SentryOne

What SentryOne does

SentryOne is a Charlotte, US-based software company founded in 2004 that built database performance monitoring and management tools for the Microsoft SQL Server ecosystem. Its core product, SQL Sentry, provides deep root cause analysis, performance dashboards, top SQL identification, advisory alerting, and event tracking for Microsoft SQL Server, Availability Groups, SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS), and Azure Synapse Analytics across physical, virtual, and cloud environments. The portfolio also includes Task Factory (a paid ELT/ETL add-on for data warehousing) and two free tools — Plan Explorer (query plan analysis) and DBA xPress (database comparison and estate management) — used as top-of-funnel acquisition assets.

The company was acquired by SolarWinds in October 2020 and now operates as part of SolarWinds' database business; the SentryOne products are marketed under the SolarWinds SQL Sentry brand. Revenue is generated primarily through annual subscription licenses (entry-level pricing starts at $1,999, with enterprise deployments custom-quoted), complemented by a 14-day fully functional free trial and a self-serve digital download channel. Go-to-market combines product-led growth (free tools, trial download), enterprise field sales (quote-based contracts for large SQL Server estates), and community-led engagement through the SolarWinds THWACK user community of over 200,000 registered members. Distribution spans direct sales, self-serve digital channels, cloud marketplaces, and a global System Integrator/MSP partner program, with the SolarWinds Database Insights for SQL Server bundle positioning SQL Sentry alongside Database Performance Analyzer for unified multi-platform database observability.

Name

SentryOne

Website

https://sentryone.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

SentryOne, founded in 2004 and acquired by SolarWinds in October 2020, provides SQL Sentry — a database performance monitoring solution for Microsoft SQL Server, Azure SQL, and Azure Synapse — sold via annual subscription to DBAs and enterprise IT operations through direct sales, cloud marketplaces, and the SolarWinds channel network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Database Performance Monitoring

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Database Tools & Ecosystem (Replication, Backup/Recovery, HA/DR, Monitoring) (HDAEAAAO)

Keywords

• Database performance monitoring
• SQL Server monitoring
• Database management software
• Azure SQL monitoring
• Root cause analysis

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlotte

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. SQL Sentry Subscription Licenses: Annual subscription licensing model for SQL Sentry database performance monitoring. Pricing starts at $1,999, with enterprise deployments requiring custom quotes based on environment scale and requirements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SentryOne provides database performance monitoring and management software for Microsoft SQL Server and Azure SQL databases, focused on deep root cause analysis of performance issues. Its flagship product, SQL Sentry, enables DBAs and data professionals to monitor, diagnose, and optimize server performance across physical, virtual, and cloud environments, including support for Availability Groups, SSAS, and Azure Synapse Analytics. The offering is complemented by Task Factory (ELT/ETL data warehousing) and free tools Plan Explorer and DBA xPress for query analysis and database comparison.

Product overview

SentryOne was an independent company that built a suite of SQL Server monitoring and database management tools. SolarWinds acquired SentryOne in October 2020 and rebranded the flagship product as SQL Sentry. The product portfolio now consists of SQL Sentry as the core commercial product for deep SQL Server performance monitoring, supplemented by Task Factory (a paid ELT/ETL add-on), and two free tools — Plan Explorer (query analysis) and DBA xPress (database comparison). SolarWinds bundles SQL Sentry with Database Performance Analyzer (DPA) as 'Database Insights for SQL Server,' positioning DPA as a multi-platform wait-time analysis tool and SQL Sentry as the deep-dive monitoring solution for Microsoft SQL Server, SSAS, Availability Groups, and Azure Synapse.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SQL Sentry: Database performance monitoring for SQL Server and Azure SQL databases, with fast root cause analysis and visibility across the data estate.
• Task Factory
• Plan Explorer
• DBA xPress

