Skip to main content

Q&A: IT Central Station Talks About APM Users and Product Reviews

Pete Goldin
Editor and Publisher
APMdigest

In APMdigest's exclusive interview, Russell Rothstein, Station Master and CEO of IT Central Station, and veteran of the APM industry, discusses APM product reviews on itcentralstation.com.

APM: Even though IT Central Station covers many technologies, you have extensive experience with APM in particular.

RR: I had the fortune to work for two great companies during their growth stage in APM.

At OPNET, I was AVP Product Marketing when the company transitioned from a network performance vendor to a mainstream APM player. I spent a lot of my time there leading and nurturing OPNET’s partnership with Riverbed, which was consummated last year.

At OpTier I was VP Product Marketing during a period when the company became a leader in Gartner’s APM magic quadrant.

I’ve also consulted to two other innovative, fast-growing private companies in the APM space.

APM: Explain the concept behind IT Central Station.

RR: Simple. When the Wall Street Journal covered our launch, they called us “The Yelp for IT.”

APM: Who are the reviewers on IT Central Station?

RR: Our reviewers are real users of APM software and other enterprise tech products. We also allow independent consultants and analysts to post reviews. Our site clearly identifies whether the reviewer is a user, consultant or analyst.

APM: There is a sign on your site that indicates when someone is a "Real User". How do you verify this?

RR: In order to write a review, you must register with your LinkedIn profile. Our registration process validates that you work for an end-user organization in an appropriate job function to review that product. That way we ensure our reviews are authentic. It’s very different than the popular consumer review sites where up to 20% of the reviews are fake since there is no validation of the reviewer.

APM: Are vendors represented anywhere on the site?

RR: IT Central Station is a vendor-neutral platform, but there are plenty of ways for vendors to get involved. Vendor employees cannot write reviews of their own products (or of competitor products), but many vendors use our free vendor kit to mobilize their best customers to write reviews. We also rolled out a set of premium offerings for vendors to promote their best reviews. IT buyers are looking for reviews when building their short list, so promoting good reviews is critical for lead generation and content marketing.

Product reviews are a fabulous source of information for product planning and market intelligence gathering. APMdigest readers who work for a vendor should encourage their Product Management team to utilize this valuable data from a broad set of APM users and experts. If companies rely solely on their own customers, they’ll get a narrow and biased view of market needs.

APM: Are most of the reviews in support of or against particular APM products?

RR: Research from Google shows that across the web 80% of reviews are 4- or 5-stars. We see a similar rate on IT Central Station. People primarily want to write about the products that have made them successful in their job and/or to promote their own knowledge.

APM: According to the reviews on IT Central Station, what do most APM users care about?

RR: Ease-of-use and ease-of-integration with other tools seems to be a common issue. Especially since Gartner and others are recommending that buyers choose best-of-breed solutions, then ease of use and integration become important when there are multiple products in a user’s APM toolbox.

APM: Are there particular topics of APM – ie cloud, virtualization, big data, mobile – that seem to be important to reviewers on IT Central Station?

RR: Within our APM reviews we’re seeing people write more and more about cloud issues – APM deployed as a SaaS model, and using APM tools to monitor performance of apps in the cloud.

APM: From working on IT Central Station, have you discovered anything new or interesting about the APM market that you did not realize back when you were a VP?

We’re certainly seeing a lot of innovation going on within the APM market. Many of the smaller, dynamic APM vendors are getting great reviews – companies such as Catchpoint, INETCO, AppNeta, and Nastel – although it’s less of a surprise that some of the large established players such as Compuware, HP, Oracle, Riverbed and CA are also getting overall positive reviews with an average rating of 4-stars or higher.

APM: Do you have any advice for APM buyers or users?

RR: For APM buyers, I recommend that after you’ve done your research on IT Central Station, take advantage of our new feature to ask “off the record” questions from other real users – it’s private and discreet so you can get an inside scoop from real APM users about their experiences with a product. Go to the IT Central Station APM category page, or visit any product page, and click on “ask an off-the-record question”. You can also follow products to get instant updates when there are new reviews about the products that interest you.

