $130,000 per year.

• Azure Security Engineer: Security professionals use Azure Monitor to keep an eye on potential security threats and ensure overall cloud security. Salary expectations include $120,000 – $225,000 per year.

The importance of Azure Monitor in modern businesses

• Proactive problem detection.
• Enhanced performance.
• Cost Optimisation.
• Centralised Visibility.
• Security and compliance.

Azure Monitor acts as the eyes and ears of a modern business’s cloud infrastructure. By providing comprehensive monitoring, analysis, and alerting capabilities, it empowers businesses to maintain application health, optimise performance, and ensure a positive user experience.

Future of Azure Monitor.                 

Overall, Azure Monitor is positioned to be a central nervous system for monitoring cloud and hybrid resources, with a focus on AI-powered insights, edge integration, and a unified user experience. Azure Monitor seems to be headed towards a future of providing a comprehensive and intelligent monitoring solution for all aspects of an Azure environment, from cloud to edge.