Microsoft SCOM is a part of the System Center suite of products and provides cross-platform data center monitoring, as well as deep insight into various components within your environment, such as hardware; networking equipment or servers; core services, such as Active Directory or DNS; operating systems, either Windows or Linux; hypervisors, such as Microsoft Hyper-V or VMware vSphere; and applications from either Microsoft or third parties.
SCOM monitors systems of interest via an agent that is installed on each server. The agent monitors system performance and collects data, which is then transmitted back to a central management server. Agents are supplemented by service or application-specific management packs, which provide insight in the form of rules for data collection and reporting specific to a particular service or application.