[Member Spotlight] Radhika Bhatia, Site Reliability Engineer

[Ryan.Paredez]

Welcome to the Community Member Spotlight series. In this edition, Radhika Bhatia, a Site Reliability Engineer, shares her perspective, tips, use cases, and more…  

— Ryan Paredez & Claudia Landivar, Community Managers 

In this post 

• Your work 
• Working with AppD products 
• Keeping up with the evolving technical landscape 
• Life after-hours 
• Parting insights 

Your work 

Radhika Bhatia, Site Reliability Engineer

Could you give us a picture of 'a day in the life' ? 

My workday revolves around client engagement, internal collaboration, solution design, and research. I start by talking to clients and stakeholders to understand their critical requirements, including custom dashboards and proactive reporting needs.  

These discussions inform our team's strategy, and we work together to design solutions, often initiating proof of concepts for new clients, followed by implementations. We also establish standardized monitoring practices while tailoring plans for each client's specific use cases. 

How did you get involved with this work? 

I had the fortunate opportunity to kickstart my career with the service design team, where I worked towards establishing the fundamental observability infrastructure for several prominent financial institutions worldwide. Although my professional journey so far has been relatively short, I deeply value the knowledge and skills I've gained during these years. 

What has fed your interest in your field? 

My motivation came from observing my senior colleagues making critical decisions that directly and instantly impacted our clients' experiences. Witnessing the positive outcomes of resolving persistent issues and enhancing visibility within applications has consistently inspired me to strive for continuous improvement in my role. 

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Working with AppD Products 

What first brought you to the AppD community? 

When I first joined the company, we were in the process of exploring AppDynamics primarily for proactive monitoring and enhancing visibility for our clients and stakeholders through dashboards and reports. The AppDynamics Community quickly became our primary resource for resolving any challenges or questions that arose, and it continues to be a valuable source of support today. 

Can you tell us about a positive experience you’ve had with the community? 

In a specific instance, my team encountered a complex issue that had proven difficult to resolve through internal efforts. Despite multiple efforts, it was the AppDynamics community that ultimately provided a straightforward yet effective solution. This solution not only resolved the immediate issue but also became a valuable best practice that we continue to use to this day. 

How do you use AppD in your role? 

AppDynamics is widely used in my organization, and I am responsible for things like: 

• Instrumenting AppDynamics for all our client environments
• Designing dashboards for stakeholders
• Ensuring proactive monitoring using health rules, alerts, and HTTP integrations
• Creating a standard monitoring and observability plan for all our clients

Every use-case of AppDynamics is an interesting experience as it offers a new level of visibility into the application to both our organization and the client’s (organization). We have been able to use AppDynamics to solve some of the longest-running issues. 

It has many times provided capabilities and views that we didn’t know we really needed. 

What are your top 2 AppDynamics hot tips? 

Leverage the AppDynamics Community 

When encountering challenges, don't hesitate to turn to the AppDynamics community—not just for browsing existing issues but also for raising new ones.  

The community is remarkably responsive, and it's a fantastic way to learn from others' experiences and discover novel approaches to using the tool effectively. 

Take advantage of AppDynamics' database custom metric feature 

This functionality is invaluable for capturing and alerting on metrics that might otherwise be challenging to obtain. One such example for us is blocking sessions. It has helped provide our DBAs with timely notifications about critical blocking sessions.

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How do you keep up with the evolving technical environment? 

What’s your best way of keeping up with industry news? 

For me, it’s mostly the recommendation feed on Google Discover, along with some items on the InShorts app, that very well understand my line of interest.  

 Additionally, I'm fortunate to have a network of friends, colleagues, and family members in the IT field, which often leads to casual conversations that provide valuable insights and updates. 

What have you learned in the past year that you wish you had known when you started your career? 

What I've realized in the past year is that the learning journey is ongoing. Every new skill acquired brings a deeper understanding of our chosen field and refines our work. It's essential to embrace this constant process, as there's always more to learn and contribute to our careers. 

How—or where—do you find inspiration? 

Inspiration primarily arises from immersing myself in the depths of my work. The satisfaction of tackling new challenges and delving into intricate problem-solving motivates me to explore further and dig deeper into the details.

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What about life after-hours? 

Outside of work, I have a deep appreciation for reading books, as they provide valuable insights into the lives and thoughts of remarkable individuals. Exploring different perspectives helps me gain a better understanding of both others and myself.

In line with this interest, I thoroughly enjoy engaging in conversations with people, delving into their life experiences and seeking their opinions on various topics. 

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Parting insights 

What advice would you give someone who is up and coming in your field? 

Learn everything that interests you, it will somehow prove to be a beneficial skill to have. 

Pay particular attention to what draws you into the depths of understanding, as these passions ultimately shape your identity. 

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