Operations | Monitoring | ITSM | DevOps | Cloud

The dust has settled on Las Vegas. We saw transparent TVs, cars that drive sideways, and enough “AI-powered” toothbrushes to confuse a dentist. CES is incredible at selling the dream of hardware. The demos are slick, the lighting is perfect, and everything works on the showroom floor. But as engineers, we know the dirty secret of CES: The hardware is the easy part.

Observability pricing often seems reasonable at the outset, but many organizations discover their real complexity only as environments scale and usage patterns change. As environments grow more complex and hybrid by default, many organizations struggle with rising costs, fragmented tools, and pricing models that complicate cost predictability and long-term planning.

Even though the shift to the cloud has slowed recently as many businesses are moving certain workloads back on-premise, Microsoft Exchange remains one cloud-based service that most organizations continue to embrace – despite its frequent outages. This doesn’t come as a surprise, as Microsoft has successfully devolved on-prem Exchange Server – the only viable alternative – into an unfriendly dragon that even experienced sysadmins won’t touch with a 10 ft pole.

It’s always a good idea to expand your cloud storage providers to add extra insurance that your files, photos, or videos are backed up and accessible whenever you need them. For some files, you may not want to pay for a cloud storage plan, as free cloud storage can offer you the basics you need. As all cloud storage providers offer a free tier, this article will cover the best free cloud storage solutions for you to consider. This article will cover.

You ran Lighthouse and got flagged for a slow First Contentful Paint. The score is orange (or worse, red), and the help text says something about “the time at which the first text or image is painted.” But what does that actually mean for your users? And why should you care?

Data systems rarely operate as isolated components. Machines depend on sensors, services rely on other services, and devices exchange data through shared gateways. When something changes, the impact often spreads beyond a single metric. To trace how changes move through complex systems, many teams turn to graph-style analysis to map dependencies and follow cause and effect.

Container security has finally gone mainstream. When Docker announced hardened container images in late 2025, complete with minimal attack surfaces, non-root defaults, continuous CVE scanning, and automated updates, the response was enthusiastic. For teams managing their own infrastructure, this was a real step forward. Secure-by-default containers are no longer niche or expensive. They are expected.

We’re pleased to announce that InvGate has recently renewed the SOC 2 Type II certification for the 2024-2025 period. This achievement shows our commitment to the industry’s best data protection and compliance practices. The SOC 2 standard was developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). It consists of a third-party audit that evaluates how companies worldwide handle data privacy. Keep reading to learn how the renewal impacts you.

Service desk leaders are being asked to do more with less. Ticket volumes keep climbing. SLAs keep tightening. Headcount rarely follows. Dashboards fill up fast, and before long, every conversation seems to start with a metric that’s in the red. Automation is pitched as the answer. But when it’s introduced only as a way to move faster or cut costs, it can backfire.

Redgate Flyway’s January update brings faster drift resolution, AI-powered deployment descriptions, and a look back at everything we shipped in 2025. Plus, we want to hear from you about how you’re managing database changes.