March 2022 Summaries

PagerDuty has announced a series of updates and enhancements to its Digital Operations Platform, focusing on On-Call Management, Incident Response, and Process Automation. These updates include an improved visual experience for On-Call Management scheduling, early access to Automated Incident Response capabilities, and a rebranding of the PagerDuty Process Automation product line, previously known as Rundeck, which now includes PagerDuty Runbook Automation and Process Automation On-Prem 4.0. The platform now allows for the execution of PagerDuty Automation Actions directly within CollabOps integrations, reducing noise through Event Intelligence with machine learning, and offers a new Service Performance Report via PagerDuty Labs Insights. Furthermore, PagerDuty has deepened its integration with partner ecosystems, notably gaining approval for the AWS Financial Services Competency Partner Program, which aims to enhance digital operations management for financial services organizations. The updates also include the deprecation of older webhook versions, encouraging users to migrate to the latest V3 webhooks. Additionally, PagerDuty is hosting various webinars and events to explore these new features and their applications in automating IT processes and improving incident response efficiency.

The text outlines the considerations for choosing between PagerDuty® Process Automation On Prem, previously known as Rundeck Enterprise, and its new SaaS offering, PagerDuty® Runbook Automation. While both solutions are built on the same codebase, the choice depends on specific company needs such as self-managed infrastructure, stringent compliance standards, data sovereignty requirements, and the desire for extensive plugin flexibility. PagerDuty® Process Automation On Prem is suitable for organizations with self-hosted environments or those requiring custom plugins and stronger data control, whereas PagerDuty® Runbook Automation is tailored for cloud-based operations with managed security and compliance features. The decision ultimately hinges on whether a company prioritizes control and customization over the conveniences of a managed SaaS service.

PagerDuty's "People First" philosophy emphasizes flexibility and community building, which is reflected in their remote work policies allowing employees to choose their preferred work mode—hybrid, in-office, or remote. The company fosters social and professional connections through virtual initiatives such as "Donuts" and "Casual Collisions," enabling employees to engage in informal chats and collaborative projects like their virtual HackWeek. The Vibe program, under the Workplace Experience Team, organizes cross-team events that align with PagerDuty's values, promoting social impact, inclusion, diversity, and equity, such as the STEP-temper fitness challenge and virtual concerts. PagerDuty extends its community efforts through its pledge 1% commitment, offering Volunteer Time Off and Technical Pro Bono programs that harness employee skills for nonprofit partners and community needs, supporting causes like vaccine equity through innovative solutions. Employees are encouraged to participate in financial giving and company match campaigns, significantly contributing to social impact programs, with 92% engagement in 2021. Through these initiatives, PagerDuty positions itself as a facilitator for positive change, integrating its values into both employee experience and broader community support.

PagerDuty has rebranded its automation product line, formerly known as Rundeck, to PagerDuty Process Automation to simplify customer experience and reflect its integration with existing PagerDuty services. The company announced the general availability of PagerDuty Runbook Automation, a SaaS-based solution designed to automate operations procedures, enabling a wider range of organizational stakeholders to utilize them. This service allows users to transform manual runbooks into automated, self-service requests, optimizing security and compliance. Additionally, PagerDuty introduced version 4.0 of PagerDuty Process Automation On-Prem, featuring enhancements in security, stability, and usability, along with the ability to automate processes across multiple environments using a Process Runner. Both offerings are designed to empower companies to automate IT and business procedures efficiently, ensuring safety and compliance through authentication, access control, and comprehensive logging.

Array, the first Black and Latine employee resource group (ERG) at PagerDuty, was introduced during a company town hall on February 15, 2018, with the aim to foster inclusion, diversity, and equity in the workplace. Over the years, Array has grown significantly, creating sub-groups like 'Array-Black' and 'Array-Latine' to provide unique experiences for different diasporas and moving beyond one-month celebrations to ongoing programs that emphasize community building, leadership development, and tackling social issues. The group has fostered a sense of universal belonging by facilitating intimate conversations, mentorship programs, and engagement with senior leadership, which have helped in addressing challenges faced by Black and Latine employees. With a commitment to amplifying diverse voices and supporting communities, Array continues to evolve, aiming to influence a more equitable future for its members and the broader workplace environment.

