Observability has evolved from a technical IT function into a strategic business catalyst, directly influencing revenue, customer experience, and product innovation. This is the central finding of the Splunk State of Observability 2025: The Rise of a Business Catalyst report, released today by Cisco. Based on a global survey of 1,855 ITOps and engineering professionals, the fifth annual report underscores how insights from observability data are now guiding critical business decisions at the highest levels, while also navigating the new opportunities and challenges introduced by the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence.
Cisco's 2025 Splunk report finds observability directly boosts revenue and employee productivity.
74% of respondents say observability improves productivity and monitors critical business processes.
76% of ITOps teams now regularly use AI-powered observability in their daily workflows.
OpenTelemetry adoption provides a strategic advantage, with users reporting positive impacts on revenue and margins.
"Observability Leaders" achieve a 125% annual ROI, 53% higher than their peers.
AI adds complexity, with 47% of practitioners finding monitoring AI workloads more challenging.
The report highlights a significant shift in how observability is perceived and utilized. It is no longer just for troubleshooting IT incidents; it is a core component of business strategy. A majority of respondents reported that their observability practice has a direct positive impact on key business outcomes, including employee productivity (74%), revenue (65%), and even the direction of product roadmaps (64%). This data is being used to analyze everything from revenue spikes to cart abandonment rates, making it indispensable for informed decision-making.
"Observability practitioners are becoming critical stakeholders to key business decisions in customer engagement strategies, product roadmaps and more," said Patrick Lin, the SVP, GM of Observability at Splunk, a Cisco company. "The full life cycle and workflow of observability provides not just better context, but also support for the achievement of better results."
The integration of AI is transforming observability practices. A significant 76% of respondents now regularly use AI-powered tools to accelerate troubleshooting. The benefits are clear, with 78% reporting they have more time for product innovation instead of maintenance, and over half predicting AI will improve root cause analysis and security vulnerability detection. However, AI also introduces new complexity, as nearly half (47%) of practitioners find monitoring the performance and cost of AI workloads themselves to be a growing challenge.
The report solidifies OpenTelemetry as the industry standard, noting that its adoption delivers benefits far beyond IT. Organizations using OpenTelemetry report positive impacts on revenue growth (72%) and operating margins (71%). So-called "power users" of OpenTelemetry achieve dramatically better outcomes, including a 3x greater positive impact on employee productivity and a 2x improvement in customer experience compared to non-users.
The report identifies a group of "observability leaders" who achieve superior business results. These leaders are more likely to adopt advanced practices like OpenTelemetry and code profiling. They generate an annual 125% return on investment from their observability practices—53% higher than non-leaders. They also foster stronger collaboration between observability and security teams, enabling them to troubleshoot and solve issues together more effectively.
"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.
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide technology leader that is revolutionizing the way organizations connect and protect in the AI era. For more than 40 years, Cisco has securely connected the world. With its industry leading AI-powered solutions and services, Cisco enables its customers, partners and communities to unlock innovation, enhance productivity and strengthen digital resilience. With purpose at its core, Cisco remains committed to creating a more connected and inclusive future for all. Discover more on The Newsroom and follow us on X at @Cisco.
Splunk, a Cisco company, helps build a safer and more resilient digital world. Organizations trust Splunk to prevent security, infrastructure and application issues from becoming major incidents, absorb shocks from digital disruptions, and accelerate digital transformation.
TechIntelPro empowers B2B technology decision-makers with the latest industry trends, deep insights, leadership perspectives and actionable intelligence to drive both organizational and professional milestones—and thrive on the tech pulse.