We recently asked 1,259 of our customers what they do at work and how PRTG supports them. Find out if you're using PRTG in the same way, or discover new ways to use PRTG to meet your goals. Spoiler alert: you're all monitoring the critical parts of your infrastructure, but the survey data indicate that some of you might still have blind spots in your monitoring environment.
Ever wonder who's on the other side of those PRTG dashboards? Well, we did too! Our survey revealed that the PRTG universe is primarily populated by Infrastructure Managers/Engineers/Administrators (22%), followed closely by Network Managers (18%) and Heads of IT Departments (15%).
In other words, PRTG is mostly used by people who have mastered the art of explaining why "turning it off and on again" actually works. These are the unsung heroes who get called at 3 AM when something goes wrong, and thanks to PRTG, they sometimes even know about the problem before their phone rings!
C-level executives make up about 9% of our users, which means there's a decent chance your boss is secretly checking those dashboards too. (Yes, they can see that your coffee machine is using more bandwidth than the accounting department.) 😇
When we asked about responsibilities, it became clear that PRTG users are the digital firefighters of the IT world. 🚒👩🚒🔥 Network troubleshooting tops the list at 71%, closely followed by IT security and cybersecurity measures (70%).
Server management (68%) and network management (67%) are also high on the list, which explains all those "Server Room - Do Not Enter" signs with little skull and crossbones drawings. We get it - that's your domain, and you protect it fiercely!
Interestingly, 40% of respondents also handle Operational Technology (OT) monitoring. That's right, because PRTG isn't just watching your servers; it's keeping an eye on those mysterious machines in the factory that nobody from IT is allowed to touch without signing seventeen forms in triplicate.
Hardware leads the pack with a whopping 89% of users monitoring routers, switches, and other equipment that blinks reassuringly in the dark. Windows Servers (85%) and virtual machines (82%) follow close behind.
Performance monitoring (76%) and network monitoring (75%) are also popular, because nothing says "I'm doing my job" like a dashboard full of green status indicators during a management walkthrough.
Only 18% of respondents are monitoring Docker containers, which suggests that either containers aren't as ubiquitous as the tech blogs would have us believe, or you're all living dangerously. We're not judging... much.
And for those monitoring OT (18%), we see you bridging the gap between IT and those industrial systems that still somehow run on software from the 90s. You brave, brave souls And for the other 82%: PRTG can also monitor OT pretty well. 😇
Network troubleshooting and proactive detection of issues is the clear winner at 85%. Because let's face it, finding problems before users do is the IT equivalent of a superhero origin story.
Ensuring uptime of applications and business operations (75%) comes in second, which translates to "making sure the CEO can access their email at all times, even during that fishing trip in Alaska."
Performance optimization (70%) rounds out the top three, because slow is the new down, and nobody wants to hear "it's just a bit laggy" from users 27 times a day.
Only 29% use PRTG for ensuring IoT/OT devices are functioning. 😭 But for those who do, PRTG is monitoring everything from production lines to smart coffee machines.
When asked about monitoring maturity, 59% of respondents classified themselves at Level 2: "Alarm/notification-based monitoring." This means you've graduated from "Is the server on fire? I should check" to "My phone just buzzed, so something's probably on fire."
A respectable 23% have reached Level 3 with "Products with control functions," while 10% are using intelligent systems to predict events at Level 4. Only 3% have achieved monitoring nirvana at Level 5 with systems that both predict events AND recommend actions. 🙌
For the 5% still at Level 1 with indicative monitoring only: we see you, we were all there once, and we're here when you're ready to take the plunge into the world of notifications. Your sleep schedule will thank you!
Despite all the cloud hype, more than 75% of respondents still have their infrastructure primarily on-premises. It seems the "cloud-first" strategy is more of a "cloud-eventually" approach for many of you.
Interestingly, there are significant regional differences: only 17% of DACH region users have their infrastructure in the cloud, compared to 24% in the USA and Canada, and a cloud-embracing 33% in the UK and Ireland.
Perhaps the most telling statistic: 87% of PRTG Enterprise users have their infrastructure on-premises. When you've invested in enterprise-level monitoring, you want to keep your servers where you can occasionally pat them reassuringly.
Are PRTG users faithful to their monitoring solution? Well, 55% of respondents use PRTG exclusively, while 45% admit to "seeing other monitoring tools." It's not you, PRTG, it's them 🤗 - they need specialized functionality (47%), more granularity (28%), or they work in organizations where different departments have different preferences (23%).
Regional differences emerge here too, with nearly 50% of UK & Ireland respondents using additional software versus only 35% in the DACH region. German-speaking users are apparently more committed to their monitoring relationships.
Our survey revealed that while you love PRTG, many of you feel you might not be using its full potential. 🫠 Comments like "There are a lot of options in PRTG and I don't think we leverage everything because we don't know everything it can do" were common.
Others requested more specific how-to videos and educational content: "I would love more specific info-videos and how-tos directly from you. From the basics 'what is SNMP and how do I use it', to more advanced like 'How to get all the info from a VM residing on an ESXI'."
The good news? We're listening! We're working on more educational content and in-product guidance to help you discover all the capabilities PRTG has to offer.
Whether you're monitoring your entire infrastructure or just keeping an eye on that temperamental printer that jams every time there's an important deadline, PRTG is there for you, probably detecting the problem before you even realize there is one.
And remember, in the world of IT monitoring, green is good, red means trouble, and yellow means "this might be someone else's problem if I ignore it long enough." (Just kidding - please don't ignore the yellows!)
Want to share how you're using PRTG? Have suggestions for features or educational content? We'd love to hear from you in the comments below!