EMA Reveals Widespread Challenges in Observability Tool Unification

Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) has released a new research report highlighting the challenges faced by enterprises in unifying their observability tools. The survey, conducted among 356 enterprise IT professionals, reveals a widespread issue of tool sprawl, fragmented ownership, and staffing gaps.

According to the report, 75% of the surveyed organizations use between four and 12 observability tools across network, cloud infrastructure, and service environments. This tool sprawl is seen as a significant barrier to effective IT operations, with 62% of respondents deeming observability tool unification as very important.

EMA's research director, Parker Hathcock, explains that unification succeeds when visibility is tightly integrated with IT service management and broader ServiceOps processes.

The report identifies several key areas where successful unification can be achieved. These include governance models, organizational practices, integration strategies, and technical capabilities. Hathcock and EMA's vice president of research for network infrastructure and operations, Shamus McGillicuddy, will present key findings and recommendations during a free webinar on September 24.

McGillicuddy notes that the increasing adoption of AI is driving the urgency for tool unification.

The research also highlights that 55% of organizations switch tools three to five times per incident, further emphasizing the need for a unified approach.

EMA's findings underscore the critical need for enterprises to address the challenges of observability unification. The report provides insights into the governance models, organizational practices, and integration strategies that can help organizations achieve more unified and effective IT operations.