We utilize Datadog mainly to monitor our API integrations and all of the inventory that comes in from our API partners. Each event has its own ID, so we can trace all activity related to each event and troubleshoot where needed.
External reviews
External reviews are not included in the AWS star rating for the product.
Good dashboards, easy troubleshooting, and integrations
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
Datadog gives non-dev teams insights as to what all is happening with a particular event as well as flags any errors so that we can troubleshoot more efficiently.
What is most valuable?
The dashboards are super convenient to us for a more zoomed out view of what is going on with each integration that we utilize.
What needs improvement?
There could be more easily identifiable documentation on how to find different things on the platform. It can be overwhelming at first glance, and it's hard to find appropriate documentation on the site to lead you to where you need to be.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the solution for about 1.5 years.
Consolidates all our logs into a single place, making it easier to find errors
What is our primary use case?
We have a tech stack including all backend services written in TS/Node (mostly) and as a full stack engineer, it is crucial to keep track of new and existing errors. Our logs have been consolidated in Datadog and are accessible for search and review, so the service has become a daily tool for my work.
More recently, session replay has been adopted at my company, but I do not like it so much because the UI elements are not in their place, so it is very hard to see what the users on the web app are actually clicking on.
How has it helped my organization?
The best way it has helped us is by consolidating all our logs into a single place and making it easier to find errors. Previously using AWS Cloudwatch was cumbersome and time-consuming. One issue I do have with logs is the length of time they are on the platform. Some issues happen sporadically, so it would be good to have logs for longer than one month by default or make it a configuration.
Another issue that I have is with the search syntax, it could be simpler and it feels like there are too many ways to do the same things.
What is most valuable?
Logs search is the most valuable feature because it has consolidated all of our backend services logs into one place. Now we can see the relationship between them as requests are going from one service to other dependencies.
What needs improvement?
One issue I do have with logs is the length of time they are on the platform. Some issues happen sporadically, so it would be good to have logs for longer than one month by default or make it a configuration. I have yet to try rehydrating logs, so this might be an option I need to try. Another issue I have is with the search syntax, it could be simpler. The syntax is a bit cumbersome and there is not an intuitive to save them to look for similar searches in the future.
Finally, while my company replaced a different tool for session replay with DataDog's version, I find it clunky and in need of further improvements. For example, when troubleshooting a web portal issue, it is super important to know what the user clicked, but the elements are not where they should be in the replay.
It is also hard to find details about the sessions, and metadata such as user email, account, etc. that exist on other services with replay features.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Datadof for approximately five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
So far we haven't had any issues with uptime and Datadog has been available when needed.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It seems to scale well as we continue to add services that need monitoring.
How are customer service and support?
I haven't had to contact support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Cloudwatch was not a great tool for what we need to do to troubleshoot issues.
What about the implementation team?
We deployed it in-house with intermediate expertise.
What was our ROI?
I am not sure how much we are paying, but I use the app often enough to feel like we are getting a good ROI.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I was not involved in the choosing process as a software engineer
Helps to set up alerts and thresholds to monitor real-time metrics
What is our primary use case?
Datadog is mainly used to set up alerts and thresholds to monitor real-time metrics and checks.
What is most valuable?
Integrating Datadog with other platforms has made our monitoring processes a bit easier. It's not super simple, but it's manageable.
What needs improvement?
For three to four months, we have been experiencing real-time delays. For example, if we're monitoring incoming traffic, the real-time status should be displayed up to a certain point. However, due to delays or issues with Datadog, the real-time data might only be updated at an earlier time. We are experiencing consistent delays in data updates from Datadog, with the most recent data often being delayed by about an hour. This issue has been ongoing for the past four months.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the product for a year.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
My company has 50 users for Datadog.
How was the initial setup?
The tool's deployment is difficult and time-consuming.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The tool is open-source.
What other advice do I have?
If you're thinking about using Datadog for the first time, I suggest getting some basic training in data operations. It'll help you navigate Datadog more easily.
Learning it for the first time is not overly difficult, but it's also not very easy.
I would rate the tool a seven out of ten. While it's a useful tool, we've experienced some issues that haven't been resolved yet. Additionally, setting up dashboards and utilizing all the features requires some training.
An expensive solution with easy deployment
What needs improvement?
Datadog is expensive.
How was the initial setup?
The tool's deployment is easy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution's pricing depends on project volume.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Datadog a seven out of ten.
Comes with good documentation and clear dashboards
What is most valuable?
Datadog has clear dashboards and good documentation.
What needs improvement?
The solution needs to integrate AI tools.
How are customer service and support?
I avail support from our internal team.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Datadog a nine out of ten.
A stable and scalable infrastructure monitoring solution
What is most valuable?
Datadog has flexibility.
What needs improvement?
The product needs to have more enterprise approach to configuration.
For how long have I used the solution?
We use the tool to monitor our whole infrastructure. CPU, memory, and disk space are the types of things we use it for.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable solution.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support team is good and responsive.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is not very easy and the deployment took eight months.It took quite a few teams to get it all accomplished. I rate it a six out of ten.
What other advice do I have?
I rate the solution eight out of ten.
Good for monitoring, helps centralize data, and reduces costs
What is our primary use case?
The solution is primarily used for better understanding the health of applications, modern environments, and many other solutions, which are the main focus of Datadog and many other monitoring tools.
With Datadog specifically, I can look at the health of the technology stack and services, and also integrate multiple metric sources, security, business data, and much more. This makes it a real software solution for centralizing data and unifying monitoring silos in one place. Datadog is like a hub - not just a monitoring software.
How has it helped my organization?
The solution primarily has helped the organization by helping us better understand the health of applications, modern environments, et cetera.
We can see the health of the technology stack and services. We can also integrate multiple metric sources, security, business data, and much more. It centralizes data and unifies monitoring in one place. It's Helping reduce costs with other solutions, and also reduces costs with teams that might waste time with manual troubleshooting.
What is most valuable?
Understanding better the health of applications, modern environments, and many other solutions, is the main focus of Datadog and many other monitoring tools.
With Datadog I can look at the health of the technology stack and services. I can also integrate multiple metric sources, security, business data, and much more. It's great for centralizing data and unifying monitoring silos.
Datadog is a hub, not just a monitoring software. The biggest value of Datadog is looking at the big picture, not only one part of it.
What needs improvement?
Datadog could have a better business analysis module.
Other vendors have specific business collections and analyses. With Datadog, I don't see much of it. It's possible to do this with custom metrics, dashboards, etc. However, none of those are business-focused - and that is what is lacking in Datadog.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the solution for two years.
What other advice do I have?
We use the SaaS version of the product.