Log management

When major digital platforms experience outages, they serve as a reminder of how dependent businesses have become on complex, interconnected systems. Maintaining resilience in this environment depends on having accurate, real-time insight into what is happening beneath the surface. Logs of system events, user actions and operational activity, are central to delivering that digital insight, offering early warnings of failures, performance issues and security threats. 

 

Log management is fundamentally about making sense of this data. What was once considered a purely technical function has evolved into a business-critical capability. As digital environments scale and diversify, logs now play a vital role in maintaining service reliability, protecting customer experience and safeguarding security across the enterprise. 

 

Research shows that the majority (87%) of organisations already use logs as part of their observability strategies. However, adoption alone does not guarantee value. The real challenge lies not in collecting logs, but in interpreting them effectively and using them to inform action. Modern log management is about bringing the most accurate business indicators to the fore. 

 

The challenges holding back log management  

As business digital estates grow more complex, the volume of logs generated across applications, infrastructure and business services has exploded. However, more logs do not automatically mean more insight. In fact, many teams are overwhelmed by sheer volume, struggling to separate meaningful signals from background noise. This overload creates noise that makes it difficult to identify urgent issues, leaving IT and Security teams on the back foot during critical incidents and proactive response. 

 

The problem is as much about cost as complexity. Storing and managing log telemetry without a clear purpose often leads to escalating expenses that outpace the value delivered. Traditional licensing and infrastructure models add to the problem. They often make log management feel like a financial liability than a strategic advantage. 

 

Another common constraint is fragmentation. Logs often live across multiple tools, with different interfaces and storage models, slowing root cause analysis and complicating cross-team collaboration. In a cloud-native world where speed and scale are vital, this siloed approach is out of step with modern business needs. 

 

Together, these shortcomings point to the need for a smarter approach—one that focuses on clarity, efficiency, and value. 

 

 

Turning logs into actionable intelligence 

Taking a smarter approach to log management starts with a shift in perspective. Rather than treating logs as an endless stream of technical data, leading organizations use them as a lens to understand how their digital ecosystems truly perform. The real value lies in not collecting everything but in knowing what matters and identifying which logs drive resilience, security, customer experience, or compliance, and filtering out the rest.  

 

AI is becoming an essential part of this process. Modern techniques can detect anomalies, trace issues back to their root cause, and even trigger automated fixes. This reduces manual investigation and accelerates recovery, allowing teams to move from firefighting to foresight.  

 

Equally important is being selective. Forward-thinking organizations decide which logs to capture, which to discard, and how to route them most effectively. This helps control costs and ensures that attention is focused on the telemetry that delivers the greatest value. When organizations find this balance, log management evolves from a tactical task to a strategic capability that strengthens both performance and resilience. 

 

 

Connecting logs to the wider observability ecosystem 

Log intelligence on its own is valuable, but it is only part of the story. The next frontier is AI powered observability, uniting logs with metrics that track performance, traces that map interactions, and events that reveal key system changes. Combined in a single platform, these data types give teams a complete picture - connecting technical performance with genuine business impact and moving from a view of what happened to an understanding of why it happened and how to respond quickly. 

 

Consider a global telecommunications provider that recently re-evaluated its log strategy. Managing more than 15TB of logs every day, stored for long periods and spread across thousands of dashboards, the team was buried in dashboards and redundant data. By consolidating logs within a broader observability framework and replacing static alerts with intelligent detection, they cut through the noise across its systems. Able to focus on the signals that mattered most, the organization improved uptime, speed, and overall resilience.  

 

This example shows that observability delivers its greatest value when it helps teams cut through complexity. With logs feeding into a single platform, data becomes easier to interpret and act on, transforming technical insight into business intelligence. 

 

 

Turning log management into a strategic advantage 

Modern log management gives organizations the context they need to turn massive volumes of data into meaningful insight. Organizations that harness AI, automation, and broader observability, gain a clearer view of how their technology is supporting their goals. Enterprises can analyse faster, automate smarter, and innovate with confidence. 

 

True modernization comes from changing how teams think about data. Now is the time to review current strategies, identify gaps, and adopt modern platforms that integrate AI, context, correlation, and smarter telemetry management practices because organizations can no longer afford to treat log management as a background IT task. 

 

The companies that thrive will be those that treat logs not as exhaust from their systems, but as evidence of how their business thinks and performs. By bringing intelligence to the data they already have, they will turn observability into a source of continuous advantage and understand their business like never before.  

 

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 Mala Pillutla is Vice President of Sales for Log Management at Dynatrace 

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com and Tippapatt