The Observability Podcast

Ep. 6 - Observability and Agents in the AI Era with Abdul Wassay Syed & Gillian Hewett

Join Tim Higgins and Tony Davis as they welcome Abdul Wasseh and Jillian Hewitt from Cloud Intelligent, an AWS consulting partner that's helping companies navigate the complex world of cloud observability and AI compliance. In this episode, discover how traditional observability practices are being revolutionized by AI agents that can monitor, analyze, and even judge other AI systems. Learn about the critical Foundation Technical Review (FTR) process that gets your products on AWS Marketplace, and why most companies misunderstand AWS monitoring responsibilities. Abdul and Jillian share insights from their work with major compliance frameworks (SOC2, HIPAA, NIST) and reveal how FinOps strategies can prevent costly cloud spending surprises. Plus, get an exclusive preview of Scout AI's groundbreaking "agentic factory" - featuring seven specialized AI agents including "The Critic," who ensures ISO 42K compliance by judging the behavior and trustworthiness of other AI agents.

Ep. 5 - From Piano Keys to System Queries with Charity Majors

Join hosts Tim Higgins and Tony Davis as they welcome Charity Majors, co-founder and CTO of Honeycomb.io, who helped define modern observability. From piano major to systems engineer, Charity shares her journey founding "the original observability company" and how her experiences at Facebook and Parse shaped her vision. Discover why AI-generated code creates unprecedented challenges for debugging systems and why observability is no longer just an ops concern but essential to software delivery. Charity offers candid insights on high-cardinality problems, the parallels between music and engineering, and why understanding systems through their outputs is more critical than ever in today's rapidly evolving tech landscape.

Ep. 4 - When AI Meets Psychedelia with Ryan Fuson of Holy Wave

In this episode of The Observability Podcast, hosts Tony Davis and Tim Higgins welcome Ryan Fuson of Holy Wave, exploring the surprising parallels between IT operations and psychedelic rock. Ryan shares insights into Holy Wave's 14-year journey crafting their distinctive dreamy sound, from their El Paso origins to becoming fixtures in Austin's music scene. The conversation bridges technology and creativity as they discuss the evolution from analog to digital recording, AI's growing role in music production, and how both effective IT systems and compelling music share principles of simplicity, atmosphere, and iterative improvement. The hosts even demonstrate their custom AI technology that analyzes musical patterns while drawing connections to IT operations, offering listeners a unique perspective on how these seemingly different worlds share common creative and problem-solving approaches. Check out Holy Wave here - linktr.ee/holywavetx [linktr.ee/holywavetx]

Ep. 3 - Stage Presence and Network Performance with Jeremy Rossbach

This episode, our hosts sit down with Jeremy Rossbach, Chief Technical Evangelist at Broadcom. We explore the evolving landscape of network observability in the cloud era. From managing complex hybrid environments to ensuring seamless customer experiences, Jeremy shares invaluable insights from his 20+ years of experience in data center management and technical evangelism. The episode weaves together technical expertise with Jeremy's fascinating journey from music major to tech leader, demonstrating the unique intersection of creativity and technology in modern IT. Don’t miss the surprise musical performance at the end!

Ep. 2 - The Goat Farmer's Guide to Enterprise Architecture with Dan Ellsweig

Join us for a conversation with Daniel Ellsweig, Global Architect for Observability and Enterprise Management at Coty, as he shares his remarkable 40-year journey in technology. From programming assembly language in the early days to implementing cutting-edge AI solutions today, Dan discusses the evolution of enterprise management systems. But this isn't just another tech talk – discover how Dan's experience as a musician, goat farmer, and cheese maker has shaped his approach to system architecture and observability. Learn about his innovative implementation of regional dashboards, naming conventions, and AI integration that's revolutionizing how business leaders interact with technical data.