Network management has been an important part of most modern businesses for years now, because it is important to keep things running as efficiently as possible at all times. But with the use of cloud technology on the rise, keeping track of network performance has become even more crucial.

As Srihari Padmanabhan, senior industry analyst for Frost & Sullivan’s (News - Alert) Measurement and Instrumentation practice, said in a statement: “Enterprise adoption of cloud computing is expected to be the most important factor driving the demand for the market of cloud-based application monitoring.”

Luckily, companies like Plixer International (News - Alert), one of the top providers of NetFlow-based network traffic reporting, offer ways to effectively track network performance, regardless of equipment vendor.

Plixer is a company that specializes in analyzing network traffic using NetFlow and the newer IPFIX exporters and its Scrutinizer product, which recently added support for Cisco (News - Alert) Performance Routing, allows users to closely analyze their network data. This in turn allows users to identify where potential problems lie. Best of all, Plixer works directly with customers and their hardware vendors, ensuring that only the right data is being captured, then builds a customized report.

This type of information is increasingly becoming vital in order for operations teams to quickly identify and resolve network problems. Other companies do offer similar solutions to Plixer — Fluke Networks, NetScout (News - Alert), Riverbed, CA and Manage Engine.

“Plixer is really kind of unique in that they have completely built their whole business around NetFlow and nothing else,” said Jim Frey, managing research director at Enterprise Management Associates. However, while some may view this negatively, Plixer’s narrow scope is a strategy that works best for some companies.

“Our razor focus on NetFlow and IPFIX is our differentiator,” agreed Michael Patterson (News - Alert), Plixer’s CEO and co-founder.

Threat detection, forensic response and deep application awareness are often at the core of Plixer’s customers’ monitoring needs. The company’s concentration on NetFlow and IPFIX is ideal for a number of businesses which aren’t in need of a wider focus. In other words, Scrutinizer hits a happy medium for the small enterprise as it offers solid network traffic analysis without any extraneous features.