Tips for modern log management in business

Log management continues to be a necessity, and in the last twenty years, the extent and functions have changed.

However, even with Agile principles that reduce the need or desire for documentation, logs are critical. Log management in the modern age is becoming not only vital but is, at times, frustrating.

Choose software that meets all of your needs

If your application goes down, then you want to know immediately. If you’re choosing a software service for your log management, then you need something that will fit right into your infrastructure. Finding both sounds complicated, but you can likely find a great solution that fits your business without compromise.

You’ll need to shop around but keep an eye out for critical features or resources. You’ll want something that can scale with your business and data. Additionally, you want something that delivers on the level of security necessary for your industry. Other features such as instant alerts, or a command-line client to interact with the log and messages directly are available. Before you look at software for log management, consider what features you and your team need.

Schedule a daily review

Modern log management has meant that much of the tedious work in log management is gone. But you can’t allow your log management to rely entirely on automated processes. Although it’s nice not to have to really worry until you get an alert, you still need a set of human eyes reviewing the logs.

With an actual person reviewing the logs, you’re able to detect and proactively work on issues that a human can foresee, but a system won’t. When it comes to feedback and alerts, you may establish rules that only generate an alert due to suspicious activity or modifications rather than every new account created. A human can quickly scan through the log for the day and detect major changes that didn’t trigger alerts.

Setup your feedback and alerts

There is a delicate balance between needing immediate information and wanting it. Many in modern IT department find that there is always a “fire” that needs extinguishing. In the years before automated cloud computing, a log was created, and that meant that everyone was regularly seeing and partaking in updates.

Now that most of the process is automated, IT members receive alerts. Those alerts aren’t always critical, but the software involved believes that they are and responds in kind. This issue is mostly something that needs a team-based resolution. Work with your team to determine what is and is not urgent when receiving alerts and writing rules for when alerts should generate.

Consider cloud security and compliance

Is it secure? How secure? Will a minor breach lead to your company’s downfall? Log management is not always at the top of the list of concerns when discussing security. It should be, primarily because of audits and compliance.

When dealing with the Sarbanes Oxley Act, the Gramm-Leach Bliley Act, HIPPA in the United States, then data storage compliance and security requires a lot of attention and care. Companies doing business in the UK are familiar with the demands of the Company Act of 2004, and its requirements for accurate and transparent record storage. Information security measures have grown with this act and the Data Protection Act to accommodate the extensive auditing that comes with both.