The value of an observability platform for software developers is best explained by looking at an example of how developers work and at the daily problems they encounter: Assume a new code push to production has resulted in the deterioration of response times of an application’s API. Debugging the live system is typically not possible due to the disruptive character of the debugging process. Even if disruptions were acceptable, the application might just reroute user requests elsewhere, withholding critical user interactions data.
Due to the inability to debug production applications, developers need to replicate their application stacks within a staging environment. This is difficult in modern distributed microservices applications, as these often depend on numerous external components that cannot easily be replicated within a staging environment. For example, an e-commerce platform might rely on third-party payment gateways, inventory systems, and shipping providers. Reproducing those exact dependencies and usage patterns in a staging environment would require not only duplicating each external service but also synchronizing real-time data, credentials, and configurations—an often prohibitively complex and expensive task.
Additionally, simulating user interactions in a realistic manner is tricky. It is not just about marching through the “golden path” that developers meticulously map out. Certain issues might only surface in edge cases when mobile users struggle with flaky connectivity or when external microservices use malformed request headers for their API calls. Also, shared microservices that seem fine under normal conditions might buckle under sudden usage spikes.
