Why modern incident management needs a proactive approach

By Zheng Li | Posted Nov 29, 2024 | 6 min. (1095 words)

Incident management is an ever-present challenge in the tech industry. Whether you’re running a small startup or a massive enterprise, dealing with incidents effectively can be the difference between retaining customer trust and losing it. In a recent Founder & Friends podcast episode between Raygun CEO John-Daniel Trask (JD) and Birol Yildiz, the Co-founder and CEO of iLert, they explored how iLert’s approach to alerting and incident management is helping companies stay ahead.

Their discussion covers a wide range of topics, including:

The origin story behind iLert

The journey of iLert began with a simple observation. Birol shared, “I was a student back in 2009, working on my master’s thesis about context-aware notifications. The idea was to notify the right person to resolve a critical incident based on contextual factors like time and skills. However, I quickly realized that even sending an SMS from a monitoring tool like Nagios was frustratingly complex.”

From that frustration, the idea of iLert was born. Birol decided to focus on making alerting simple and effective. “Forget about the intelligence part. Let’s make the basic alerting process effortless,” he explained. This vision has grown into a platform that easily integrates into existing environments while ensuring incident response is reliable.

If you’re interested in exploring more about improving software quality, check out this guide on enhancing web software performance.

Integrations as a cornerstone

iLert’s success lies in its ability to integrate with a wide variety of tools. “Our promise to customers is to make it very easy to connect any source of critical events—whether it’s observability tools, monitoring tools, or ticketing systems,” Birol explained. This vendor-neutral approach allows businesses to maintain their existing tech stack while enhancing incident response.

JD noted the importance of these integrations from his experience at Raygun: “One of the things we see is that integrations and connection points are really important to customers. Nobody wants to change their entire system for one tool. The more integrations you can provide, the better.”

iLert’s 100+ integrations include tools like Raygun’s error and performance monitoring platform. Combined, these two tools allow critical software errors or service outages to be immediately detected and assigned to the relevant person at the right time.

For a deeper dive into monitoring tools, read Raygun’s guide to effective error monitoring.

Modernizing on-call management

Traditional on-call management often involves outdated methods like carrying a pager phone or manually updating spreadsheets. iLert modernizes this experience by supporting multiple notification channels and enabling easy scheduling. “We adapt to our customers’ needs,” said Birol. “For instance, if someone on-call has an emergency, they can easily hand over their duties with just a few clicks.”

Birol emphasized the platform’s focus on usability: “You don’t want to replicate people-related information across multiple tools. iLert becomes the central dispatcher, managing everything from escalation policies to backup plans.”

This usability isn’t just about convenience; it’s about empowering teams to respond faster and more effectively. When incidents strike, having a streamlined, user-friendly system can be the difference between a minor blip and a major disruption.

Real-time incident management

One of the standout features of iLert is its comprehensive approach to real-time incident management. Birol explained: “We cover the entire lifecycle, from preparing for incidents to learning from them.”

The ability to centralize and streamline these processes is critical, especially for larger organizations. “For companies like IKEA and Rewe, which manage extensive software stacks across their operations, ensuring quick and effective incident resolution is non-negotiable,” Birol said. For smaller companies, these tools can help level the playing field by providing enterprise-grade functionality without the complexity.

Preparing for peak periods

As JD pointed out, “We’re coming into Black Friday and Cyber Monday, times when teams are particularly jittery.” Retail businesses, in particular, face immense pressure during such peak periods. A single outage can lead to significant revenue loss and customer dissatisfaction.

Birol shared insights from iLert’s retail customers, emphasizing the need for preparation: “Incidents are inevitable, but the key is to make them a non-event. By investing in preparation and training, businesses can ensure they’re ready to handle issues without panic.”

The stakes are especially high for e-commerce platforms. JD recalled a story about Nordstrom’s response to a major Black Friday outage, where they issued $5 vouchers to affected customers. “Not only did they recover from the incident, but they also gained customer goodwill and exceeded their sales forecasts,” he noted.

Learn how to prepare for peak traffic with these Black Friday readiness tips.

A customer-centric approach

One of iLert’s core values is its customer-centric approach. Birol highlighted how their support team is always ready to assist: “Our support isn’t just about answering questions. We provide technical guidance and help customers integrate our product.”

JD noted that this aligns with the expectations of technical audiences: “Tech professionals have excellent BS detectors. They want quick, knowledgeable support, and iLert’s approach builds trust.”

This discussion highlights a crucial point about modern software operations: the importance of human-centered support in technical environments. While automation and tooling are essential, the human element–particularly in incident response and technical support–remains a critical factor in successful operations.

Building confidence through preparation

Both JD and Birol agreed on the importance of building confidence within teams. “Avoiding Friday deployments is often a sign of fear,” JD observed. “Instead, teams should focus on making changes a non-event by investing in reliable deployment processes and incident management.” When incidents become a non-event, teams can focus on delivering value to their customers.

Preparation also means embracing a culture of continuous improvement. Learning from incidents is just as important as managing them. By analyzing what went wrong and how to prevent it, teams can build resilience and confidence.

Final thoughts

iLert is redefining how businesses approach incident management by focusing on simplicity, integration, and customer-centricity. Incidents are a reality of the tech industry, but it’s how you respond to them that defines your success. Tools like iLert and Raygun not only make incident response easier but also help teams build resilience and confidence.

For businesses looking to enhance their incident management, iLert offers a free 14-day trial, complete with all features and responsive support. Visit iLert’s website to learn more.

About Birol

Birol Yildiz, Co-founder and CEO of ilert, combines technical and product expertise to drive customer-focused innovation. Previously, he served as Chief Product Owner for Big Data products at REWE Digital, leveraging his computer science background to bridge development and strategy.