Top 5 On-Call Scheduling Software Solutions in 2024

Finding the right on-call scheduling software can make a big difference for your SRE and DevOps teams. This blog explores the top on-call management tools in 2024, designed to streamline incident response and keep your team ready for action.

What is On-Call Scheduling Software?

On-call scheduling software is a type of application designed to help software engineers, SREs, and DevOps teams manage and optimize their on-call shifts. These tools automate on-call processes, track on-call time, escalate incidents, and communicate with stakeholders.

Benefits of On-Call Management Tools

• Faster Incident Resolution: By automating tasks like alert routing and escalation policies, the right person gets notified immediately for critical issues, leading to quicker diagnosis and resolution.
• Reduced Team Stress & Burnout: On-call tools help avoid scrambling during incidents. They ensure clear communication and workload distribution, preventing burnout and fostering a calmer on-call experience.
• Improved Collaboration & Visibility: Real-time features like war rooms and shared incident threads keep everyone informed and working together seamlessly, leading to faster problem-solving.
• Enhanced Automation & Efficiency: Many tools integrate with existing monitoring platforms, allowing for automated response workflows based on predefined rules, freeing up valuable time for more complex tasks.
• Data-Driven Insights: Capture valuable data from incidents to identify trends and implement preventative measures, ultimately reducing future occurrences and improving overall system reliability.

Top On-Call Management Tools 2024

Here’s a look at some of the best on-call management tools to consider in 2024:

AlertOps

AlertOps is a major incident management and response platform designed for ITOps, NOC, and DevOps teams. It provides a comprehensive solution for streamlining incident workflows, including:

• Flexible scheduling & rotations
• Multi-layered escalation policies
• Integrations with various monitoring, alerting, ITSM, and collaboration tools
• Mobile app for iOS and Android

However, AlertOps can sometimes experience notification delays and a complex interface. Free and basic plans may lack some key features.

Incident.io

Incident.io offers robust incident management software with advanced workflow automation, transparency features, and post-incident insights. Key features include:

• Centralized alerts from various monitoring tools
• Smart routing to ensure alerts reach the right personnel
• Real-time on-call visibility
• Cover Me functionality for on-call swaps
• Slack integration
• Mobile app

However, notification options are limited in incident.io, and some essential features require a pro plan. It also lacks features for proactive alerting and anomaly detection.

Splunk On-Call (formerly VictorOps)

Splunk On-Call is an incident management platform with on-call features designed for SRE and DevOps teams. It acts as a central hub for managing on-call schedules, routing alerts, and facilitating collaboration during incidents. Here are some of its features:

• Automated on-call scheduling and overrides
• Time-sensitive action automation
• Alert filtering and prioritization
• Integrations with monitoring, business, DevOps, and security tools
• Mobile application for iOS and Android devices

Splunk On-Call can be limited in its ability to generate reports and lacks user management granularity compared to some competitors. The interface can also be cluttered, and lower-tier plans lack essential features. Pricing is not publically available.

Squadcast

Squadcast offers a powerful alternative to other on-call management tools. It bundles on-call, incident response, and reliability workflows into a single platform for robust incident management solutions.

Key features of Squadcast include:

• Easy on-call rotation management with custom options
• Defined escalation policies and subject matter expert notification
• Service visualization, classification, and provisioning
• Service Level Objective (SLO) and Error Budget tracking
• Status pages to keep stakeholders informed
• Intelligent alert grouping to reduce resolution time and alert noise
• Mobile app with support for intelligent groupings and flapping alert handling
• Custom integrations and over 200 native integrations
• Role-based access control, custom roles, and Squads
• Outgoing webhooks for custom workflows
• Bidirectional integrations with popular ticketing tools like Jira and ServiceNow

Squadcast is a reliability automation platform that goes beyond scheduling and on-call rotations. It offers a free 14-day trial to explore all features.

XMatters

XMatters is a service reliability platform designed to empower DevOps, SRE, and operations teams. It focuses on streamlining workflows and communication during incidents. Here are some of its features:

• Route alerts based on set rules
• Create and manage schedules with custom rotations
• Mobile app for viewing alerts, managing shifts, and taking action
• Automated on-call scheduling and escalations
• On-call reports
• Reporting and analytics tools

However, XMatters can be complex to implement for automation tasks and lack training resources. It also has limited calendar integration options and lacks live on-call routing. Notification flexibility and mobile features are areas for improvement. XMatters offers a free tier for smaller teams.

Conclusion

Downtime is expensive. Studies show that the cost of IT downtime can be significant, with some estimates reaching $1 million per hour. On-call scheduling software can help minimize downtime by ensuring faster incident resolution and improved team collaboration.

By implementing a robust on-call scheduling tool, you can significantly reduce downtime costs and improve the overall efficiency of your SRE and DevOps teams. Consider the features and limitations of each tool listed above to find the best fit for your needs.