Hi ObservCrew,

It's been almost 10 weeks since I last reached out, and wow, what a transformative period it’s been! I've relocated to Abu Dhabi, UAE, to take on an exciting new role leading observability initiatives for a key government entity. It’s been personally enriching and professionally eye-opening, so let me take you along for the journey.

Arriving in the UAE: Shattering Misconceptions

When the plane touched down in Abu Dhabi, I thought I knew what awaited me, but the UAE quickly exceeded all expectations. Forget the headlines. Forget what you’ve heard secondhand. Being here, experiencing this region for myself, I've encountered nothing but warmth, openness, and genuine friendliness from everyone I've met.

The city itself is a striking blend of tradition and modernity, evident in both the breathtaking skylines and vibrant local neighborhoods. Check out this incredible sunset captured right outside my apartment building:

Seeing the evening skies painted in these colors has become a serene daily ritual, reflecting my own transformative experience in the region.

🌙 Ramadan: A Time for Reflection, Community, and Hospitality

I arrived during Ramadan, an exceptionally special time here. Experiencing this sacred month firsthand deeply moved me. Initially unsure about my place during these intimate gatherings, I quickly learned the meaning of true hospitality.

People I’d just met invited me into their homes to share Iftar meals, offering kindness without hesitation. Picture this beautiful scene from one of the Iftar events I attended:

This illuminated setting perfectly symbolizes my experience, bright, welcoming, and warm. Despite being a 6’5”, 300-pound stranger, I felt genuinely embraced by the community.

Observability Revisited: My Professional Journey in the UAE

Professionally, this transition has been equally enlightening. Many of you know me as an advocate for integrated observability, especially combining open-source and vendor tools. Arriving here to find my work constrained to one of the "big three" vendors (Dynatrace, specifically, in an on-prem setup) initially felt restrictive. But this environment forced me to confront an essential but overlooked aspect of observability: operational governance and event management.

My past work always emphasized strategy and tooling flexibility, assuming teams naturally understood core observability practices. This assumption has been thoroughly challenged.

I discovered many teams, skilled and dedicated, struggle with fundamental operational issues like alert noise, escalation clarity, and proactive event management. I've since developed an entirely new respect for the operational dimension of observability. Here’s a brief overview of our recent achievements:

• Weekly monitoring hygiene reviews.

• Implemented a robust governance framework around alert management.

• Created detailed KPIs for operational effectiveness.

• Integrated critical alerts into multiple communication platforms (MS Teams, Email, WhatsApp).

• Initiated ongoing programs aligned with business outcomes.

In short, I've transitioned from theory to practice at a depth I hadn’t anticipated and which I’ve found it profoundly rewarding.

A Moment of Serenity: Reflections by the Water

Outside the office, the UAE also offers countless serene moments, like this peaceful sunset by the water:

I’ve found that taking these quiet moments to reflect helps solidify the lessons from my day-to-day experiences, reminding me of the deeper reasons I do this work impacting lives through better system reliability and experience.

Insights Beyond the Book: Lessons in Operational Observability

Looking back at my observability book, I realize I gave insufficient attention to operational practices, assuming they were common knowledge. Now, I understand these aspects are critical, and often missing:

• Event management isn't just a process it's foundational and not everyone has a view on ITIL.

• Alert fatigue indicates a gap in alert governance, not just tooling.

• Operational excellence in observability is a disciplined, measurable practice.

This realization has reshaped my approach entirely, and I'm incorporating these insights actively into my current work and future writing.

🚀 The Road Ahead

Looking forward, our goal is crystal clear: zero missed critical alerts by the end of the year. Achieving this requires disciplined execution and continuous refinement of our operational practices. Further ahead, our roadmap is ambitious:

• Transition from reactive to predictive observability.

• Full alignment between monitoring practices and end-to-end user experiences.

• Building an observability-centric culture anchored in proactive incident prevention.

I’ll share more on these plans soon so please stay tuned!

🙏🏼 Final Thoughts: A Thank You

If you've reached this far, thank you deeply for staying connected throughout this transition. Your engagement and support keep this newsletter alive. If you're working on something intriguing in observability, I’d love to hear about it. Let's connect.

Until next time, stay curious, keep observing, and remember the world’s best insights often appear at unexpected moments.

Warm regards,
Allan
Founder, Mastering Observability

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Feel free to hit reply, I genuinely enjoy hearing your thoughts and experiences around observability or life transitions. Let's keep the conversation going!