RUM to Reality: Why Frontend-First Observability Makes Business Sense

This conversation cuts through the hype to examine why looking at observability initiatives from the frontend isn't just another tech industry fashion statement. Kate Holterhoff, Senior Industry analyst at Redmonk, and Greg Leffler, Director of Developer Evangelism for Splunk Observability unpack the growing importance of front-end inwards observability and how it's different from the usual back-end definitions and tooling.

The dialogue tackles the awkward truth many enterprises face: you can have perfectly functioning infrastructure while your users experience digital dumpster fires. Our experts explore how organizations that lead with customer experience metrics gain clearer insights into what matters to the business versus what merely keeps the lights on. The conversation doesn't shy away from addressing why many observability initiatives fail to deliver promised value, highlighting how contextualizing backend telemetry tied to real user experiences prevents teams from disappearing down optimization rabbit holes that users never notice.

For engineering leaders caught between executive demands for improved digital experiences and the messy reality of modern application architectures, this frank discussion offers a path forward that aligns technical and business priorities without requiring massive tool consolidation projects or unrealistic cultural transformations.

In this session we will cover:

• Why front-end and user-facing observability is more than just a tech trend—and how it’s redefining what observability means.
• The key differences between traditional backend observability and front-end/user-centric approaches.
• Why tying observability to customer experience metrics drives business-relevant insights.
• The role of synthetic monitoring and inward-facing observability in capturing meaningful performance insights.