Log Management: Know & Avoid the Myths

What aspect of life has not been tainted by a few myths? Log management is not immune to this apparently very human quality that gives birth to at least a few chunks of misinformation now and then. Keep in mind that at the root of every myth, falsehood and lie is a grain of truth. That’s certainly the case with the items listed below. For example, there are times with log management can become pricey, and certain programs are hard to learn, but for the most part, the myth is the exception to the rule. Not only is the task of managing logs crucially necessary, it’s also not so hard to learn, easy to implement, reasonably priced and one of the core components of the modern IT environment. You might have your own favorite myths about the subject, but we’ve collected the top four below.

It’s Unnecessary

Somewhere along the line, this bit of falsity crept into the mainstream IT universe. It’s actually indefensible but is touted by some who claim that modern tools make traditional logging unnecessary. Nothing could be further from the truth. New retail products have streamlined the process, and things like remotely logged data and cloud-based services mean that there’s not as much drudgery or risk involved as there once was. But with the advent of massive databases, AI and the new wave of digital everything, it’s more important than ever to perform event logging.

It’s Too Hard to Learn

Many of the newer, most sophisticated, high-end products in this space are much easier to work with than when they first appeared. The idea of user friendliness has been one of the major selling points for all the latest IT offerings. Is Papertrail log management hard to learn? It can’t be that bad when most of the tutorials are self-taught and when corporations allow new hires to acquire the skill on their own time.

It’s Too Complex to Implement

Both paid and open source products are getting easier and closer to implement with each passing year. A few of the high-end retail tools even come with hand holding from vendors with proper training and in-house seminars to make sure everyone knows how to use them. The key to simple implementation is matching a process to your current system. If you do have trouble implementing a program, it’s not the program’s fault. The more likely reason is that you chose a product that was either too complex or too simple in comparison with your current system environment.

It Costs Too Much

Costs for most corporate IT tools have come down by a lot in the past decade. At one time, this myth was a fact, but nowadays it represents nothing but outdated information. Consider that there are several formidable, comprehensive LM products that cost nothing at all. These open source offerings work for small and large organizations and don’t require high skill levels for implementation or use. Prices continue to decline for the most common systems on the market.