Observability: X-ray Vision for Digital Systems
In the post “The Business Impact of Performance”, we showed how a system that technically “works” can still become a business risk if it’s not fast or stable enough. Using the example of a bank customer changing their address, we illustrated how slow processing directly affects the customer experience. But what happens when the system is not only slow, but we don’t even know why?
What is observability, and why does it matter from a business perspective?
Observability means being able to understand the internal state of a system based on the signals it produces.
This is not just a technical concern; it’s a matter of business risk management.
Without proper observability:
- issues are discovered late, often by end users,
- troubleshooting becomes slow and expensive,
- Business decisions are made on uncertain foundations.
And when we don’t know why a system is slow or malfunctioning, we end up in late-night “war rooms” with multiple experts from different teams, all present, yet the dominant strategy remains educated guessing rather than fact-based analysis.
In the banking example, the clerk repeatedly apologizes for the slow system. Meanwhile, in the background, no one can actually see what’s causing the issue.
The system looks “green” on dashboards, but the experience is clearly “red.”
What does it take to not only make systems work, but to understand them?
Although observability is often introduced retrospectively into already running systems, it should ideally be considered during business requirement definition and system design. Observability has core pillars, and while it’s often thought of as a tool, it’s also a cultural mindset. Without it, understanding root causes and reacting quickly to incidents becomes nearly impossible.
Modern observability platforms such as Dynatrace, Datadog, New Relic, or Elastic help by correlating metrics, logs, and traces, and translating them into insights that make sense at a business level. However, for these tools to deliver real value, they require organization-wide support, not just technical adoption.
How can observability platforms support the business side?
Modern observability tools are not just for developers and operators. When configured properly, they can answer business-critical questions. The following questions show how observability can answer key business concerns.
- Why is the company receiving so many negative reviews?
- Why are customers complaining about slow processes?
- Which features generate the most errors?
- When is the system load at its peak?
- Why is conversion dropping on a specific page?
- What impact does a new feature have on overall system stability?
How can these tools be used in practice?
- Dashboards: business-relevant visualizations (e.g., customer journey, response times, error rates)
- Alerting: immediate notifications when a KPI degrades instead of hearing about it from customers first
- Reports: weekly or monthly insights that include both technical and business metrics
A well-configured observability platform acts like a real-time business X-ray. It doesn’t just show whether the system is “up,” but how its behavior impacts customer experience and business outcomes.
What can you do as a business leader or stakeholder?
You don’t need to be a developer. You don’t need to install tools, write code, or understand programming languages. By simply asking the right questions, you can already get closer to root causes and better solutions.
Questions worth asking:
- If something doesn’t work well, do we know exactly why?
- Do we see where and when customers get stuck?
- Can we understand the system-wide impact of a new feature?
- Can we react in time before a technical issue becomes a business problem?
- Do we have data that helps us make better decisions not only retrospectively, but proactively?
These questions don’t require technical depth, but they require business awareness. If there are no clear answers, improving observability is not just useful, it’s urgent.
Some concrete steps:
- Support observability initiatives; they’re not extra costs, but business insurance
- Build business-focused dashboards with up-to-date, relevant data
- Use a shared language between technical and business teams
- Include observability requirements in project planning from day one
- Make observability part of the culture, a shared goal that delivers faster results when teams work together
What’s the key takeaway?
Performance tells you how fast and efficiently a system runs. Observability tells you what’s happening beneath the surface and why. Neither is a goal by itself. They are tools that help us make better decisions, respond faster, and ultimately deliver a better customer experience.
The lesson is simple, yet often overlooked:
It’s not enough for a system to work.
We must understand how it works.
If we lack insight into our systems, we are merely guessing, and business decisions cannot be based on guesswork.
Observability is not just an IT responsibility.
It’s a shared responsibility and a shared opportunity to build more transparent, reliable, and truly customer-centered digital services.