Observability without Overload: Lessons from Chronosphere’s Field CTO

In this episode of IT Infrastructure as a Conversation, I sit down with Bill Hineline, Field CTO at Chronosphere, to talk about something every IT leader has wrestled with at some point, observability. Bill has spent more than 25 years in the industry, including leading observability at United Airlines, so he knows firsthand what happens when data collection turns from helpful to overwhelming.

We talked about why the old collect-everything mindset has created what Bill calls data landfills, how organizations can shift toward collecting data with intent, and why so many teams still struggle with alert fatigue and burnout. Bill also shared his take on how to build observability around business outcomes rather than dashboards, and why connecting metrics to real customer value is the only way to truly measure ROI.

What really struck me was Bill’s perspective on culture. He believes that observability should be treated as a first-class citizen, something that empowers teams rather than burdens them. Moving from reactive firefighting to proactive, data-driven decision-making is not easy, but as Bill explains, it starts with asking one simple question: why are we collecting this data in the first place?

If you have ever been woken up at 3 a.m. by an alert that turned out to be nothing, this conversation will feel painfully familiar. But it is also full of practical insights on how to change that story for good.

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