Top 6 Incident Management Software in 2024

When the alarm sounds and your IT infrastructure faces an attack, succumbing to panic is the last thing you need. During these critical moments, having powerful incident management software is essential. Instead of scrambling with spreadsheets and chaotic communication on Slack, what you require is a decisive leader, a master of incident response who guides your team to success.

However, exploring the vast array of incident management tools can seem overwhelming. But fear not, valiant fighter! We've undertaken the rigorous task for you, presenting the top 6 incident management software picks for 2024. Whether you're just starting out or running a well-established enterprise, we provide the insights necessary to strengthen your defenses and triumph over every IT challenge with assurance.

The best free and paid incident management software 

• Squadcast for On-Call + Incident Response + Reliability Workflows
• Pagerduty for Advanced AIOps
• xMatters for mature Incident Response Workflows
• Opsgenie for simple and intuitive On-Call Management
• Splunk On-Call (previously Victorops) for basic On-Call
• Moogsoft for advanced Correlation and Collaboration

What characteristics define top-tier Incident Management Software? The approach to incident management varies across organizations, making the selection of a universally fitting solution challenging. Nonetheless, there are key features commonly sought after in incident management systems.

Here are the criteria we considered in our evaluation and compilation of this list:

On-Call Scheduling & Management: Ensuring the availability of the appropriate team for incident resolution is crucial for minimizing downtime and facilitating a seamless response. Capabilities such as automated scheduling, exporting schedules to calendars, manual adjustments, schedule templates, and escalation procedures guarantee immediate notification of the relevant personnel. The inclusion of on-call scheduling software is vital in this aspect, as it streamlines the process of managing who is on duty and when, ensuring that incidents are always covered by the right team members.

Alerting and Notifications: Providing prompt and precise alerts based on the severity of incidents helps decrease response times and avoid unnecessary escalations. Features including customizable alerts, delivery across multiple channels, and on-call rotation schedules ensure that critical notifications are promptly received by the intended recipients.

Incident Response Workflows: Directing teams through predetermined steps enhances the efficiency of incident resolution, diminishes confusion, and speeds up the recovery process. Tools such as Runbooks, automated response workflows, task management, and integration with knowledge bases simplify and bolster response strategies.

Integrations: The ability to integrate with your existing technology stack, creating a centralized platform for incident management, is essential for event consolidation and offers a comprehensive overview of your systems. API connections, data visualization dashboards, and compatibility with third-party tools facilitate a cohesive environment for incident analysis and resolution.

Pricing: Matching the cost to your specific requirements ensures you receive value without overextending your budget. Flexible pricing structures and a variety of feature options allow for the selection of a solution that best suits your team's needs and the volume of incidents you face.

Best incident management software for DevOps and SREs

Squadcast

Squadcast offers a comprehensive enterprise incident management solution, combining on-call scheduling, incident response, and reliability workflows into a single platform. This integrated approach promises to simplify incident resolution and improve uptime for enterprises.

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Pros:

• A unified platform eliminates the need for multiple tools, ideal for enterprise incident management.
• Robust incident response features like Runbooks and collaboration links cater to the complex needs of enterprises.
• Noise reduction and automation powered by AI/ML enhance efficiency at an enterprise level.
• Workflows designed to streamline incident resolution for large-scale operations.
• Built-in SLO tracker and Status Pages support enterprise reliability goals.
• Provides the best price-to-value ratio in the market, appealing to enterprises looking for cost-effective solutions.

Cons:

• Could get difficult to keep up with continuous product updates and features, a consideration for enterprises seeking stability in their incident management tools.

Squadcast Pricing: Free for up to 5 users, Paid plans start at $9/month, offering scalable options for enterprises.

Pagerduty

Established in 2009, Pagerduty enhances incident management through smart alert distribution, AIOps for noise reduction, and streamlined incident response processes for quicker resolutions. Despite its benefits, Pagerduty's pricing can be a concern, particularly for teams managing critical operations and their rest periods.

Pros:

• Efficient Alert Routing: Directs alerts to the appropriate individuals based on urgency and their expertise, minimizing irrelevant notifications.
• Incident Response Workflows: Offers comprehensive incident reports, real-time updates, and clear escalation procedures, enhancing team coordination and efficiency.
• Extensive Integrations: Compatible with over 700 monitoring tools, facilitating smoother workflows and centralized information management.
• Noise Reduction: The AIOps feature of Pagerduty significantly cuts down on unnecessary alerts, helping to alleviate alert fatigue.

