Marvin, how long have you been working in the IT industry, and how long have you been involved in data analysis?
I’ve always been fascinated by how things work and what lies behind them. Because of my insatiable interest in data and analysis, I stumbled into the world of IT more by chance, but it ultimately turned out to be a real stroke of luck for me. I started out in client management, focusing on software distribution. It was the software packaging aspect in particular that captivated me. Every new software package was like a puzzle for me that needed solving: First, you had to figure out how to install a package on the respective system and how to remove it again, so that everything ran smoothly in the end. For me, there was nothing worse than software that didn’t work! My goal was therefore always to generate the perfect package. Even back then, it was all about analyzing problems, developing solutions, and ensuring the best possible stability. This mindset has stayed with me to this day and is the foundation of my passion for IT analytics.
Example:The service desk reported that Internet Explorer seems to be crashing repeatedly. However, the client team couldn't figure out why. My approach: Let’s start from scratch and see what might be causing it. So I began with a bird’s-eye view and then delved into the details step by step. Based on the available data, I was quickly able to rule out isolated incidents. Instead, I realized there must be a general issue affecting all clients. I was also able to rule out a faulty plug-in or web application. Taking into account the IT processes of the affected company and the available historical data, I was finally able to trace it back to a faulty Windows patch that had been installed two and a half weeks earlier. Result after another update to Internet Explorer: The issue, in the form of Explorer crashes, was resolved. What was fascinating was the fact that no one had really noticed this significant root cause of the problem during the preceding two and a half weeks. This approach captivated me so much that I couldn’t stop using it.
Have you also had experience with other providers of data analysis solutions?
Yes, I’ve also worked for other companies like Lakeside and VMware in the meantime. At Lakeside, I gained a lot of technical insights, whereas at VMware I managed major accounts in Germany and later across multiple countries. There, I also served as a technical expert for analytics and drove forward initiatives in data analysis and automation. In other words, I remained in the realm of data analysis and was able to gain valuable experience, including in the areas of end-user computing and end-user experience. In my opinion, however, Nexthink still does the best job of retrieving, querying, and correlating data. After all, it’s no use having a lot of individual details if you can’t query them correctly—and, above all, in context. There’s often a huge gap between theory and practice here. Yet this is precisely where the greatest value for the customer lies.
So is awareness of active data usage still too low in German companies? Why should they take IT analytics more seriously?
Data is the key to taking action. Without IT analytics, there is a lack of transparency needed to understand what is happening in the IT infrastructure and how well internal IT services are performing. As a result, companies often operate in the dark, wasting resources and risking serious performance issues. IT analytics provides the necessary transparency and enables data-driven decision-making. Once you realize this, you generally can’t imagine operating any other way. I’ve seen it time and again myself: A company comes to us with a specific problem. With Nexthink, we lay out all the data and connections, allowing us to identify the root cause of the problem relatively quickly. For many, this is a real “aha” moment, similar to looking underwater: A whole new world opens up. Suddenly, you’re immersed in dimensions you simply couldn’t see before. Once you’ve experienced that, you wouldn’t want to be without it. Because only in this way can a company become capable of taking action—not just strategically, but especially in the operational realm. After all, it is precisely here that having all the necessary data and information at your fingertips is essential. If you have no way of obtaining it, you’re left fumbling around in the dark, with very limited options. That’s why I could never imagine, for example, working for a company that doesn’t use Nexthink.
So what are the specific consequences of not having an overview of data and data streams?
Without IT analytics, IT departments often spend months trying to identify the root causes of problems. Here’s an example we encountered just recently: A company had been experiencing performance issues for two months and simply couldn’t figure out what was causing them. Ultimately, various people and departments were involved, external funds were invested, and the performance issues naturally also impacted employee productivity. With Nexthink, we identified the cause within a few days. Such delays not only cost money but also limit competitiveness. Furthermore, they ultimately come at the expense of employee satisfaction, which leads to further negative consequences. These days, it’s simply incredibly important to be well-prepared in this area. For me, this is actually the foundation of a forward-thinking IT department.
What are the biggest challenges a company faces when implementing an analytics solution?
Many companies view it as an additional cost, even though the return on investment is often dramatic. After all, as illustrated in the previous example, the savings achieved through data transparency are enormous. Nevertheless, IT managers often have to go to great lengths to justify investments in this area. And this is despite the fact that, especially for companies with multiple locations, operating their own data analysis system should already be standard practice or even mandatory. Added to this are individual IT departments focused on their own tasks, which have little time to keep an eye on the big picture, and, more generally, the shortage of skilled IT professionals.
This topic needs to evolve alongside the people in the IT department. They need to understand what data is available and how they can find and use it. To use the example of a fast car again: here, too, you have to gradually get used to the capabilities and speed in order to truly enjoy driving safely. We support our customers in this process every day by taking them along at full throttle and, figuratively speaking, acting as the clutch between engine power and traction. With the help of our service, they can get the most out of their solution right from the start.
What makes our DEXOps service stand out?
The entire field of IT analytics is by no means trivial, and it should definitely not be underestimated. In fact, it requires in-depth experience to know where to start and how to interpret specific data correctly. This is where our service comes in as ongoing support. We provide our clients with long-term guidance and help them derive maximum value from their tools and data by bringing expertise and structure to the table right from the start. We also benefit from experience gained in other client projects, allowing us to think far beyond the immediate scope of the task. As outsiders, we can approach challenges with a neutral perspective and evaluate them quite differently than long-established IT teams. Furthermore, our consultants are on hand daily to run data analyses and derive targeted recommendations for action. This represents a significant relief for all clients, as they simply do not have the resources to handle all of this themselves. In fact, there are very few companies that have dedicated employees or even entire teams focused exclusively on data analysis in IT. For example, one of our clients employs eight full-time staff members solely for IT analytics. But that is a major exception. Very few companies can or want to afford that. Our service is a cost-effective and worthwhile alternative.
How will IT analytics evolve in the future, and what roles will humans and machines play in this process?
The trend is clearly moving toward AI-powered analytics. After all, humans are inherently a bottleneck when it comes to analyzing very large volumes of data. Machine learning will help perform this task quickly and accurately and identify anomalies. Given the growing volume of data, AI will eventually become indispensable in these systems. Nexthink is a pioneer in this field and has been using AI in its own solution for years—long before AI became a buzzword. Nevertheless, human expertise remains indispensable for interpreting results and contextualizing them meaningfully within the business environment.
It’s also about providing holistic support to customers at the process level, which I believe is one of the most important tasks in this context. Here, too, human involvement is still essential and cannot easily be replaced by artificial intelligence in the foreseeable future. Finally, it’s also about setting priorities and assessing what is most important for a company’s future from a strategic perspective. In other words, figuring out which data needs to be prioritized, what can perhaps be neglected for now, and where the most significant levers for meaningful automation lie. That, too, is part of the task in the IT analytics environment—and, as I said, in my opinion, one of the most important.
Conclusion: A holistic approach is crucial
Marvin’s insights make it clear: IT analytics is indispensable for businesses today. Only by gaining transparency into their own IT infrastructure and services can companies make data-driven decisions that ultimately ensure their competitiveness. He is convinced that the combination of human expertise and AI-powered analytics will become increasingly important in the future for effectively interpreting growing volumes of data.
However, in his view, what is particularly important—and will remain so in the future—is a holistic and strategic approach to the collection, interpretation, and use of IT data. And this will continue to require experienced human specialists who can professionally guide companies through this process—for example, as part of ourDEXOps service.