Idera SQL Diagnostic Manager

SQL Diagnostic Manager from Idera monitors SQL Server performance, and the vendor's current emphasis is on applying AI to identify query and index optimisation opportunities rather than only reporting on what is slow. It covers server, database and query-level metrics across an estate of SQL Server instances.

Index recommendations are where a tool like this either saves real time or creates work. Identifying a missing index is straightforward and identifying which of the twelve suggested indexes are worth the write cost is judgement, so the value depends on whether the recommendations are prioritised or merely listed.

Specialising in SQL Server rather than covering many engines is a defensible position. Depth in one platform means understanding wait types, plan regressions and configuration specific to it, which a multi-engine tool tends to generalise. For a shop that runs SQL Server and nothing else, that depth is worth more than breadth it will never use.

Idera's portfolio context is worth knowing. The company holds a set of database tools acquired over years, so a buyer should establish which products share a console and which are separate purchases that merely appear in the same catalogue.