Automation has long been integral to the enterprise landscape, yet its full potential remains untapped due to what is termed the "automation gap." This gap arises from automation's limited deployment across isolated pockets of an organization, often leaving the broader workforce without the necessary knowledge, skills, or access to leverage it effectively. The gap is further defined by three subcomponents: the knowledge gap, where no single employee can master every system; the skills gap, which highlights the disparity in technical expertise among users; and the access gap, emphasizing security practices that restrict necessary tool access. These gaps can lead to inefficiencies, increased error rates, and ultimately dissatisfied customers, exacerbated by the increasing pace of innovation and consumer expectations. PagerDuty aims to close this gap with its suite of automation tools that democratize access to automation processes, enabling broader use across an organization while maintaining security and compliance. Through offerings like PagerDuty Automation Actions, Runbook Automation, and Process Automation On-Prem, PagerDuty facilitates the delegation of automated tasks, reducing reliance on expert engineers and improving operational efficiency.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has led to a significant humanitarian crisis, prompting companies like PagerDuty to take action by supporting relief efforts and suspending business with Russian entities. PagerDuty is offering its services for free to organizations involved in Ukrainian humanitarian aid and is working with non-profit partners to provide resources for donations and volunteering. The company is committed to monitoring its platform for misuse and aligning with international solidarity by halting new business with Russian customers. Additionally, they endorse various organizations like International Medical Corps, UNHRC, Save The Children, Nova Ukraine, and Voices for Children, which are actively providing emergency aid and support to those affected by the crisis.

PagerDuty Summit 2022 will be a hybrid event featuring virtual breakout sessions aimed at bringing together the PagerDuty community to explore current trends and practices in digital operations. The summit invites proposals for breakout sessions across six tracks, focusing on topics such as DevOps, AIOps, automation, digitized business operations, and self-care for on-call professionals. This event encourages submissions from diverse voices and aims to provide a platform for sharing insights on maintaining reliable systems, leveraging data and automation, and improving the customer experience in a rapidly changing environment. Participants are expected to submit proposals by April 8, 2022, with notifications of acceptance sent by April 18, 2022. Sessions will be recorded in May, with virtual presentations going live on June 8, 2022, and the event emphasizes inclusivity, diversity, and adherence to a respectful Code of Conduct.

Marking International Women’s Day highlights the opportunities for women in Australia's tech workforce, particularly in DevOps, a field with increasing demand and high salaries noted by LinkedIn. Despite the tech industry's rapid growth and automation expansion, only 29% of the Australian tech workforce is female, with a noticeable drop-off in female participation starting as early as six years old due to a lack of role models and understanding of STEM careers. To address this, initiatives like PagerDuty APJ's Women in Technology and partnerships with organizations like Tech Girls Movement Foundation aim to support and mentor women and girls in STEM. These efforts, along with advice for women to explore, research, and take risks in the booming tech sector, seek to inspire more women to join and succeed in the industry, where their distinct management style and perspectives are valued.

PagerDuty has announced the acquisition of Catalytic to expand its automation capabilities, which will enhance the delivery of enterprise-wide process automation and manage no-code workflows across various business functions beyond DevOps, technical, and customer service teams to include departments like Legal, Finance, HR, and Sales. This acquisition aims to automate repetitive tasks, such as onboarding and content review processes, through an intuitive interface that requires no technical expertise. PagerDuty's focus on automation has historically centered on managing critical digital operations and incident response, and with the integration of Catalytic's technology, the company plans to extend its support to all repetitive operations across the enterprise, enabling employees to concentrate on innovation and critical tasks by reducing unnecessary interruptions. The acquisition follows the previous integration of Rundeck, which facilitated task automation and reduced response times for technical teams. PagerDuty emphasizes its commitment to providing a unified platform that empowers businesses to handle both front and back office workflows efficiently, while also noting the forward-looking nature of their statements and the potential risks and uncertainties involved with the acquisition.

PagerDuty is highlighting the diverse roles of women in technology through a series of events for International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, emphasizing that technology roles extend beyond software development. The events feature a range of women speakers from both PagerDuty and its community, covering topics such as diversity, equity, inclusion, career growth, site reliability engineering, software development, and security compliance. The week-long series includes webinars, panel discussions, and livestreams with opportunities for audience interaction via social media platforms like Twitter and Twitch. Notable speakers include Roshan Kindred, PagerDuty’s Chief Diversity Officer, and executives from various tech roles, with recordings available for those who cannot attend live. The initiative aims to celebrate women’s contributions to technology and encourages participation in future opportunities at PagerDuty.

Analyzing incidents effectively requires iterative learning and storytelling, as investigators often start with limited knowledge that deepens through data collection, interviews, and narrative building. The process begins by constructing a narrative timeline, identifying key plot points, and acknowledging the iterative nature of understanding complex events. As investigators gather data and conduct interviews, they refine the story, allowing new themes and questions to emerge while separating relevant information from background noise. The narrative evolves with each iteration, integrating insights from interviews and data analysis, and while not every question needs to be answered, capturing these questions can inform future investigations. Ultimately, transforming raw incident data into an engaging narrative turns a negative event into a valuable learning opportunity, facilitating a deeper understanding of the incident's context and offering lessons that resonate more effectively than mere timelines or technical details.