In this episode, hosts Dan Twing and Tom O'Rourke discuss the relationship between observability and automation in enterprise systems. They explore how observability tools and standards like OpenTelemetrycan improve automation orchestration by providing visibility into the entire business process ecosystem. The hosts note that while observability technology is still in early stages for automation, it represents a significant opportunity to enhance orchestration capabilities, reduce downtime, and provide actionable business insights beyond technical metrics. They emphasize the need for standards development and collaboration between automation and observability teams.

Key Findings

• Observability is defined as "the collection and organization of data from the whole enterprise ecosystem," providing visibility into business processes

• Orchestration and observability are highly linked - effective orchestration requires awareness of the systems being automated

• Current observability solutions are still in early stages for automation and lack standardization

• OpenTelemetry currently lacks standards specifically for automation data

• Automation systems need to both consume observed data and be observable themselves

• Rich data models in automation tools make standardization challenging

Key Takeaways

• Automation teams often troubleshoot problems outside their systems - in applications, middleware, or external integrations

• Automation is becoming "too critical to be left in the dark" as its importance continues to rise

• Automation and observability teams will likely be separate but need to collaborate closely

• The EMA RADAR report for 2025 will include new metrics for observability capabilities

Action Items

1. Initiate a pilot project by first identifying what observability platforms your organization is already using, then selecting a specific automation problem to address using that platform.
2. Advocate for open standards rather than accepting proprietary or in-house solutions. Push for OpenTelemetry standards for automation data to increase interoperability and create end-to-end views of your processes.
3. Build collaboration between automation and observability teams focusing on developing relationships where both teams understand how their systems need to interact — with automation tools both consuming observability data and making their own data observable to other systems.

References

EMA Webinar: Unlocking the Future of Observability: OpenTelemetry's Role in IT Performance and Innovation