Datadog is one of the most comprehensive observability platforms available today.

Allows:

• monitor infrastructure
• analyze metrics, logs and traces
• detect anomalies
• generate real-time alerts

👉 is a very powerful tool to understand what is going on in your systems.

And that is precisely why many operations rely on Datadog to detect critical problems.

But in practice, a fairly common scenario appears:

the alert is there… but the reaction is not always immediate

Especially when:

• there are many alerts at the same time
• the equipment is distributed
• occurs after hours
• notifications are lost among other channels

Here the challenge is no longer one of visibility.

It is responsive.

In simple

Datadog detects and alerts very well.

But if you want to improve reaction times, you need to secure something key:

👉 that the alert comes in a way that actually activates someone.

And that’s where phone calls become relevant.

Why complement Datadog with calls?

Datadog allows notification by:

• email
• Slack
• webhooks
• integrations with different tools

This works very well for daily operation.

But when the alert is critical, there is a risk:

• the message is lost
• not checked in time
• is diluted among other notifications

👉 and the incident continues to progress.

Phone calls change that dynamic:

• interrupt
• are difficult to ignore
• generate real urgency

👉 force a reaction

Direct impact on operations

Adding phone calls about Datadog alerts allows:

• reduce MTTA (recognition time)
• improve response times
• ensure that someone takes the incident
• reduce the impact on users or business

👉 especially in critical incidents

When does it make sense to use calls?

Not all alerts should be converted into calls.

The correct usage is in:

• critical incidents (P1 / P2)
• main service failures
• problems directly affecting the customer
• after-hours events

👉 prioritizing well is what makes it work.

How integration works

The general flow is simple:

1. Datadog detects an event
2. A monitor (alert) is generated
3. Sent to a webhook
4. that webhook triggers a phone call

During the call you can:

• indicate the incident
• provide context
• define criticality
• allow confirmation

👉 transform an alert into immediate action

How to configure it (overview)

Datadog allows easy integration by means of:

• Webhooks
• API
• customized integrations

The typical flow is:

1. Create a monitor in Datadog
2. Configure the alert message
3. add a webhook as a notification channel
4. send the information to an external system
5. that system executes the call

👉 is flexible and quick to implement

Example of basic configuration

Inside Datadog:

• create or edit a monitor
• go to the notifications section
• add a webhook
• set the URL of the external system

You can include variables such as:

• name of service
• state
• severity
• personalized message

👉 this allows to generate much clearer and actionable calls.

Key best practices

For this model to work well:

• do not use calls for all alerts
• clearly define criticality levels
• combine with automatic scaling
• ensure that there is a shift manager
• include useful context in the message

👉 the call should generate action, not saturation.

A simple example

No-call scenario

• Datadog detects a problem
• send alert by Slack or email
• no one responds in time

Result: delayed reaction

Scenario with calls

• Datadog detects the problem
• is executed called
• someone responds immediately

Result: fast reaction and lower impact

Something important

This does not replace Datadog.

It enhances it.

Datadog continues to be in charge of:

• see
• detect
• alert

The calls add up:

👉 real responsiveness at the right time.

What changes in practice

When you implement calls over Datadog alerts:

• decrease recognition times
• increases the probability of response
• the impact of critical incidents is reduced
• improves team coordination

👉 operation becomes much more reliable.

If you are using Datadog today and feel that some critical alerts are not always addressed in a timely manner, probably the next step is not to change tools, but to improve how those alerts are delivered.

👉 24Cevent allows you to integrate with Datadog to transform alerts into automated phone calls, ensuring effective notification, confirmation of attention and escalation when necessary.