Observability: 2023 Retrospect
2023 Retrospect: As Enea recently released its 2024 Mobile Trends Report, I thought I would take a look back at my contribution to last year’s report: Observability.
Typically, we all publish our hot-things list and never look back, but personally I would like to see that done more often. So, I will start. Here is what I got right and wrong:
PREDICTION: 2023 was going to be a very big year for Observability. VERDICT: Yes!
It was indeed a big year for observability. Consider, for example, Cisco’s $28B(!) acquisition of Splunk (and Isovalent – a biggie, Accedian & SamKnows; continued heavy investment in observability companies (e.g., Gigamon, Observe, Acceldata, Pantomath); and significant growth for observability leaders (e.g., 100% YoY cloud revenue growth for Gigamon).
PREDICTION: Observability and security converge. VERDICT: Correct.
The notion that observability was becoming essential for security teams can be seen in the strategies underpinning the acquisitions above, and well as portfolio integration moves by companies like Netscout, Dynatrace and ServiceNow.
PREDICTION: Observability is critical to AI. VERDICT: Yes, but glass half full.
I think my premise that observability provides a critical data foundation for AI- and ML-based innovation and automation was/is correct. I think, though, that exploiting this data foundation for AI barely got off the ground in 2023 compared to what we’ll see in 2024. Also, I neglected the other half of the coin: ask not what Observability can do for AI, but what AI can do for Observability!
PREDICTION: Observability will be important for addressing 5G challenges and opportunities. VERDICT: I think correct, but 2024 will tell!
I have no doubt observability can play an important role to play in helping mobile operators effectively manage and secure cloud-centric 5G networks. I also think the “next stage” I singled out of exploiting observability to support market differentiation and revenue generation will come. But, as with the prior prediction, I think we only began to scratch the surface of such developments in 2023.
In other words: in 2024, I once again predict observability will be a dynamic and highly influential force in enterprise and telecoms networking and security, and my colleagues and I look forward to accompanying all our networking and security solution vendor customers and our service provider customers in the adventure.
PS: 2024 should give a shout-out too to OpenTelemetry and the role OTel standards are making in advancing observability.
