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Full-stack observability provides technologists with unified, real-time visibility into availability and performance up and down the IT stack

The need for greater visibility into the IT estate is driven by a whole range of technical and operational factors

Technologists in the financial services space are determined to build on the momentum they have built up in the last year and make even bigger strides forward in 2022

Organisations across the financial services sector have ramped up their efforts to implement full-stack observability over the last year. The move comes as a result of  technologists looking to build on their existing monitoring capabilities and generate a unified view of IT availability and performance across their IT environments.

After much discussion around the need for improved visibility across the IT estate in previous years, talk turned to action within financial services IT departments during 2021. The latest report from AppDynamics, The Journey to Observability, reveals that 54% of organisations began their transition to full-stack observability and a further 33% plan to do so in the next 12 months. This means — an incredible 87% of financial services organisations will be somewhere along the journey to full-stack observability during 2022.

This need for greater visibility into the IT estate is driven by a whole range of technical and operational factors. These include high complexity across IT infrastructure, increased customer and end-user expectations for exceptional and faultless digital experiences, and increased concern about the potential impact of a major outage or service disruption.

After two years of rapid digital transformation and the fluctuations in customer and business needs, technologists recognised the need to monitor and optimise availability and performance. Therefore, they’re looking for solutions that will give them full visibility into legacy on-premise architecture alongside cloud-native environments, including the increasing deployment of microservices and container solutions. 

Full-stack observability provides technologists with unified, real-time visibility into availability and performance up and down the IT stack — for compute, storage, network and public internet. It covers not only the customer-facing applications but also the back-end. It enables IT operations, development and networking teams to quickly and easily identify anomalies, understand dependencies and fix issues before impacting the end-user. And when this IT availability and performance data is connected to business outcomes, public sector technologists can assess issues based on their potential impact to their agency and prioritise their actions accordingly.  

The Benefits Reaped From This Improved Visibility 

85% of financial services technologists have already reported increased visibility across their IT stacks over the last 12 months. 

With teams being able to isolate and tackle performance issues within the IT stack more quickly, organisations are reporting enhanced productivity and reduced operational costs in the IT department. Furthermore, these departments have been able to better prioritise IT innovations based on what will have the biggest impact on customers and the business.

The report also revealed that with improved visibility, teams can collaborate better and IT teams can spend more time on strategic work — such as innovation initiatives and optimising digital experiences for customers and employees — along with digital transformation programmes that can drive customer experience, revenue and competitive differentiation.

Overall, technologists within the financial services sector are positive about the results they’re seeing having moved to full-stack observability than their counterparts in any other industry.

Unsurprisingly, on the back of these wide-ranging benefits, there is a growing appetite to ramp up full-stack observability programmes, both inside and outside the IT department. And significantly, 91% of technologists report that business leaders within their financial services organisation are now fully supportive of their plans and making available the necessary budget and resources for them to press ahead in 2022. 

This represents a marked shift from 12 months ago, when many technologists were still looking to build a business case for investment.

Technologists Identify Key Success Factors Ahead Of Pivotal Year

The transition to full-stack observability — though beneficial — is a complex, multi-stage journey which takes time and considerable technical, cultural and structural change. As you would expect in such a nascent, emerging area of technology, most organisations remain at the earliest stages.

However, technologists in the financial services space are determined to build on the momentum they have built up in the last year and make even bigger strides forward in 2022 — a year which they see as pivotal in their transition to full-stack observability. 

Notably, the research indicates that technologists are clear on where they need to focus their efforts to hit their goals over the next 12 months. Skills are seen as the biggest priority, with technologists recognising the need for the right talent to monitor performance in the cloud. The general shift is largely driving this need to Open Telemetry — a specific observability framework for cloud-native software. Technologists know that they need innovative strategies to attract high-quality talent against fierce competition or to rapidly upskill existing team members to optimise performance in microservices, container and serverless environments. The reality is that it will require a combination of both approaches for most organisations. 

Alongside skills, technologists also point to the importance of having a clearly defined strategy and plan in place. Most organisations already have a strategy for full-stack observability but the research highlights the need to continually review and revise this in line with changing business requirements and to support new environments and tools across the tech stack. 

Another key focus area for technologists is ensuring that their organisation is working with the right technology partner. They will increasingly be looking to work with vendors that can deliver a true end-to-end solution which includes application monitoring, security, and optimisation of workload and financial cloud cost. And beyond technology implementation, technologists will want partners that can help them drive through the cultural and operational changes required to maximise the benefits of full-stack observability.

Confidence And Excitement About Prospects For 2022

Technologists know exactly what they need to do to achieve their goals for full-stack observability in 2022, and a remarkable 83% say that they’re feeling confident about doing so. Indeed, the research indicates a strong sense of optimism in IT departments across the financial services industry. On the back of some fantastic progress last year and a tide of support from the business, technologists are eager to take things to the next level. 

With a glimpse of what full-stack observability can bring —both to their teams and the wider business — technologists are excited about the possibilities in the future. 

In fact, 87% believe that the shift to full-stack observability will be transformational for their business. 

After a tough couple of years guiding their organisations through the pandemic, financial services technologists are right to feel optimistic about 2022. They’re perfectly positioned to accelerate their journey to full-stack observability, with the knowledge, support and determination to deliver game-changing impact for their organisations.