Why LogDNA for Fast, Affordable Cloud-Based Log Management

Byline: Kevin Miller - Director of Growth at Open Listings

At Open Listings, we needed an affordable cloud-based log management system that was both fast and simple to administer. One that could help us find and resolve production issues instantly. We found that tool with LogDNA.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mxq0TtTlKLA]

Problem we faced that led us to LogDNA

Before LogDNA we were building and maintaining our own internal tools to compile our log data and make it searchable. A problem that a lot of small companies have is that they often find themselves committing considerable person-hours to create cost-effective solutions, only to realize that you actually need those resources to focus on your core business. Using LogDNA made it possible for us focus on our core strengths as a team and our product, and we benefited from leveraging a team that’s focused on creating an amazing product (versus us using a tool in our spare time). In this case LogDNA had the tool we needed. They helped solve a common pain point that almost all small companies face.[caption id="attachment_1822" align="alignnone" width="2160"]

Open Listings simplifies the homebuying process.[/caption]

Why LogDNA?

LogDNA makes it easy to search based on user behavior, which helps our team better understand what actions a user took before or after an event that we are investigating. Simply put, we often times need to audit how and why a lead was sent to a specific mortgage lender or partner agent. LogDNA enables us to find the answer in the shortest amount of time.Of course, LogDNA isn’t the only solution in this space. While Splunk is the big player here, there are many other options, some of which are Open Source. The thing is, going with a company like Splunk becomes cost prohibitive really quickly if you are a small company, as it stands today, most solutions are only built for enterprise size organizations. A lot of small companies initially go with one of the Open Source options available. However, even they become cost prohibitive as you often have to dedicate your own engineering resources to administer it. Once again pulling important members of your team away from your core mission.[caption id="attachment_1823" align="alignnone" width="3320"]

LogDNA helps Open Listings quickly search their log data to pinpoint issues.[/caption]Additionally, all of our data is pulled in live and indexed instantly. This is important for us in particular when we are ready to offer assignment routing. This means we assign a home offer to a particular agent for them to submit to the leasing agent and get an acceptance on a house. It is extremely important that we correctly route the offer to ensure the agent who receives it is both relevant for the end buyer and knowledgeable of the local area.If an offer is improperly routed, LogDNA help us uncover the decision process to better understand how that offer got routed.Also, if a user reports a bug, LogDNA diagnoses it quickly. Everybody on the team can use it, including those that aren’t technical, who can view a read-only version of a page. You can filter and mix / match to customize the screen to see everything you can do.

LogDNA’s pricing structure works very well for us!

We push hundreds of Gigs of data a month into LogDNA and their “pay as you grow” pricing structure works perfectly for us. It acts as a major cost savings vs. storing all that on our own infrastructure (on-premise). Additionally, there is less to manage, and we don’t have to have someone managing all the data that is moving around. We are thrilled to have LogDNA take that data and make it useable for us quickly, on the cloud. Regarding integrations, all of the data we push goes into LogDNA using AWS cloud, which we are already on, so integration was a snap.[caption id="attachment_1824" align="aligncenter" width="2160"]

With Open Listings, homebuyers can easily create offers on homes.[/caption]Overall, Open Listings has seen incredible value from LogDNA due to it’s affordable pricing, time savings with regards to engineering resources, and cloud based infrastructure, making the data housed there accessible and usable by any employee.

About Open Listings

Open Listings is an all-in-one home buying service designed to give buyers an edge in any housing market. With Open Listings, would-be homeowners can house hunt 24/7, create offers, and save thousands in fees — all from their computers or phones. To-date, we’ve helped buyers get over $500 million worth of homes all the while saving upwards of $5 million!