Cloud Native Observability

Conclusion

Open source projects have transformed the way we standardize the emission and storage of observability signals.

With their introduction, the landscape of cloud native observability has evolved. The challenge is no longer solely about data capture; emitting telemetry has become more straightforward than ever.

These projects aren’t silver bullets that magically address every observability concern. Instead, they serve as standards, enabling us to harness these observability signals efficiently. The overarching goal is to utilize these tools to foster improved business results, though the path to mastery may come with a pronounced learning curve.

The monitoring and observability landscape has changed greatly over the past three to five years. System architectures today are sufficiently different from their pre–cloud native counterparts to demand a new paradigm. This is born from radically rethinking, as an industry, how we build and implement monitoring systems.

To refine our focus and make a discernible impact, our thinking about cloud native observability must pivot away from the “three pillars” we discussed in our previous report, Cloud Native Monitoring, and toward the three phases of observability we’ve outlined in this report. These three phases allow for a goal-driven, pragmatic approach to cloud native observability that emphasizes remediating problems and improving business outcomes.

The three phases of observability help us focus on what matters most. However, ...