Decoding the Partner Ecosystem: Datadog’s Vision for Observability, AI, and APAC Growth

In this episode of “Channel Chief” an exclusive Chat series on itVARnews, Anuj Singhal sits down with Eric Gaines, the Channel & Alliances Director for Asia Pacific at Datadog, to explore how the role of the partner ecosystem is shifting from traditional service delivery to strategic co-creation. As cloud complexity rises and AI adoption accelerates, end-to-end observability has become a boardroom priority for CIOs and CTOs. This session dives deep into how Datadog is unifying security, operations, and business insights to help partners drive genuine value for their clients. Key Discussion Points: The Evolution of the Channel: How partners have transitioned from transactional vendors to “co-creators” who guide customers through complex digital transformations. Observability vs. Monitoring: moving beyond reactive alerts to a unified data layer that correlates metrics, logs, and traces for real-time business context. The AI Strategy: Eric explains Datadog’s two-pronged approach to artificial intelligence: Bits AI: An internal copilot helping developers and SREs triage issues faster. AI Observability: Helping clients monitor their own LLM costs, GPU utilization, and model performance. India & APAC Expansion: Why India is no longer just a delivery hub but a critical market for cloud innovation and enterprise transformation. Partner Program Refresh: A look at how Datadog is simplifying its program to support a diverse range of partners, from Global SIs to boutique cloud-native consultants. Watch now to understand how to leverage the observability boom and build profitable, repeatable services in the age of AI.