Organizations worldwide are discovering that observability extends far beyond IT operations, with nearly three-quarters reporting improved employee productivity and nearly two-thirds experiencing revenue growth, according to new research. However, the rise of AI workloads is introducing fresh challenges that require specialized skills.

Key Takeaways

  • 74% of IT professionals report observability positively impacts employee productivity and critical business processes
  • 76% regularly use AI-powered observability tools, but 47% say monitoring AI workloads increases job complexity
  • Organizations using OpenTelemetry report 3x greater productivity improvements and 2x better customer experience
  • “Observability leaders” achieve 125% annual ROI, 53% higher than their peers

Observability Shapes Strategic Business Decisions

The Splunk State of Observability 2025 report, based on a survey of 1,855 IT operations and engineering professionals across nine countries, reveals that observability has evolved into a boardroom priority. Organizations now rely on observability insights to guide decisions about customer experience, product roadmaps, and service reliability.

Additionally, 65% of respondents say observability contributes to revenue growth, while 64% report it influences their product development strategies. Furthermore, 65% identify observability as essential for understanding user journeys across digital platforms.

“Observability practitioners are becoming critical stakeholders to key business decisions,” said Patrick Lin, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Observability at Splunk, a Cisco company. The full workflow of observability provides context and support for better outcomes in customer satisfaction and product innovation, according to Lin.

AI Brings Both Solutions and Challenges

While 76% of survey respondents regularly use AI-powered observability in their daily workflows, the technology presents a dual reality. On one hand, 78% report having more time for product innovation instead of maintenance tasks. Moreover, 60% predict AI will improve troubleshooting and root cause analysis.

However, monitoring AI workloads has made jobs more challenging for 47% of respondents. Additionally, 40% cite lack of expertise as a barrier to AI readiness. The research highlights an opportunity to upskill practitioners in managing specialized AI workloads.

IT teams continue to struggle with tool sprawl, with 59% reporting too many disparate systems, while 52% deal with excessive false alerts that hamper efficiency.

OpenTelemetry Adoption Delivers Measurable Advantages

Organizations adopting OpenTelemetry, the open-source standard for collecting telemetry data, report significant business benefits. Specifically, 72% see positive impacts on revenue growth, and 71% note improved operating margins and brand perception.

The advantages extend beyond financial metrics. “Power users” of OpenTelemetry achieve three times greater positive impact on employee productivity compared to non-users. In addition, these organizations demonstrate stronger resilience, with 47% never panicking during customer incidents compared to 32% of non-users.

The report also found that 57% of frequent OpenTelemetry users implement observability-as-code, a DevOps approach that treats configurations like code. In contrast, only 10% of organizations lagging in OpenTelemetry adoption use this practice.

Leaders Differentiate Through Advanced Practices

The research identified “observability leaders” as organizations achieving superior business outcomes through forward-leaning practices. These leaders generate an annual 125% return on investment from observability, calculated through reduced downtime, lower employee turnover, improved customer experience, and faster incident resolution.

These top performers are more likely to use code profiling, with 78% dramatically accelerating root cause analysis by identifying problematic source code directly. Furthermore, 59% of leaders share and reuse data more effectively across teams, while 44% report strong collaboration between IT operations, engineering, and security teams.

“For a modern business built on digital experiences, observability is not just about error resolution; it is a foundational discipline required for making business-shaping decisions at speed and scale,” said Shannon Kalvar, Research Director at IDC.

Regional Implications for Digital Transformation

The findings carry particular relevance for organizations in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region pursuing digital transformation initiatives aligned with Vision 2030 goals. As businesses adopt AI technologies and expand digital services, observability practices become critical for maintaining performance, security, and customer satisfaction.

The research, conducted between February and March 2025, surveyed professionals across 16 industries including financial services, healthcare, government, telecommunications, and retail sectors that form key pillars of Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification strategy.