- What was life like before using SolarWinds? (Include what you were using and why you decided it was time for a change)
Less objective for IT Management. Solving problems required more remote connections rather than a 1 stop visit to centralized information. - Which SolarWinds product(s) saved your bacon?
DameWare, WHD, SAM - Without DameWare life was a mess. Disconnecting other users and guessing IP addresses was a daily occurrence for remote support work. I got by just fine, but it wasn't efficient. What I like about DameWare is that worked from Day 1 out of the box. Every connection gets remembered. Less time was wasted guessing computer IPs and server names. There was no more trail of admin user profiles chewing up disk space. It worked through firewalls, and across networks without a hitch.
- Did you consider other options, and why did you choose SolarWinds?
There are a few other popular names out there for IT Management products but SolarWinds strikes a nice balance with their approach. I just prefer it. - How has life been since you've rolled out SolarWinds in your environment?
Many SW products allow you to spend more time resolving issues and less time trying to grasp what the issue is. It serves as a live documentation audit trail and reference point, for information you would want to attempt to keep track of manually. With such a large number of SW products to choose from, it covers and integrates all the IT information and tasks required. I'm curious to see what SW releases in 2015!