Alert management is no longer a manageable task, given the growth in applications, cloud environments and point monitoring tools. Too much time is spent filtering and making sense of alert data and determining where to route incidents. All of these steps slow down critical issue identification and resolution. In this article, I want to discuss a more sensible, modern way to deal with IT alerts, through machine learning intelligence and automation.

In recent weeks we’ve all been disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, both personally and professionally. The changes have been swift and severe, bringing new meaning to the Boy Scout motto: “Be Prepared.” While certain sectors, like the restaurant industry, have been brutally affected by lockdowns, we’ve also seen encouraging signs of last-minute ingenuity. At the end of March, national chain The Cheesecake Factory warned that it would not be able to pay rent.

The world of IT operations is witnessing major changes with the Covid-19 pandemic. Gartner’s recent Business Continuity Survey found that only 12% of organizations were highly prepared to handle the impact of the coronavirus. With technology spend expected to decline by 8% this year, IT leaders will need to prioritize the right technology investments to meet customer, employee, and stakeholder expectations.

Zebra Technologies makes mobile computers, barcode and RFID devices, printers and communications software for healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, retail and other sectors. Despite or maybe even because of Covid-19, the company has a strong outlook; its stock rose 25% in April and is up 16% over the last 52 weeks, according to The Motley Fool. The analyst noted that Zebra’s business process automation technologies help “grease the wheels” of companies during difficult times.

Artificial intelligence for IT operations (AIOps) is an emerging technology that can help IT operations teams make sense of operational data. As hybrid infrastructure and cloud-native technologies present new levels of complexity, AIOps is showing great promise in simplifying and transforming digital operations management. In our recent Tech Talk, Five Ways AIOps Can Transform Your Enterprise, OpsRamp’s Eric Cook spoke about the need for AIOps in today’s multi-cloud environments.

We realize that many companies are facing tighter technology budgets right now, yet at the same time IT needs are unrelenting. From supporting remote workforce continuity and productivity to partnering with business leaders on redesigning products and services during the Covid-19 pandemic, IT organizations have some pretty heavy mandates right now.

As Covid-19 restrictions and predictions march on unabatedly, people are starting to think about what may be long-lasting changes to industries. The tech industry is a mixed bag: it all depends on your perspective. Layoffs are becoming commonplace, especially in BtoC tech startups: Lyft and AirBnB recently announced massive cuts. The giants-- which include the usual suspects Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, Google, Apple, Netflix--are faring remarkably well, as discussed in a recent New York Times op-ed.

IT leaders need a well-defined strategy for managing patches and upgrades for software applications and technologies. Planned patch management rollouts help combat security vulnerabilities as unpatched systems are highly vulnerable to data breaches and attacks from hackers. During Covid-19, IT organizations have struggled to keep systems updated using remote teams, especially as software vendors have recently released a record number of patch fixes and upgrades.

Today we share a recent conversation with Mike Kavis, Chief Cloud Architect at Deloitte Consulting. Mike has held numerous technical roles such as CTO, Chief Architect, and VP positions with over 30 years of experience in software development and architecture. He led a team that built the world's first high speed transaction network in Amazon's public cloud and won the 2010 AWS Global Startup Challenge.

People working in IT support and incident management right now are faced with unusual difficulties supporting large remote workforces and managing unpredictable workloads. On Reddit, system admins and other IT pros are bemoaning the hiccups and hassles of working in isolation while trying to resolve issues and maintain high SLAs. You can’t go grab your indispensable SME for troubleshooting, because that person is also home and inundated with messages and alerts from many different tools.