This blog is the second in a two-part series and was adapted from The Enterprisers Project. At a time when CIOs can use cloud infrastructure to turn on new money-making services for customers overnight, how should we measure IT success? Hint: It's not about uptime. In part 1 of this series, we talked about how traditional IT metrics such as server capacity, I/O, utilization, and network throughput are less relevant today in our highly-digital world.

This blog is the first in a two-part series and was adapted from The Enterprisers Project. In 2020, a year like no other, is it still useful to measure IT value based on green, yellow, or red lights on a screen? Now that infrastructure is everything – powering productivity, cutting OPEX, and supporting digital initiatives that may change overnight – flashing lights on a monitor are no longer enough to keep the wheels moving.

In 2020, the concept of observability in IT operations gained mindshare as IT leaders looked for new ways to rein in the complexity that’s grown organically with cloud computing and rapid digitization. Observability differs from IT monitoring in that it focuses on the development of the application and rich instrumentation so that operators can ask meaningful questions about how the software works or is working in production.

Well, hello 2021: are you going to be good to me? In conversations with family, friends and coworkers, most are cautiously optimistic that with vaccines being rolled out things will start to return to some semblance of normalcy in a few months. Meanwhile, there is much work to be done. Enterprise IT managers and leaders always have big mandates and in 2020, those expectations exploded. Technology, after all, has been everyone’s lifeline during the pandemic.

The new year is all about fresh starts, and certainly all of us need that. Still, it's useful to look back and review the events of the previous year. Here are some highlights of OpsRamp's company and product news in 2020.

During times of great uncertainty, leaders are always tested in ways they never imagined. Can they effectively surmount the external threats to the organization while keeping people committed and engaged with priorities? Back in March 2020, leaders were reacting — as swiftly as they could. Many were positive that the pandemic would disappear as quickly as it appeared and business and personal life would go back to normal.

There was nothing predictable about 2020, and even though 2021 seems equally unpredictable – we mortals enjoy holding up the crystal ball as the year ends. At the moment, we can predict that those who want the Covid-19 vaccine in the United States will be able to get it in the next 6-8 months. We can also predict that working remotely will continue to be a major trend in 2021. We can predict that politics will continue to be deeply divided in the United States.

OpsRamp customer BJ’s Wholesale Club is enhancing and reshaping how its customers buy essential goods during a year like no other. When it comes to consumer goods, the year 2020 has been all about essentials. Consumers have stocked up on groceries and household supplies such as toilet paper and cleaning products, fitness wear for working comfortably from home and of course electronics, to stay connected.

Dave Widener is CTO of MyHealthMath, a provider of health plan decision support tools which simplify every aspect of open enrollment. Widener is executive leader for the company's entire technology function including R&D, strategic planning, cybersecurity, and technical product execution. Widener’s career encompasses IT management and leadership roles in the energy, life sciences, consumer products and banking sectors.

Across the IT community, there is a buzz around the SaaSOps movement, and it has been consistently gaining momentum. As David Politis of BetterCloud describes it: “SaaSOps is a practice referring to how Software as a Service (SaaS) applications are managed and secured through centralized and automated operations (Ops), resulting in reduced friction, improved collaboration, and better employee experience”.