Operations | Monitoring | ITSM | DevOps | Cloud

Have you heard of it? The concept of agentic AI has been around for some time, but now we have the tools to make it real. Let’s look at the past, present, and future of agentic AI—and what it means for you.

Our AI by Design series explored responsible approaches to developing artificial intelligence (AI) systems. Now, it’s time to get practical about leveraging this exciting technology to transform our daily operations. Our upcoming blog series identifies three types of AI adoption—diagnostic, assistive, and automated—and helps you determine where these distinct applications fit into your workflow.

Logs are a developer’s first line of defense when monitoring and troubleshooting distributed applications. They provide insights into performance, user behavior, and application stability, whether your application is written in Java or another language. However, when your applications scale up, and you have fragmented log data scattered across different systems, this will complicate your troubleshooting effort. This is what makes a centralized logging tool like SolarWinds Loggly essential.

With the UK government's 2024 launch of a project to integrate AI into classrooms, Rob Johnson, VP of Solutions Engineering, takes a closer look at the landscape of education and AI in a piece for cybersecurityintelligence.com. Aimed at creating lesson plans and easing the administrative burden of teachers, the initiative aims to allow education staff to focus on areas of their roles that currently get sidelined.

The SolarWinds State of ITSM Report is an in-depth review of over 2,000 ITSM systems, aggregating more than 60,000 data points from mid- and small-market SolarWinds customers globally. The report includes striking findings on the effectiveness of self-service portals in ITSM. Self-service portals are designed to reduce pressure on service desk agents by leveraging online resources to help users solve problems on their own. But does this reflect the agent’s real-life experience?

I’ve spent over 25 years in tech product marketing and customer support, working with pioneering companies like Dell/EMC, Apple, Keeper Security, and now, SolarWinds. In my current role, I’ve had the privilege of helping organizations of all sizes achieve comprehensive observability in their IT environments. I’ve also witnessed firsthand the challenges that can arise on this journey.

As more businesses embrace digital transformation, cloud computing is becoming more relevant each day. Cloud technology provides the flexibility, scalability, and agility modern organizations need to stay competitive, transforming everything from daily operations to customer experiences. However, as companies expand their use of the cloud, managing these complex environments is proving to be a real challenge. What is cloud monitoring?

A comprehensive understanding of the computers, servers, routers, switches, and other devices that form the foundation of your IT environment is critical to mitigate the risk of downtime and security vulnerabilities. Let’s explore some key factors to remember when choosing the right solution to monitor your network devices.

Complex hybrid IT setups are leading us to rethink how we structure our IT departments. Let’s discuss ITOps and CloudOps in 2025. Could making them a single team be more effective?

Database observability is the number one way to keep data moving smoothly around your environment. But have you ever wondered how the modern observability solution forms such a comprehensive picture of your infrastructure? Let’s check out five key metrics that form the foundation of effective database observability.

Maintaining data security is a top priority for any organization. Secure Sockets Layer certificates—usually called SSL certificates—are an important part of this effort. SSL certificates are small data files designed to prevent hackers from getting access to private business data as it passes between a website and a visitor’s browser.

As the number of wireless networks explodes, detecting, managing, and maintaining your Wi-Fi can become problematic. When everyone around you is blasting their own Wi-Fi signals—particularly in large business complexes with lots of other large companies—you’re more likely to experience problems with Wi-Fi signals dropping out, poor connectivity, and slow performance.

The Software as a Service (SaaS) era is ending—at least, that’s what some online observers have been suggesting of late. In a recent post on X, Sam Lessing, a General Partner (GP) at Slow Ventures, challenged the long-held belief that SaaS is the pinnacle of software business models. Forbes recently took up Lessing's claim in an article entitled The End of the SaaS Era: Rethinking Software's Role in Business. So, are we really witnessing the death of SaaS?

Managing a network can be daunting, especially as your infrastructure grows in size and complexity. Fortunately, network management software can help you monitor, manage, and optimize your network, ensuring everything runs smoothly. This post will explore the seven best network management software tools available today. After, we’ll dive into a comprehensive guide on network management to help you understand its importance and how to choose the right tool for your needs.

The way we manage, qualify, and utilize our data is constantly tested. With the amount of information we have at our disposal, managing and ensuring data quality has become a strategic lever for companies striving for excellence. How can we ensure our data management is flawless and the data quality on which we base our decisions is optimal? This is where data observability becomes an essential component.

Logs are essential for understanding and optimizing performance, and MongoDB structured logging makes them more powerful. By organizing logs into a consistent format, we can query and analyze them more efficiently. However, dealing with logs locally has its limits. That’s where a centralized log management tool like SolarWinds Loggly comes in. Shipping MongoDB logs to SolarWinds Loggly gives you a unified view of your data, advanced analytics, and proactive monitoring.

From financial records and client contracts to internal communications, organizations transfer files and sensitive data daily. A secure file transfer solution has always been non-negotiable, but it’s more critical than ever amidst the rise of data breaches and cyberattacks. For many years, File Transfer Protocol (FTP) was the standard. However, its outdated security measures and lack of encryption make it vulnerable to cyber threats, leaving shared data at risk of interception and misuse.

Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), also known as SSH File Transfer Protocol, is a robust, encrypted method for transferring files across networks, designed as a more secure alternative to traditional File Transfer Protocol (FTP). Essential for industries handling sensitive data—like finance and healthcare—SFTP protects against unauthorized access and enables efficient file management, making it a critical tool for remote access and data protection.