“It's always good to be in the place where all these things together make the value for not only myself but also for others.”

With 18 years on the market, numerous awards — five Best in recognitions just in 2023 — and competent partners with a background in application development, Dynatrace is one of the top observability software providers. We asked Marek Drozdz, the vendor’s Regional Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, to tell us about Dynatrace's role in addressing the common challenges in IT and business, such as ● Ensuring seamless digital experiences for end-users ● Optimizing resource allocation ● Enhancing overall performance

Impact of Digital Transformation: Observability as the Key to Competitive Advantage

Marek has been working at Dynatrace for a long time. During this period, the company has undergone significant changes in terms of its solutions and markets. Today, Dynatrace is proud to offer a platform that is highly effective, with satisfied customers, and recognized as a top performer by agencies like Gartner.

This platform provides IT service management, ensuring observability, monitoring, automation, and security through AI analytics. By utilizing advanced observability features, businesses can proactively address issues, optimize their IT systems, and make informed decisions that have a positive impact on their bottom line.

Unique aspects of Dynatrace in observability 

Dynatrace offers a comprehensive observability platform that integrates artificial intelligence through a causation model. Unlike conventional monitoring tools, Dynatrace's AI capabilities can predict issues and determine their root causes, allowing for proactive problem resolution.

The platform is designed to ensure consistency and provide a unified experience across a wide range of IT environments. Additionally, Dynatrace enables seamless collaboration with existing systems and tools, which helps to enhance overall IT operational efficiency. 

Data privacy and security in observability 

Dynatrace emphasizes data privacy and handles sensitive customer information with the highest security measure standards in place. For example, all data is encrypted with AES-26, and there is a credential vault for secret management. Dynatrace complies with industry regulations and holds certifications, reinforcing its commitment to maintaining stringent security standards. 

Examples of Dynatrace's impact 

The AI capabilities offered by Dynatrace enable many companies to auto-detect anomalies across all layers and identify downtime culprits — reducing their manual discovery from 1 day to mere minutes and they were able to release a patch in less than an hour. More precise examples include:
● SAP. Dynatrace's AI has saved SAP CX 60% of the time in operations by providing full-stack observability, reducing mean-time-to-resolution (MTTR) through AI-powered root cause analysis, and enabling autonomous cloud operations. SAP CX transitioned to a scalable, cloud-native architecture based on Kubernetes, allowing for rapid feature delivery and operational automation.
● The State of Michigan. Over five years, Dynatrace's unified platform enabled a total of $4.4 million in cost savings, consolidating infrastructure and app management, reducing reliance on contractors, and boosting workforce satisfaction. The platform's automated approach allowed proactive issue resolution, ensuring reliable public services and accelerated adoption with FedRAMP certification for compliance, benefiting 20 executive agencies in the State of Michigan.
● PayMaya. Thanks to Dynatrace and AWS, PayMaya achieved a smooth transition to a hybrid cloud architecture, promoting financial inclusion and enabling online payments without credit cards. Dynatrace's Digital Performance Monitoring tools, with AI capabilities, played a crucial role in proactively monitoring and managing the system, reducing manual discovery time from a day to minutes and enabling quick issue resolution within an hour.
● Saxo Bank. The client enhanced its online trading platform by partnering with Dynatrace, reducing mean time to resolution (MTTR) by 50% and achieving smarter observability for quicker and more successful deployments. With Dynatrace's AI capabilities, Saxo Bank streamlined incident management, reducing alert noise, integrating with ServiceNow for efficient issue resolution, and empowering customer support teams with real-time insights, ultimately transforming its operations and ensuring platform performance and availability.

“Dynatrace automatically spots issues at a very early stage, so we can predict and prevent problems from impacting our platform and clients. We have improved our IT operation notably by introducing Dynatrace,” says Thomas Ulrich, Global Head of Infrastructure & Workplace Technology, Saxo Bank. 

Value of Dynatrace for enterprises 

The Dynatrace observability platform is designed to help businesses gain knowledge and manage complex IT systems more effectively. It provides real-time, cross-organizational data that empowers both IT and business stakeholders with valuable insights.

This observability tool is multi-dimensional, offering enterprises cost savings through optimized resource utilization, enhanced end-user experience by identifying and addressing performance issues proactively, and minimized risks through early detection and resolution of potential IT challenges.

