APM services are tools that help understand how well an app is performing for customers and end-users, tracking key information like latency, and providing insights to achieve specific SLAs and SLOs. Without APM, businesses risk site latency and downtime, losing customers, sales, and revenue, as well as wasting engineering team time on custom solutions. APM services should include visualization of data, troubleshooting information at the code level, automated service level management, and distributed tracing observability. When evaluating APM tools, consider factors like easy installation, automation, context, alerting integration with existing tools, and AI-powered unified pattern recognition. APM plays a pivotal role in today's software landscape, helping gain deep insights into application behavior, optimizing performance, and ensuring a top-notch user experience.