If you have more than one monitoring tool, you probably already know the short answer:
👉 it’s easy to get lost.
Because in theory it all sounds good:
- Zabbix monitors infrastructure
- Datadog sees applications
- Dynatrace analyzes performance
- logs on the other hand
- dashboards on the other
But when something goes wrong…
everything starts to sound at the same time.
And that’s where the real problem arises:
👉 you don’t know where to start.
What usually happens (and nobody says)
An incident occurs and:
- alerts arrive from different systems
- each one says something different
- it is not clear if it is the same problem
- arrive through different channels
- no one knows which one is important
And instead of helping you…
👉 monitoring is transformed into noise.
The problem is not having too many tools
In fact, it is normal.
The problem is that each one works separately.
Then you have:
- multiple sources of alerts
- different formats
- different levels of criticality
- different teams involved
👉 but no central coordination.
What does “coordinate alerts” mean?
It’s not just putting them together in a dashboard.
It is much more operational:
- understand which alerts are related
- decide which one really matters
- send the information to the correct equipment
- avoid duplication
- ensure that someone responds
How to stop getting lost (for real)
It is not by adding more tools.
It is simplifying the flow.
1. Centralize alerts in one place
Not to see them.
To manage them.
Because if you keep getting alerts on:
- Slack
- multiple platforms
👉 the chaos remains the same.
Reduce noise (this is key).
Not all alerts must reach the equipment.
You need:
- correlation
- inhibition
- prioritization
To avoid this:
👉 10 alerts for the same problem.
3. Define clear responsibilities
If an alert reaches everyone…
👉 belongs to no one.
Each type of alert should have:
- a responsible team
- one person on duty
- a clear flow
4. Unify the form of notification
It doesn’t matter how many systems you have.
The notification should be:
👉 consistent 👉 clear
👉 actionable
Because each system notifies differently:
👉 the equipment is confused.
5. Ensures tracking (not only shipping)
This is the big mistake.
Alerts are sent…
but no one knows if anyone took them.
Coordinating well involves:
- to know who received
- to know who is acting
- escalate if no one responds
A very real example
Uncoordinated:
- 5 systems generate alerts
- 12 notifications arrive
- 3 teams involved
- no one has the whole picture
With coordination:
- alerts are grouped
- the main incident is identified
- the correct team is notified
- someone takes responsibility
👉 less noise, more action.
Something important
Coordinating alerts is not a technical problem.
It is an orchestration problem.
It’s not about seeing more data.
It is about:
👉 understand them
👉 prioritize them
👉 act quickly
So, how not to get lost?
You don’t need fewer tools.
You need a point where everything comes together.
A place where:
- alerts are centralized
- noise is reduced
- the responsibility is clear
- the answer is assured
Getting lost between alerts does not mean you have too much information.
It means that it is not well organized to react.
And in operation, that’s what really matters.
If you have multiple monitoring tools today but coordination is still manual or confusing, the problem is probably not detection, but how alerts are being managed.
24Cevent centralizes, correlates and coordinates alerts between different systems, ensuring that each incident arrives with context, priority and a clear responsible party.