Dynatrace competitors are still on earlier generations of tools, while the company’s third-generation platform is ahead of the curve compared to what competitors are currently offering. It is more advanced with superior capabilities, features, and performance in addressing the needs of businesses and organizations.

Dynatrace's observability platform is not just a solution, but a strategic asset for enterprises looking to thrive in the digital landscape. 

Geographical Portfolio and Partners 

The Eastern Europe and Central Asian region has around 25 countries, including Ukraine, the Baltic States, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. It is a growing market where businesses are looking for advanced technology solutions to stay competitive and power their digital transformations.

Dynatrace follows a 100% channel approach, collaborating closely with regional franchise operators. Having a network of partners is crucial in this diverse and dynamic region with varying business landscapes. The partnership network here is not just for transactions, but it is essential for building a strong network that supports business growth.

These partners are more than just sellers; they become advocates and enablers, acting as local experts who understand the unique challenges and opportunities presented by each market.

An ideal Dynatrace partner has an application background, a consultative approach, and a keen understanding of customer needs. Localized knowledge is instrumental in tailoring Dynatrace's offerings to meet specific business needs in the region, further enhancing the value proposition.

“Our partners are essential to Dynatrace's success in different regions and contribute significantly to the ecosystem. We value their critical role and appreciate their contributions,” says Marek.  

Market Specifics: Maturity Levels and Challenges in Different Markets 

While economic and political situations present challenges, the region's resilience and commitment to digital transformation create ample opportunities for innovative solutions.

Central Asia has recognized the significance of technology for economic development and is investing in digital infrastructure and education. Georgia and Azerbaijan are among the countries in the region that are making efforts to develop their technology sector. Georgia focuses on IT and innovation, while Azerbaijan aims to diversify its economy with an emphasis on the technology sector. The two countries have established technology parks, hosted events, and implemented initiatives to promote their tech industries.

In Eastern Europe, Ukraine has a growing IT industry and skilled professionals. Businesses in Ukraine recognize the importance of using the latest technology to stay competitive. The Baltic countries — Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia — have recently seen rapid economic growth and adoption of technology. The relatively smaller size of the Baltic market allows for quick implementation of technological solutions.

Markets show varying levels of maturity concerning technology adoption, which can be attributed to several factors, including regulations and technology changes. For instance, many organizations are migrating from their data centers to the cloud and creating new applications using cloud computing. This isn't always possible in some markets due to compliance issues, but companies that opt for quick and easy solutions over comprehensive ones can end up with a technological debt.

On a side note, some countries with significant technology debt may still be advanced in certain areas. This can be due to specialized advancements or expertise in specific regions or industries that offset their debt.

All this suggests that regions or industries progress at a different pace in integrating and leveraging technological advancements. At the same time, geopolitical events can drive businesses and organizations to rapidly adopt cloud solutions for increased flexibility and resilience.

Advice on Digital Transformation for Emerging Markets 

The pandemic is a good example of an event that acted as a catalyst for the rapid adoption of digital tools and solutions, pushing organizations and governments to quicken their digital transformation efforts. This has helped them adapt to remote work and changing circumstances, creating a knowledge base for markets that are starting their digital path.

When it comes to digital transformation, it's important to consider the unique needs of each organization or market — their conditions and dynamics. This includes things like local support, human and financial resources, and organizational structure.

As digital transformation progresses, we can expect to collect even more data, which places an even greater emphasis on security. To address this need, Dynatrace is developing more artificial intelligence capabilities. In the near future, the company is planning to add generative AI to make the platform interface easier to use and access information.

“It is very important for every sales organization to offer or sell the product, which works. And that's the case with Dynatrace – we are not ashamed to offer Dynatrace because we have happy customers. And we are, according to also such agencies like Gartner, recognized as a top product on the market,” — says Marek Drozdz.

Observability is a must-have rather than a nice-to-have. It’s a crucial investment that provides the necessary data and transparency for businesses undergoing digital transformation, especially in Telecom and Banking. As companies seek resilience and agility in the face of change, the vendor stands out as a strategic partner, offering the tools and insights needed to navigate the complexities of the modern business landscape. From ensuring seamless digital experiences for end-users to optimizing resource allocation and enhancing overall performance, Dynatrace offers support in overcoming hurdles that often hinder progress.

In the grand scheme of things, Dynatrace isn't merely a solution — it's the compass guiding businesses toward a future where competitiveness isn't just a goal; it's a reality.