When the industry talks about observability, the focus has long been on the backend. But that’s changing fast. A new research report entitled “Unlocking the Future of Observability: OpenTelemetry’s Role in IT Performance and Innovation” by Dan Twing at Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) and Pete Goldin at APMDigest reveals something the mobile community has known for a while: mobile observability is critical — and modern organizations are becoming more and more sophisticated in their application of OpenTelemetry by weaving it into their bigger picture strategies.
You can check out an on-demand webinar covering highlights of the report, sponsored by Embrace and several industry leaders like Elastic, Dynatrace, and Solarwinds, on EMA’s site here.
Our team also collaborated with EMA and APMDigest to create a special mobile breakout of the report, pulling out the most interesting takeaways that get at mobile’s role in the future of OpenTelemetry. Here it is — OpenTelemetry for mobile: What’s now and what’s next!
The big picture: Mobile observability signals maturity
The report shows a clear correlation: companies with mature observability practices are far more likely to have integrated mobile observability into their systems. In fact, more than half of “very mature” orgs already fully integrate mobile telemetry, compared to just 20% of those with immature practices.
This isn’t just a nice-to-have — end-to-end observability, inclusive of mobile telemetry, is quickly becoming the hallmark of modern, mature observability.
Integration and standardization are everything
The report also highlights that teams don’t want siloed tools. The top priority when selecting a mobile observability solution was easy integration with the rest of the observability stack — including the ability to forward mobile data into other tools. That’s where OpenTelemetry enters the conversation.
OTel is impacting vendor selection
OpenTelemetry is a very important factor in the purchase process for various types of tools. For mobile monitoring, 83% of respondents say that OpenTelemetry support is at least “very important” in deciding to purchase a new tool. More than a third actually say that it is “critical”. This finding further validates the pattern we’ve seen, which suggests OpenTelemetry adoption for mobile will continue to grow. (In fact, when we saw an even higher rate among C-levels execs: 89% said OTel support is at least very important in tool purchase consideration for mobile monitoring.)
Growth for the next generation of mobile and RUM
Adoption of OpenTelemetry for mobile is still early — just 6% of orgs said they use it today. But that number is expected to triple in the next 12–24 months, as more teams look to unify backend and mobile telemetry using open standards.
And it’s not just about trace correlation. The next frontier? Real User Monitoring (RUM). RUM was the #1 feature respondents wanted to see added to OpenTelemetry. Combined with the push toward tracing complex mobile workflows, this is a strong signal that user-focused observability is where the industry is heading.
Why this matters now
At Embrace, we’ve long believed that OpenTelemetry represents the future of observability — especially for mobile. We’ve been contributing to the CNCF-led project, helping shape data models that better reflect the unique realities of mobile apps.
We think Pete Goldin summed things up perfectly in the EMA/APMDigest webinar with Dan Twing:
The findings in this report validate what we’re seeing in the field every day: mobile is no longer an afterthought in observability. It’s a critical component, with OpenTelemetry driving standardization and innovation.
Download the full report
Want to dive into the data? Get the full research report here. You’ll get insights into:
- How mobile observability maturity tracks with backend integration
- Why OpenTelemetry support is influencing tool-buying decisions
- What forward-looking teams are planning for the next 1–2 years
This is a must-read for any team serious about delivering reliable, high-performance mobile experiences — with visibility from an end-user’s device all the way to the backend.
