Observability in the Age of AI: From Logs and Metrics to Context-Driven Insights

Recorded at KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe in Amsterdam, this episode of The New Stack Makers features Sean O’Dell, Principal Product Marketing Manager at Dynatrace in conversation with Cameron B. Gain of RevCom Media. The discussion explores the evolving state of observability and why it remains foundational for modern cloud-native systems. While logs, traces, and metrics are still essential, Sean emphasizes that true value comes from adding rich context—spanning infrastructure, applications, and even business insights. The conversation highlights the growing importance of OpenTelemetry as a unifying standard, lowering barriers to entry and enabling better collaboration across developers, SREs, and platform engineers. Sean also discusses how observability must be seamlessly integrated into developer workflows and internal platforms to reduce friction and improve efficiency. AI is another key theme, with a focus on its practical role in enhancing—not replacing—human decision-making. With the right data and context, AI can help teams move from reactive troubleshooting to proactive and predictive operations. The episode also touches on cost considerations, open source collaboration, and emerging innovations shaping the future of observability. Learn more from The New Stack about the latest developments around the state of observability and why its foundational for modern cloud-native systems: Beyond automation: Dynatrace unveils agentic AI that fixes problems on its own https://thenewstack.io/beyond-automation-dynatrace-unveils-agentic-ai-that-fixes-problems-on-its-own/ The Growing Significance of Observability in Cloud Native Environments https://thenewstack.io/the-growing-significance-of-observability-in-cloud-native-environments/ Join our community of newsletter subscribers to stay on top of the news and at the top of your game. https://thenewstack.io/newsletter