ABOUT Russell Rothstein

Russell Rothstein, Station Master and CEO of IT Central Station, has spent his 20+ year career in the enterprise technology industry at the crossroads between technology and business. He has spoken at industry events including Interop, CloudConnect, CMG, Red Herring, and TeleManagement World.

Before founding IT Central Station, Rothstein worked in senior product marketing and product management roles at enterprise tech vendors OpTier and OPNET (acquired by Riverbed). Rothstein was co-founder and CEO of Zettapoint, a software company that was acquired by EMC, and was co-founder of Open Sesame, a Web 1.0 startup that was acquired by Bowne/RR Donnelley. Rothstein began his career at Oracle, deploying Oracle Applications for Fortune 1000 companies. He received a BA in Computer Science from Harvard University, an MS in Technology and Policy from MIT and an MS in Management from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Related Links:

Russell Rothstein can be reached by email and Twitter @RussRothsteinIT

www.itcentralstation.com

IT Central Station APM category page

Hot Topic
The Latest
The Latest 10

The Latest

According to Auvik's 2025 IT Trends Report, 60% of IT professionals feel at least moderately burned out on the job, with 43% stating that their workload is contributing to work stress. At the same time, many IT professionals are naming AI and machine learning as key areas they'd most like to upskill ...

Businesses that face downtime or outages risk financial and reputational damage, as well as reducing partner, shareholder, and customer trust. One of the major challenges that enterprises face is implementing a robust business continuity plan. What's the solution? The answer may lie in disaster recovery tactics such as truly immutable storage and regular disaster recovery testing ...

IT spending is expected to jump nearly 10% in 2025, and organizations are now facing pressure to manage costs without slowing down critical functions like observability. To meet the challenge, leaders are turning to smarter, more cost effective business strategies. Enter stage right: OpenTelemetry, the missing piece of the puzzle that is no longer just an option but rather a strategic advantage ...

Amidst the threat of cyberhacks and data breaches, companies install several security measures to keep their business safely afloat. These measures aim to protect businesses, employees, and crucial data. Yet, employees perceive them as burdensome. Frustrated with complex logins, slow access, and constant security checks, workers decide to completely bypass all security set-ups ...

Image
Cloudbrink's Personal SASE services provide last-mile acceleration and reduction in latency

In MEAN TIME TO INSIGHT Episode 13, Shamus McGillicuddy, VP of Research, Network Infrastructure and Operations, at EMA discusses hybrid multi-cloud networking strategy ... 

In high-traffic environments, the sheer volume and unpredictable nature of network incidents can quickly overwhelm even the most skilled teams, hindering their ability to react swiftly and effectively, potentially impacting service availability and overall business performance. This is where closed-loop remediation comes into the picture: an IT management concept designed to address the escalating complexity of modern networks ...

In 2025, enterprise workflows are undergoing a seismic shift. Propelled by breakthroughs in generative AI (GenAI), large language models (LLMs), and natural language processing (NLP), a new paradigm is emerging — agentic AI. This technology is not just automating tasks; it's reimagining how organizations make decisions, engage customers, and operate at scale ...

In the early days of the cloud revolution, business leaders perceived cloud services as a means of sidelining IT organizations. IT was too slow, too expensive, or incapable of supporting new technologies. With a team of developers, line of business managers could deploy new applications and services in the cloud. IT has been fighting to retake control ever since. Today, IT is back in the driver's seat, according to new research by Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) ...

In today's fast-paced and increasingly complex network environments, Network Operations Centers (NOCs) are the backbone of ensuring continuous uptime, smooth service delivery, and rapid issue resolution. However, the challenges faced by NOC teams are only growing. In a recent study, 78% state network complexity has grown significantly over the last few years while 84% regularly learn about network issues from users. It is imperative we adopt a new approach to managing today's network experiences ...

Image
Broadcom

From growing reliance on FinOps teams to the increasing attention on artificial intelligence (AI), and software licensing, the Flexera 2025 State of the Cloud Report digs into how organizations are improving cloud spend efficiency, while tackling the complexities of emerging technologies ...

