Best Server Management Software of 2026

If your business draws a major chunk of its revenue from online channels, things are looking up for you! If you're yet to tap into online channels, it's time you did.

The number of people buying goods and services online is expected to exceed 2 billion by 2021. This expanded pool presents an opportunity for you to multiply your customer base and enter new markets. But, increased online sales bring something else with it: lots of traffic, which can slow down your website, clog your client communications, and cripple order processing.

So, while you wouldn't want to prune this traffic, you'll need to ensure that your servers don't get inundated. This is what server management software helps with.

This Buyers Guide covers the details you need to keep in mind when making a purchase decision.

Here's what we'll cover:

• What is server management software?

• Common features of server management software

• What type of buyer are you?

• Benefits of server management

What is server management software?

Server management software is used by IT system administrators to monitor and optimize the performance and overall health of servers. The tool also provides a centralized repository for tracking records of past server outages and event logs.

Dashboard for monitoring server health in ManageEngine (Source)

Common features of server management software

The features of a server management solution are geared toward letting users monitor servers and identify issues that affect their performance.

Here's a quick look at the common features:

What type of buyer are you?

Server management software buyers can be largely categorized into two groups based on their IT requirements.

• Companies that mostly outsource IT-related functions: These businesses outsource the majority of their IT functions to managed service providers (MSPs) or provision services from cloud vendors such as Amazon and Microsoft. They typically handle only a few business-critical functions in-house, for which they manage a small number of servers. In such cases, all they need is a stand-alone tool with streamlined capabilities for server monitoring.

• Companies that handle most IT-related functions in-house: These businesses often have dedicated in-house teams to handle their IT infrastructure management needs, which go beyond server monitoring and management. They need additional software modules for handling a range of processes such as network monitoring and patch management.

Benefits of server management software

In the above sections we've briefly touched upon the benefits of using server management software. Here, we'll examine the benefits more closely.

• Time savings: The features in server management solutions can drastically reduce the time required by your IT staff to monitor server issues and build summary reports. For instance, theses solutions offer pre-built templates for monitoring different applications and reporting dashboards to view the performance of different servers in a central location.

• Enhanced security and stability: A server failure can be the result of external factors, such as cyberattacks, or internal issues, such as overheating CPUs. These incidents can not only cause your business a great deal of embarrassment but also lead to costly lawsuits. With server management software, you can mitigate such failures by continuously monitoring servers for suspicious logs, status of firewalls, and even the physical health of the equipment.

Note: The applications selected in this article are examples to show a feature in context and are not intended as endorsements or recommendations. They have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable at the time of publication.