You may have frequently come across the terms events, alerts and incidents. Events are informational, alerts demand attention, and incidents require immediate action.
Keeping systems running smoothly and making sure everything stays stable requires good monitoring. Terms like events, alerts, and incidents come up a lot, but what do they really mean? Knowing the difference is key to figuring out what to focus on and fixing things quickly.
In this article, we’ll explain what these terms mean and share some best practices for monitoring your infrastructure and handling incidents automatically.
Key Takeaways:
- Events track deviations from the usual and are mostly informational.
- Alerts point to potential issues and require attention, but not always immediate action.
- Incidents are serious problems that need to be fixed on priority.
- Infrastructure monitoring and system monitoring and tools keep an eye on trends to prevent surprises.
- Automated incident response tools handle fixes quickly, reducing downtime.
Events
Events are observations or changes in system behavior that differ from normal conditions. They do not always indicate problems but serve as important markers for performance tracking. Here are some examples:
- CPU usage on the server has reached 60%.
- There are 1000 clicks on your website within the last hour.
- There are 50,000 people that entered the stadium
Alerts
An alert is next level up. It is an event that needs your attention, but may or may not require an immediate response. Alerts are your IT system saying, “Hey, you should really check this out.” They’re a step above events because they highlight something that could go wrong if ignored. Here are some example
- CPU usage on the server has reached 80% from 60%
- There have been over 1000 clicks on your website in the last hour.
- Disk space is 90% full
Alerts can be compared to smoke detectors, as they tell you something might be wrong so you can act before further escalation. They help organizations stay compliant by ensuring that systems are being properly monitored and that any issues are addressed on time.
Incidents
An incident is an event that has turned negative and reached certain thresholds. Incidents are real emergencies and may require deprioritizing other tasks and fixing the problem before they get worse. Let’s have a look at what scenarios would be considered incidents:
- Server storage has reached 95%
- More than 1 million users have access to the app in less than a minute (a potential cyber attack)
- CPU usage on the server has reached 99%
When incidents hit, you need to act fast. The longer an incident goes unnoticed or unresolved, the more damage it can cause, whether in terms of downtime, data loss, security risks, or customer dissatisfaction. That’s why incident management is critical for any business or IT team.

Infrastructure Monitoring
Infrastructure monitoring tools are like your safety net since they keep an eye on everything and let you know when things are going wrong, even if it’s something small. These tools watch over servers, networks, and everything that keeps your systems running. If something’s off, such as a server using too much CPU power or a dip in network speed, infrastructure monitoring tools notify you right away.
Infrastructure monitoring is important because it helps you stop problems before they turn into full-blown incidents. If you can spot issues early, you can fix them before they cause any real damage.
Automated Incident Response
You might not always have time to react manually when incidents happen. That’s where automated incident response comes in. This system automatically takes action as soon as an incident is detected, without you needing to do anything.
For example, let’s say a server goes down. An automated response system might switch over to a backup server or restart the system. This saves time and helps make sure the problem gets fixed quickly without any delays.
Automated systems usually work based on rules you set up in advance. This means that whenever a certain problem happens, the system knows exactly what to do, reducing the chance of human error and speeding up recovery time.

Best Practices For Managing Events, Alerts And Incidents
- Set Thresholds That Make Sense: Avoid alert fatigue by only flagging important changes.
- Automate What You Can: Use automated incident response to handle repetitive fixes instantly.
- Monitor Everything That Matters: Implement system monitoring and tools to track performance and detect patterns.
- Test Regularly: Simulate incidents to make sure your systems and teams are ready.
- Review and Improve: After each incident, analyze what went wrong and how to prevent it next time.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are incidents and why should they be addressed on priority?
An incident is anything that messes with your systems or operations. It could be a server crash, a network outage, or a security breach causing disruptions.
How do events relate to incidents?
Events are the smaller signs that something could go wrong. If you spot these early, you can stop them from turning into bigger incidents that cause more trouble.
What does infrastructure monitoring do?
Infrastructure monitoring tracks the health of your servers, networks, and other key systems. It catches small problems early so you can take action before they escalate into bigger issues.
What’s an automated incident response?
Automated incident response is when a system automatically takes action to fix a problem. For example, it might switch to a backup server or restart a system without you needing to do anything.
The Bottom Line
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If you’re interested in learning more about OKRs, sign up for Target Align’s video course. For more resources, check out our OKR 101 material here.
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