A critical misalignment between modern IT architecture and the monitoring and observability tools needed for full-stack visibility has led to those tools not being able to keep pace, according to the 2026 SolarWinds State of Monitoring & Observability report.

The report found that:

    • 77% of respondents cite limited visibility across on-prem and cloud environments
    • 75% say lack of coordination between teams (e.g., network, infrastructure, applications, and database) hinders effective observability
  • 55% report using too many monitoring and observability tools

“As IT environments grow more distributed and business-critical, visibility is no longer optional; it’s foundational,” said Cullen Childress, Chief Product Officer, SolarWinds. “Unified observability shifts teams from reactive firefighting to proactive resilience, enabling them to optimize performance, reduce risk, and keep the business running without disruption.”

AI can play a huge role in modern observability when organizations deploy agents to create that coordination by bringing in data from across those disparate teams. In fact, 90% of respondents said they are confident that AI has the ability to improve monitoring and observability operations. This is important, because 64% of respondents indicated that unified observability across the IT stack is very important to their team’s success. 

Further, the report found, respondents reported benefits from AI assistance in observability, including faster incident resolution and lower costs.

How AI is being used

According to the report, the data showed that IT pros are already using AI to:

  • Automate incident prioritization (47%)
  • Accelerate root cause analysis (45%)
  • Predict capacity and performance issues (45%)
  • Reduce alert noise and fatigue (45%)

Despite strong confidence, barriers remain to fully operationalizing AI:

– Security concerns: 47%

– Skills gaps: 42%

– Complexity of technology: 41%

– Employee reluctance or resistance: 37%

– Budget constraints: 33%

In the report summary, SolarWInds offered steps to integrate AI into observability, including identifying where AI can improve monitoring and observability, training staff on responsible use, and implement strict access protocols for AI tooling.

“Every organization’s path to full visibility looks different,” said Abigail Norman, senior director of product marketing at SolarWinds. “Our platform cuts through the noise by unifying observability across the stack. AI should do more than reduce alerts — it should sharpen prioritization, streamline workflows, and give teams the space to focus on strategy instead of scrambling through dashboards.”