Generative AI is reshaping observability: Peter Marelas, New Relic

Observability solutions are increasingly important in today’s digital age. In simple terms, observability involves proactively collecting, visualizing, and applying intelligence to metrics, events and logs — in order to understand the behaviours of complex digital systems. By enhancing observability IT teams can take a proactive approach to optimizing their systems. In an interview with TechCircle, Peter Marelas, Chief Architect, of Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ), New Relic, a US-based IT software firm with its presence in Bengaluru and Hyderabad in India, discusses how companies are seeking ways to monitor, analyze, and optimize their systems and applications in real-time as they prioritize customer experience and undergoing digital transformation. In his recent visit to India, Marelas also explains how New Relic is addressing the needs of enterprise in this market. This includes the launch of its generative AI assistant for observability, and its expansion plans for the India market. Edited excerpts. 

How is New Relic addressing the observability needs of its clients?  

New Relic is addressing the observability needs of customers by providing them with the data they need to plan, build, deploy, and run great software. With New Relic, customers can easily visualize, analyze, and troubleshoot their entire software stack. We are also seeing a trend towards consolidating observability capabilities onto one centralized platform, which is exactly what New Relic offers with our all-in-one observability solution. This trend has been observed in the Indian market over the past 3-4 years and is expected to continue through 2026. With the continued push around generative AI, the introduction of enterprise applications into workflows, and the adoption of digital/ cloud native architectures, companies are expected to adopt more observability capabilities. 

Earlier this year, you introduced generative AI assistant for observability. How has been the response and which verticals or industries are you typically looking at? 

In May this year, we launched a new AI assistant for observability called Grok in a limited preview that will eliminate the need for engineers to sift through large volumes of data manually. It will make observability accessible to every IT worker, bringing new insights to them from almost any kind of telemetry data source. It will also allow every engineer to use natural language and AI to monitor, debug, secure, and improve their entire software stack. The platform is applicable to all industries and verticals. In India specifically, we are seeing traction in telecommunications,  financial services, media and entertainment, retail, ecommerce, and gaming. These industries have complex technology assets and a desire to provide excellent customer experiences while optimizing cloud spend. Going forward, we will tap other verticals that have a need for observability. 

How does New Relic's Gen AI solution differ from its competition? 

New Relic was a first mover in the generative AI space for observability. Our objectives are to leverage generative AI to make our platform easier to adopt and use, as well as integrate Gen AI capabilities into the Developers integrated development environment (IDE). This differentiation sets us apart from our competitors. Other platforms lack these integrations, giving New Relic more power to deliver value and influence the developer's mindset. With generative AI integrations, developers can optimize code, identify errors, monitor performance, and prevent adverse situations before software reaches production. This is a substantial differentiator for us. 

Why is the Indian market important to New Relic and how is the company catering to the needs of enterprise in this market? 

The Indian market is important to us as it is the fastest growing market in the Asia-Pacific region. We are focused on investing in India to capture this opportunity and help businesses in India grow and meet their objectives. We have already opened offices in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, comprising product development, customer adoption, marketing, developer relations, sales, and field technology. Our plan is to deepen customer partnerships in India and bring compelling product innovations to market. Despite global economic downturn and competition, we have seen impressive growth in India and plan to continue capitalizing on the market opportunity. 

What are your hiring plans in India? 

India is one of the fastest growing markets for New Relic in the APAC region, and we are making investments accordingly. We have already had success with brands like Zomato, big basket, and HealthifyMe. From a go-to-market perspective, we are looking to invest in business development professionals and technical roles such as solutions consultants, technical account managers, and solutions architects. These roles will align with our customers' technologies and help them adopt New Relic's observability capabilities. India is a strong market for us, and we anticipate continued growth as we expand our presence