Slow is the New Down: Key Insights on Performance, Toil, and Reliability in 2024

As organizations navigate the evolving landscape of technology and user expectations, reliability is emerging as a cornerstone of operational success. Recent industry insights reveal a dynamic interplay of challenges and priorities, reshaping how we think about performance, toil, and reliability.

1. Slow is the New Down A striking 53% of organizations now view poor performance as equally harmful as downtime. This shift emphasizes the critical role of user experience in defining reliability. As users grow less tolerant of delays, even minor lags can erode trust, making performance a non-negotiable metric for success. Organizations must prioritize speed and responsiveness as part of their reliability strategy.

2. Toil Levels Rise Despite AI Advancements After five years of steady decline, toil—the repetitive, manual work that doesn't directly contribute to organizational goals—has crept back up. The median percentage of work spent on toil has increased from 25% to 30% in 2024. This raises questions about the real-world impact of AI on reducing workloads. Are organizations leveraging AI effectively, or is its implementation introducing new complexities?

3. Agility vs. Stability: A Tug-of-War The tension between release schedules and reliability persists. Over two-thirds of respondents report feeling pressured to prioritize speed over stability. This ongoing struggle highlights a need for better alignment between organizational agility and the foundational importance of reliability in ensuring long-term success.

4. The Multitude of Monitoring Tools With most organizations using between 2-10 monitoring or observability tools, it's clear that comprehensive visibility across technology stacks is a priority. This "value over cost" mindset demonstrates that organizations are willing to invest in diverse tools to ensure effective monitoring, even if it adds complexity to their systems.

5. AI Training in Demand, but Time-Constrained The demand for AI expertise is evident, with 30% of respondents prioritizing technical training in AI. However, the leading sentiment (37%) reflects a cautious approach, balancing enthusiasm for AI adoption with careful consideration of its risks and challenges. The strong desire for upskilling indicates that while AI's potential is recognized, time constraints pose a significant barrier.

6. Incidents: A Shared Responsibility Handling incidents remains an integral part of operations, with 40% of respondents reporting 1 to 5 incidents in the past 30 days. Interestingly, incident response isn't just for individual contributors—higher-level managers are equally involved, underlining the collaborative nature of maintaining system reliability.

7. Misalignment on Reliability Priorities Despite positive progress in reliability practices, significant gaps in alignment remain, particularly across managerial levels. Differing priorities and approaches to reliability underscore the importance of fostering a unified vision and consistent strategies within organizations.