Strategy and organization
This section looks at the preference for a single, consolidated platform or multiple point solutions, the most important criteria when choosing an observability vendor or solution, the strategies and trends driving the need for observability, whether observability is more of a key enabler to achieving core business goals or for incident response/insurance, and the challenges preventing full-stack observability.
Highlights:
preferred a single, consolidated observability platform
said the adoption of AI technologies is driving the need for observability
said breadth of features is the most important observability vendor criterion
Single platform or multiple point solutions preference
When it comes to the number of tools in use for observability, more than half (53%) preferred a single, consolidated platform to some extent, which is about the same as last year. More than a quarter (27%) preferred multiple point solutions to some extent, which is 6% less than last year, and one in five (20%) had no preference, which is 24% more than last year.
preferred a single, consolidated observability platform
Organization size insight
Those from small organizations were more likely to prefer a single, consolidated platform to some degree (56%) than those from midsize (53%) and large (52%) organizations.
Regional insight
Respondents surveyed in Europe were more likely to prefer a single platform to some degree (58%) than those in the Americas (52%) and Asia Pacific (51%).
Industry insight
Education respondents were the most likely to prefer a single, consolidated observability platform (64%), followed by IT and government (both 60%). Healthcare/pharma respondents were the most likely to prefer multiple point solutions (36%), followed by services/consulting (34%) and telco (33%).
Observability vendor criteria
Nearly a third of respondents said breadth of features (32%) and affordability (31%) were the most important criteria when choosing an observability vendor or solution. In addition, more than a quarter said business observability (27%), deployment model (27%), and learning and help (26%).
said breadth of features is the most important observability vendor criterion
Organization size insight
Those from midsize and large organizations were more likely to cite cost as the most important criterion (both 32%) than those from small organizations (24%).
Regional insight
Cost (affordability) was the top choice for respondents surveyed in Europe (39%) and the Americas (38%), but was notably a lower priority (seventh choice) among those surveyed in Asia Pacific (22%). Business observability was the top choice for those surveyed in Asia Pacific (32%) compared to fifth choice for those in the Americas (25%) and seventh choice for those in Europe (21%).
Industry insight
Cost (affordability) was the top choice for education (43%), services/consulting (43%), IT (38%), energy/utilities (32%), and retail/consumer (31%) respondents. The top two criteria for telco were business observability and best-in-class offering and reputation (both 39%). Business observability was also the top choice for financial services/insurance, along with breadth of features (both 34%). Breadth of features was also the top choice for media/entertainment, along with scalability (both 34%). Ease of implementation and deployment model were the top criteria for government (both 28%).
Trends driving observability
The data shows that the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and an increased focus on security, governance, risk, and compliance were the most commonly cited drivers for observability (both 41%). About a third of survey respondents cited integration of business apps into workflows (35%), cost management (33%), and the development of cloud-native application architectures (31%).
said the adoption of AI technologies is driving the need for observability
Organization size insight
Respondents from small organizations were less likely to cite migration to a multi-cloud environment (17% compared to 25% for midsize and 31% for large), cost management (27% compared to 33% for large and 34% for midsize), adoption of AI technologies (34% compared to 41% for large and 44% for midsize), and an increased focus on security, governance, risk, and compliance (31% compared to 39% for midsize and 44% for large).
Regional insight
Respondents surveyed in Asia Pacific were less likely to cite cost management (25% compared to 35% for Europe and 42% for the Americas), the adoption of AI technologies (36% compared to 41% for Europe and 48% for the Americas), and an increased focus on security, governance, risk, and compliance (34% compared to 43% for Europe and 48% for the Americas).
Industry insight
The adoption of AI technologies or an increased focus on security, governance, risk, and compliance were the top drivers for respondents from all industries except one—the integration of business applications into workflows was the top driver for energy/utilities respondents (43%).
Purpose of observability
Half (50%) of survey takers thought observability is more of a key enabler for achieving core business goals—a 25% increase YoY. In addition, nearly a third (30%) indicated that observability enables business goals and incident response equally in their organizations—a 5% decrease YoY, with one in five (20%) saying observability is more for incident response or insurance—a 25% decrease YoY.
Collectively, 79% said observability is a key enabler for achieving their organization’s core business goals to some extent (compared to 71% in 2023 and 78% in 2022). While 49% said it’s for incident response or insurance to some extent (compared to 57% in 2023 and 49% in 2022).
indicated observability is a key enabler for achieving core business goals to some extent
Organization size insight
Those from small organizations were the most likely to say observability is more for core business goals (59%), followed by those from midsize (51%) and large (47%) organizations.
Regional insight
Those surveyed in Asia Pacific were the most likely to say observability is more for core business goals (57%), followed by those in Europe (47%) and the Americas (42%).
Industry insight
Government respondents were the most likely to say observability is for core business goals (65%), followed by media/entertainment (62%) and IT (59%) respondents. Education respondents were the most likely to say it’s more for incident response or insurance (32%), followed by healthcare/pharma and energy/utilities respondents (both 27%).
Challenges preventing full-stack observability
When examining what’s preventing organizations from achieving full-stack observability, more than a third of respondents said a complex tech stack and too many monitoring tools and siloed data (both 34%). About a quarter cited a lack of budget (27%), having adequate IT performance (25%), a lack of strategy (25%), too expensive (25%), and resistance to change (24%), with just 4% claimed to have already achieved full-stack observability.
Note: There were several changes to answer options from 2023 to 2024 for this question, so YoY, apples-to-apples comparisons are difficult to make.
said too many monitoring tools and siloed data are barriers to achieving full-stack observability
Organization size insight
Respondents from large organizations were the most likely to struggle with too many monitoring tools and siloed data as well as a complex tech stack. Those from midsize organizations were the most likely to say it’s too expensive. And the top challenge for those from small organizations was a lack of budget.
Regional insight
Respondents surveyed in Europe were the most likely to say it’s too expensive, but least likely to cite too many monitoring tools and siloed data. Those surveyed in the Americas and Asia Pacific were more likely to struggle with a lack of strategy and resistance to change. Those surveyed in Asia Pacific were also more likely to say they don’t have the skills and that their IT performance is adequate.
Industry insight
The top two challenges for those from most industries was a complex tech stack and too many monitoring tools and siloed data—with a few exceptions. Education respondents struggled most with a lack of budget (51%) and cost (35%). Lack of budget was also the second choice for government (32%), telco (32%), and services/consulting (28%) respondents. And the second choice for media/entertainment respondents was a lack of strategy (34%).