Q&A: IT Central Station Talks About APM Users and Product Reviews

Pete Goldin
Editor and Publisher
APMdigest

In APMdigest's exclusive interview, Russell Rothstein, Station Master and CEO of IT Central Station, and veteran of the APM industry, discusses APM product reviews on itcentralstation.com.

APM: Even though IT Central Station covers many technologies, you have extensive experience with APM in particular.

RR: I had the fortune to work for two great companies during their growth stage in APM.

At OPNET, I was AVP Product Marketing when the company transitioned from a network performance vendor to a mainstream APM player. I spent a lot of my time there leading and nurturing OPNET’s partnership with Riverbed, which was consummated last year.

At OpTier I was VP Product Marketing during a period when the company became a leader in Gartner’s APM magic quadrant.

I’ve also consulted to two other innovative, fast-growing private companies in the APM space.

APM: Explain the concept behind IT Central Station.

RR: Simple. When the Wall Street Journal covered our launch, they called us “The Yelp for IT.”

APM: Who are the reviewers on IT Central Station?

RR: Our reviewers are real users of APM software and other enterprise tech products. We also allow independent consultants and analysts to post reviews. Our site clearly identifies whether the reviewer is a user, consultant or analyst.

APM: There is a sign on your site that indicates when someone is a "Real User". How do you verify this?

RR: In order to write a review, you must register with your LinkedIn profile. Our registration process validates that you work for an end-user organization in an appropriate job function to review that product. That way we ensure our reviews are authentic. It’s very different than the popular consumer review sites where up to 20% of the reviews are fake since there is no validation of the reviewer.

APM: Are vendors represented anywhere on the site?

RR: IT Central Station is a vendor-neutral platform, but there are plenty of ways for vendors to get involved. Vendor employees cannot write reviews of their own products (or of competitor products), but many vendors use our free vendor kit to mobilize their best customers to write reviews. We also rolled out a set of premium offerings for vendors to promote their best reviews. IT buyers are looking for reviews when building their short list, so promoting good reviews is critical for lead generation and content marketing.

Product reviews are a fabulous source of information for product planning and market intelligence gathering. APMdigest readers who work for a vendor should encourage their Product Management team to utilize this valuable data from a broad set of APM users and experts. If companies rely solely on their own customers, they’ll get a narrow and biased view of market needs.

APM: Are most of the reviews in support of or against particular APM products?

RR: Research from Google shows that across the web 80% of reviews are 4- or 5-stars. We see a similar rate on IT Central Station. People primarily want to write about the products that have made them successful in their job and/or to promote their own knowledge.

APM: According to the reviews on IT Central Station, what do most APM users care about?

RR: Ease-of-use and ease-of-integration with other tools seems to be a common issue. Especially since Gartner and others are recommending that buyers choose best-of-breed solutions, then ease of use and integration become important when there are multiple products in a user’s APM toolbox.

APM: Are there particular topics of APM – ie cloud, virtualization, big data, mobile – that seem to be important to reviewers on IT Central Station?

RR: Within our APM reviews we’re seeing people write more and more about cloud issues – APM deployed as a SaaS model, and using APM tools to monitor performance of apps in the cloud.

APM: From working on IT Central Station, have you discovered anything new or interesting about the APM market that you did not realize back when you were a VP?

We’re certainly seeing a lot of innovation going on within the APM market. Many of the smaller, dynamic APM vendors are getting great reviews – companies such as Catchpoint, INETCO, AppNeta, and Nastel – although it’s less of a surprise that some of the large established players such as Compuware, HP, Oracle, Riverbed and CA are also getting overall positive reviews with an average rating of 4-stars or higher.

APM: Do you have any advice for APM buyers or users?

RR: For APM buyers, I recommend that after you’ve done your research on IT Central Station, take advantage of our new feature to ask “off the record” questions from other real users – it’s private and discreet so you can get an inside scoop from real APM users about their experiences with a product. Go to the IT Central Station APM category page, or visit any product page, and click on “ask an off-the-record question”. You can also follow products to get instant updates when there are new reviews about the products that interest you.

