Observability benefits
This section covers the primary benefits of observability, the advantages of achieving full-stack observability, how much total value organizations receive from their observability investment per year, and the median return on investment (ROI) for observability.
Highlights:
Said they receive $5 million+ in total value per year from their observability investment
said they receive $10 million or more in annual value from their observability investment
said they received a higher annual value from their observability investment when they deployed AIOps capability
Primary observability benefits
Respondents saw clear benefits as a result of their current observability solution—nearly half (46%) cited improved system uptime and reliability. More than a third said increased operational efficiency (42%), reduced security risks (39%), and an improved real-user (customer) experience (36%). Nearly a third (32%) said they experience improved developer productivity, cost optimization (30%), business and/or revenue growth (29%), and the ability to handle traffic surges (28%).
Organizations that had achieved full-stack observability experienced more benefits than those that hadn’t:
- 51% more likely to improve system uptime and reliability (62% compared to 41%)
- 44% more likely to increase operational efficiency (55% compared to 38%)
- 30% more likely to optimize costs (36% compared to 28%)
- 26% more likely to reduce security risks (47% compared to 37%)
- 15% more likely to improve the real-user (customer) experience (40% compared to 35%)
Organization size insight
Respondents from large organizations were generally more likely to cite each observability benefit, followed by those from midsize and then small organizations.
Regional insight
Respondents surveyed in the Americas were generally the most likely to say they experienced benefits. Those surveyed in Asia Pacific were the most likely to cite the ability to handle traffic surges, business and/or revenue growth, and accelerated rate of innovation or competitive advantage. Those surveyed in Europe were the most likely to cite cost optimization and regulation compliance.
Industry insight
Improved system uptime and reliability was the top choice for most industries. However, increased operational efficiency was the top choice for media/entertainment (46%), IT (45%), and energy/utilities (39%). Reduced security risks was the top choice for education (54%).
Total value of observability
The median annual value an organization received from its observability investment was $8.15 million. More than half (58%) said they receive $5 million or more in annual value, and over a third (34%) said they receive $10 million or more in value from their observability investment.
Those who had deployed five or more observability capabilities received a higher annual value ($8.20 million) from their observability investment than those who had deployed one to four ($7.93 million).
In addition, a higher total annual value received was associated with deploying the following observability capabilities:
- 28% higher for those deploying artificial intelligence for IT operations (AIOps) capabilities ($9.85 million compared to $7.70 million for those who hadn’t deployed AIOps capabilities)
- 17% higher for those deploying synthetic monitoring ($9.15 million compared to $7.83 million for those who hadn’t deployed synthetic monitoring)
- 14% higher for those deploying AI monitoring ($8.75 million compared to $7.65 million for those who hadn’t deployed AI monitoring)
- 14% higher for those deploying Kubernetes (K8s) monitoring ($9.00 million compared to $7.93 million for those who hadn’t deployed K8s monitoring)
- 5% higher for those deploying machine learning (ML) model monitoring ($8.43 million compared to $8.05 million for those who hadn’t deployed ML model monitoring)
- 3% higher for those deploying mobile monitoring ($8.35 million compared to $8.13 for those who hadn’t deployed mobile monitoring)
Organization size insight
Respondents from large organizations reported the highest annual value received ($9.15 million), followed by those from midsize ($8.15 million) and small ($2.65 million) organizations.
Regional insight
Respondents surveyed in Asia Pacific reported a much higher median annual value received ($10.08 million) compared to those surveyed in Europe ($7.05 million) and the Americas ($5.40 million).
Industry insight
The industries that saw the highest median annual value from observability were financial services/insurance ($10.15 million), government ($10.08 million), and media/entertainment ($10.00 million).
Return on investment for observability
The median ROI calculation was based on annual observability spend and annual value received estimates.
The median ROI for observability across all respondents was 4x (295%). In other words, for every $1 spent, respondents believe they receive $4 of value.
“How much I want to spend versus the benefits that I’ll receive is always a hot topic. I acknowledge that I have a really complex environment to maintain, but I also need to factor in the ROI and how much I’m really willing to compromise, considering that we have a B2C type of environment. That means we’re customer-facing, the retail side. Uptime resiliency is something that is really important for me. I cannot compromise on downtime or taking more time for MTTR.”
Regional insight
Respondents surveyed in the Americas had a slightly lower median ROI (3.8x) than those surveyed in Asia Pacific or Europe (both 4x).
Industry insight
Government respondents had the highest median ROI (4.1x), followed by telco, retail/consumer, IT, and financial services/insurance (all 4x). Education respondents had the lowest median ROI (3.7x), followed by energy/utilities and healthcare/pharma (both 3.8x).