With all the talk about how big data should be used, what for, and why, rarely do we hear about who uses “it.” All the recent buzz around big data is not because data has all of a sudden become more valuable, it’s that people are now realizing and discussing how to use new technologies and architectures to derive value from these large data sets.
All too often, organizations have looked at the log management problem from an application-centric point of view. Unfortunately, this approach typically results in an “accidental architecture” of redundant connections to log services, inefficient use of network resources, and valuable data “siloed” into distinct, unrelated, and difficult to traverse data stores. This causes log data to become less valuable than it could otherwise be.
Put Your Money Where Your Data Is
Real deep log data use has historically been prohibitively expensive. Due to the complexity involved and expensive solutions, getting this valuable data unlocked wasn’t a priority for this quarter’s earnings while it was understood to be a long-term advantage. Companies weren’t purposely withholding information; it was just a shortsighted solution to a problem they didn’t know they had. Log management is supposed to protect data from bad guys with an agenda, but it shouldn’t make data inaccessible from people at a company who can gain value. Businesses need an enterprise-class platform that anyone can easily see across the enterprise.
With the right log management solution, companies can go beyond the typical use cases for leveraging their data and IT assets. Log data needs to become centrally archived so that is easily accessible for reporting and forensics, so people can make sense of it. Common problems that companies face is that there are no distributed searches of data, incidents could take hours to resolve, which means threats and other issues go undetected, and it is expensive to deliver information to the right applications so everyone can access what they need.
Enterprises turn to log management for security, but they need to be smart about who they are protecting it from. No one wants to inadvertently keep data from people within their own company that need it, but this is going to take some planning ahead and an enterprise-class solution.
For additional reading on managing enterprise logging requirements, see LogLogic Analytics.