ABOUT Russell Rothstein

Russell Rothstein, Station Master and CEO of IT Central Station, has spent his 20+ year career in the enterprise technology industry at the crossroads between technology and business. He has spoken at industry events including Interop, CloudConnect, CMG, Red Herring, and TeleManagement World.

Before founding IT Central Station, Rothstein worked in senior product marketing and product management roles at enterprise tech vendors OpTier and OPNET (acquired by Riverbed). Rothstein was co-founder and CEO of Zettapoint, a software company that was acquired by EMC, and was co-founder of Open Sesame, a Web 1.0 startup that was acquired by Bowne/RR Donnelley. Rothstein began his career at Oracle, deploying Oracle Applications for Fortune 1000 companies. He received a BA in Computer Science from Harvard University, an MS in Technology and Policy from MIT and an MS in Management from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Related Links:

Russell Rothstein can be reached by email and Twitter @RussRothsteinIT

www.itcentralstation.com

IT Central Station APM category page

Hot Topic
The Latest
The Latest 10

The Latest

According to Auvik's 2025 IT Trends Report, 60% of IT professionals feel at least moderately burned out on the job, with 43% stating that their workload is contributing to work stress. At the same time, many IT professionals are naming AI and machine learning as key areas they'd most like to upskill ...

Businesses that face downtime or outages risk financial and reputational damage, as well as reducing partner, shareholder, and customer trust. One of the major challenges that enterprises face is implementing a robust business continuity plan. What's the solution? The answer may lie in disaster recovery tactics such as truly immutable storage and regular disaster recovery testing ...

IT spending is expected to jump nearly 10% in 2025, and organizations are now facing pressure to manage costs without slowing down critical functions like observability. To meet the challenge, leaders are turning to smarter, more cost effective business strategies. Enter stage right: OpenTelemetry, the missing piece of the puzzle that is no longer just an option but rather a strategic advantage ...

Amidst the threat of cyberhacks and data breaches, companies install several security measures to keep their business safely afloat. These measures aim to protect businesses, employees, and crucial data. Yet, employees perceive them as burdensome. Frustrated with complex logins, slow access, and constant security checks, workers decide to completely bypass all security set-ups ...

Image
Cloudbrink's Personal SASE services provide last-mile acceleration and reduction in latency

In MEAN TIME TO INSIGHT Episode 13, Shamus McGillicuddy, VP of Research, Network Infrastructure and Operations, at EMA discusses hybrid multi-cloud networking strategy ... 

In high-traffic environments, the sheer volume and unpredictable nature of network incidents can quickly overwhelm even the most skilled teams, hindering their ability to react swiftly and effectively, potentially impacting service availability and overall business performance. This is where closed-loop remediation comes into the picture: an IT management concept designed to address the escalating complexity of modern networks ...

In 2025, enterprise workflows are undergoing a seismic shift. Propelled by breakthroughs in generative AI (GenAI), large language models (LLMs), and natural language processing (NLP), a new paradigm is emerging — agentic AI. This technology is not just automating tasks; it's reimagining how organizations make decisions, engage customers, and operate at scale ...

In the early days of the cloud revolution, business leaders perceived cloud services as a means of sidelining IT organizations. IT was too slow, too expensive, or incapable of supporting new technologies. With a team of developers, line of business managers could deploy new applications and services in the cloud. IT has been fighting to retake control ever since. Today, IT is back in the driver's seat, according to new research by Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) ...

In today's fast-paced and increasingly complex network environments, Network Operations Centers (NOCs) are the backbone of ensuring continuous uptime, smooth service delivery, and rapid issue resolution. However, the challenges faced by NOC teams are only growing. In a recent study, 78% state network complexity has grown significantly over the last few years while 84% regularly learn about network issues from users. It is imperative we adopt a new approach to managing today's network experiences ...

Image
Broadcom

From growing reliance on FinOps teams to the increasing attention on artificial intelligence (AI), and software licensing, the Flexera 2025 State of the Cloud Report digs into how organizations are improving cloud spend efficiency, while tackling the complexities of emerging technologies ...