Products and services

• SQL Sentry SQL Sentry (formerly SentryOne) is a database performance monitoring solution for SQL Server and Azure SQL databases, offering fast root cause analysis, detailed performance dashboards, top SQL identification, advisory conditions for automated alerting, an event calendar, and a web portal for accessing performance data from a browser. It is used by database administrators and Microsoft data professionals managing large SQL Server environments across physical, virtual, and cloud deployments.
• Task Factory Task Factory is a data warehousing ELT/ETL task management tool designed to save time on tedious data warehousing operations. It targets data professionals and DBAs working on SQL Server data warehousing projects.
• Plan Explorer Plan Explorer is a free query analysis tool that helps database professionals quickly get to the root of query performance problems by analyzing query execution plans. It is used by DBAs and SQL developers as a free tool for query optimization.
• DBA xPress DBA xPress is a free tool for managing SQL Server data estates, enabling database comparison and analysis. It targets database administrators who need utilities to compare and analyze databases.
• Database Performance Analyzer (DPA) Database Performance Analyzer (DPA) is a multi-platform database analysis and performance tuning tool based on wait time analysis, covering SQL Server, Oracle, DB2, Azure, AWS, Postgres, and other databases. It is offered alongside SQL Sentry as part of the SolarWinds database portfolio, and both are bundled together as 'Database Insights for SQL Server'.

Quantifiable outcome

• Fast root cause analysis for SQL Server performance issues
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SolarWindscoreOthers · 1 October 2020SolarWinds acquired SentryOne in October 2020, integrating SQL Sentry and related products into the SolarWinds portfolio. SentryOne products are now marketed as SolarWinds SQL Sentry, Task Factory, and free tools (Plan Explorer, DBA xPress). The acquisition enables SolarWinds to provide unified database monitoring across SQL Server and other database platforms.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Dynatrace: Dynatrace offers an AI-driven observability platform that includes database performance monitoring as part of its full-stack coverage. It competes for enterprise observability budget where customers may choose a unified platform over specialized tools like SQL Sentry.
• Datadog: Datadog is a broad cloud observability platform that has expanded into database monitoring. It competes for IT operations budget by offering infrastructure, APM, logs, and database visibility in a single SaaS platform — a structural alternative to point tools like SQL Sentry.
• New Relic: New Relic is a full-stack observability platform that includes database monitoring capabilities alongside APM, infrastructure, and log management. It represents the broader consolidation trend that competes for the same IT operations wallet as SentryOne's database monitoring tooling.
• Microsoft Azure Monitor / SQL Insights: Microsoft's first-party Azure Monitor and SQL Insights provide native database observability for Azure SQL customers, often bundled with Azure spend. They represent the most direct competitive threat as a free or low-cost alternative within the Microsoft ecosystem that SentryOne targets.
• Cisco AppDynamics: AppDynamics provides application performance monitoring with database visibility features. As part of Cisco's broader observability and full-stack monitoring portfolio, it represents the platform consolidation alternative to SentryOne's specialized database monitoring approach.

Direct peers

• Quest Software (Spotlight on SQL Server): Quest's Spotlight on SQL Server is a direct competitor to SQL Sentry, offering real-time diagnostics, wait-state analysis, and performance monitoring for Microsoft SQL Server estates — the same DBA persona and use cases that SentryOne targets.
• Idera (SQL Diagnostic Manager): Idera's SQL Diagnostic Manager provides real-time SQL Server monitoring, alerting, and performance analysis. It competes head-to-head with SQL Sentry in the same DBA-focused, mid-market-to-enterprise customer segment with similar capabilities around query analysis and Availability Group monitoring.
• Redgate SQL Monitor: Redgate SQL Monitor is a dedicated SQL Server performance monitoring tool with alerting, wait statistics, and query-level diagnostics. It directly competes with SQL Sentry for the same Microsoft data professional audience, with comparable subscription pricing and self-serve purchase motion.
• SolarWinds Database Performance Analyzer (DPA): DPA is the sibling product under the same SolarWinds parent, offering cross-platform wait-time-based database monitoring (Oracle, DB2, SQL Server, Postgres, Azure, AWS). It overlaps with SQL Sentry on SQL Server and is bundled together as 'Database Insights for SQL Server.'

Emerging players

• ManageEngine Applications Manager: ManageEngine Applications Manager includes database performance monitoring for SQL Server alongside broader application and infrastructure monitoring. It competes primarily on price-sensitive mid-market accounts with a wider feature set but less SQL Server-specific depth than SentryOne.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sentryone

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SentryOne