Cons:

• Pricing: Pagerduty's advanced features come at a substantial cost, which can become quite burdensome for organizations requiring extensive use of its services.

Pagerduty Pricing: Offers a free tier for up to 5 users, with paid plans beginning at $21 per month.

xMatters

xMatters presents a dependable and cost-effective incident management solution, offering a more affordable alternative to higher-priced options such as PagerDuty. Although it might not feature the most sophisticated capabilities, it lays a strong groundwork for alert management, escalation processes, on-call scheduling, and communication, making it a practical choice for organizations in search of a straightforward, effective way to manage service interruptions.

Pros:

• Affordability: More budget-friendly compared to similar platforms.
• Essential Features: Addresses fundamental incident management requirements including alerts, escalations, on-call scheduling, and communication.
• Workflow Automation: Enhances efficiency by automating processes for quicker issue resolution.

Cons:

• Basic Functionality: May not include the advanced features found in some competing services.
• Limited Integrations: Could offer fewer options for integration with certain tools.
• Simpler User Interface: The user interface may be less accommodating for more complex operational needs.

xMatters Pricing: Provides a free tier for up to 10 users, with paid subscriptions beginning at $9 per month.

Opsgenie

Introduced in 2012, Opsgenie has established itself as an experienced player in the incident management field, offering cost-effective solutions and a unified system for managing alerts, escalations, on-call scheduling, and communications. Since its acquisition by Atlassian in 2018, there have been some concerns about the frequency of updates and the quality of support, including instances of outages lasting more than two weeks.

Pros:

• Centralized Management: Consolidates incident management processes into a single platform, encompassing alerts, on-call duties, and communications.
• Intelligent Alert Routing: Directs critical issues to the appropriate team members swiftly through smart routing.
• Efficient Scheduling Tools: Facilitates on-call schedule management, ensuring incidents are promptly addressed by the correct personnel.
• Insightful Reporting & Analytics: Offers insights into incident trends, helping to refine and improve response strategies.

Cons:

• Stability Concerns: There have been reports suggesting issues with the platform's uptime and overall reliability.
• Infrequent Updates: The platform has experienced a notable lack of significant updates for an extended period.

Opsgenie Pricing: Includes a free tier for up to 5 users, with paid plans beginning at $9 per month.

Splunk On-Call (Victorops)

Formerly known as VictorOps, Splunk On-Call offers streamlined on-call scheduling and escalation policies, automates administrative tasks, provides data-driven insights to illuminate trends, optimize response, and silence unnecessary alerts. Automated workflows further streamline incident handling through automatic escalations and war room notifications.

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Pros:

• Strong feature set: Offers comprehensive incident management capabilities.
• Competitive pricing: May be more affordable than leading competitors.
• Data-driven approach: Helps teams identify trends and improve response efficiency.
• Automation: Reduces manual tasks and ensures faster incident resolution.

Cons:

• Brand recognition: May not be as widely known as other options.
• Splunk integration: Tightly coupled with the Splunk ecosystem, might not be ideal for non-Splunk users.

Splunk On-Call Pricing:  No free plans, pricing is not transparent 

Moogsoft

Moogsoft, acquired by Dell in 2023, is an AIOps platform that reduces IT operations complexity. It uses machine learning to sniff out incidents before they erupt, automates incident response, and even digs into the root cause like a tech Sherlock Holmes. While not perfect, with some stability hiccups and limited customization, Moogsoft offers a powerful toolkit for proactive IT teams.

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Pros:

• Predictive Prowess: Moogsoft's AI anticipates IT issues before they cause chaos, keeping your systems humming.
• Event Correlation & Root Cause Analysis: Moogsoft's machine learning pinpoints the real culprit behind problems, saving you valuable time and frustration.
• Automation Army: Say goodbye to repetitive tasks. Moogsoft automates parts of incident response, freeing you to focus on more strategic initiatives.

Cons:

• Stability Jitters: Occasional hiccups can disrupt the smooth flow of operations.
• Customization Cravings: Some users wish for more flexibility to tailor the platform to their specific needs.

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Moogsoft Pricing: No free plans, pricing is not transparent 

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All of the above-listed software score decently well in the key functionalities an incident management platform must cover - On-Call Scheduling & Management, Alerting and notifications, Incident response workflows, and Integrations offered. That said if we were to choose a winner it would be Squadcast for its all-around capabilities across all the functionalities while coming at a reasonable price which organizations of all sizes can adopt without breaking the bank. Squadcast lets you access Public API's for all our features, Terraform & Migration support too. Getting started with Squadcast is easy, just sign up for a 14-day free trial and explore the platform at your pace.