Averages are misleading in complex and distributed environments due to outlier values. Distribution metrics provide globally accurate percentiles, enabling enhanced query functionality for distributed systems and applications. They can be used to calculate globally accurate percentiles, create heatmaps to visualize data over time, define threshold queries to set service level objectives (SLOs), create precise monitors, identify statistically calculated outliers, and unlock advanced analysis and monitoring. Using distribution metrics can help organizations provide insights at scale, avoid misleading conclusions, and ensure compliance with SLOs.