???“應(yīng)用”這個詞已經(jīng)成了流行文化的一個元素,，顯然我們已經(jīng)進入了一個“以應(yīng)用為中心”的世界。企業(yè)科技領(lǐng)域也出現(xiàn)了類似的重大趨勢：注意的重點從基礎(chǔ)架構(gòu)轉(zhuǎn)向應(yīng)用軟件。據(jù)調(diào)研機構(gòu)蓋特納公司（Gartner）估計,，全球2000強企業(yè)中有20%正在將IT部門的工作重心轉(zhuǎn)移到應(yīng)用的監(jiān)控和管理上來，而不再僅注重基礎(chǔ)架構(gòu)。

????這一現(xiàn)象的原因很簡單：運行迅速而正常的應(yīng)用軟件直接關(guān)系到企業(yè)的營收,。無論是交易,、復(fù)雜搜索、數(shù)據(jù)庫錄入還是內(nèi)部商業(yè)流程,，對企業(yè)來說真正重要的是應(yīng)用,，而不是網(wǎng)絡(luò)、服務(wù)器或其他硬件,。此外,，云計算正在迅速發(fā)展，它側(cè)重于提供終端網(wǎng)絡(luò)服務(wù),，而用以實現(xiàn)該目的的硬件與軟件則是透明的,，這一點也加速了上述趨勢的發(fā)展。

????由業(yè)務(wù)部門推動的IT界趨勢

????推動這一趨勢的乃是公司里的業(yè)務(wù)部門,，而不是IT部門,，認識到這一點，這種劇變就顯得更有意思了,。蓋特納分析師威爾?嘉佩里注意到：“業(yè)務(wù)部門以及頂級高管們現(xiàn)在通常已經(jīng)意識到,，IT不僅僅是支持著后臺工作的基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施，還能夠直接產(chǎn)生收入,，是促成企業(yè)戰(zhàn)略目標實現(xiàn)的工具,，這些作用更加重要?！?008-2009年經(jīng)濟衰退迫使企業(yè)“少花錢多辦事”,，這種對效率的追求當然也推動了這種態(tài)度上的轉(zhuǎn)變。

????這種趨勢告訴我們什么呢,？簡而言之,，我們正在實現(xiàn)這樣一個轉(zhuǎn)型：IT資產(chǎn)的主要存在目的從保障應(yīng)用的可用性（“什么地方出毛病了？我能修好它么,？”）變?yōu)楦纳茟?yīng)用的性能（“客戶需要等多久,？它對營收有多大影響？”）,。

????如果你還屬于落后的前一種類別,，你可能會在競爭中輸給更具前瞻性的后一種企業(yè)，這些競爭對手已經(jīng)意識到,，反饋時間慢兩秒鐘,，可能就意味著收入減少4%，比如電子商務(wù)行業(yè),。

????這種巨大的變化不僅僅沖擊著面向消費者的企業(yè),。我們最近手獨立分析公司Quocirca委托進行的一份調(diào)查顯示，各行各業(yè)公司首席信息官中，有82%認為終端用戶期待其網(wǎng)絡(luò)應(yīng)用能有更出色的性能,。這種期望值只會越來越高,，認識到這一點的公司已經(jīng)開始監(jiān)控應(yīng)用性能，藉此獲得競爭優(yōu)勢,。位于德克薩斯州,、擁有60處設(shè)施的醫(yī)療保健公司CHRISTUS健康就是一個成功的典型。

????With the term 'apps' now part of popular culture, it's clear we live in an 'application-centric' world. In enterprise technology there's an analogous trend just as big: the shift in focus from infrastructure to applications. Gartner estimates that 20 percent of the Global 2000 are shifting the emphasis of their IT operational processes to monitor and manage applications, rather than infrastructure, in a central place.

????There's a simple reason for this: speedy and properly functioning applications directly relate to revenue. Whether it's a transaction, a complex search, database entry or an internal business process, it's the application that really matters to the organization, not the network, servers or any other hardware. The growth of Cloud computing and its emphasis on end-result web services, where the hardware and software powering them are meant to be transparent, is only accelerating this trend.

????An IT Trend Driven by the Business

????This seachange is even more interesting when you realize that the business side of the company is driving this trend, not IT. Gartner analyst Will Cappelli notes that: "Line of business and C-level executives now generally recognize that IT is not just infrastructure that supports background workflows, but is also, and more fundamentally, a direct generator of revenue, and a key enabler of strategy."i The do-more-with-less efficiencies forced by the 2008-2009 economic downturn certainly helped to cement this attitude shift.

????What is this trend telling us? In short, that we've moved from a world where IT assets focused mainly on application availability ("what's broken and can I fix it?") to application performance ("how long will a customer wait and what's the impact on revenue?").

????If you're in the reactive former group, you're likely losing ground to your competition in the more proactive latter group which already knows -- using an e-commerce example -- that only a two second slowdown in response time can equal 4 percent of revenue loss.

????This seachange applies to more than consumer-facing companies. A recent survey we commissioned from independent analyst firm Quocirca revealed that 82 percent of CIOs in multiple industries believe end-users expect better performance from their online applications. Those expectations will only rise. The companies that understand this are already using application performance monitoring for competitive advantage. One example is CHRISTUS Health, a 60-facility healthcare company in Texas.