I used Datadog to monitor HIPAA-compliant healthcare infrastructure serving millions of users, 24/7. Here is everything I learned — including what the sales team won't tell you.
When you are managing infrastructure where downtime means healthcare data is unavailable to providers, you cannot afford monitoring gaps. Datadog was the platform we relied on at LexisNexis — and after 2 years of daily use in a HIPAA-compliant environment, I have opinions.
The short version: Datadog is the best full-stack observability platform available if you have the budget for it. The long version is more nuanced — because the pricing model can catch teams off guard, and there are scenarios where a cheaper stack serves you just as well.
This review covers what I actually used, what frustrated me, and exactly which teams should buy it versus which teams should look elsewhere.