102 lines
4.6 KiB
Markdown
102 lines
4.6 KiB
Markdown
---
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title:
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'OTel End User Working Group Presents: The Future of Observability Panel
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Discussion'
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linkTitle: The Future of Observability Panel
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date: 2023-10-21
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author: >-
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[Adriana Villela](https://github.com/avillela) (Lightstep)
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cSpell:ignore: Dyrmishi Farfetch Iris Mellifera Nočnica Samuel Vijay youtube
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---
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OpenTelemetry has greatly impacted the
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[Observability](/docs/concepts/observability-primer/) landscape over the past
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few years. While it introduces an open standard for telemetry generation and
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collection, what is actually improving the lives of Observability teams?
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Guests [David Wynn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidbwynn/),
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[Austin Parker](https://www.linkedin.com/in/austinlparker/),
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[Vijay Samuel](https://www.linkedin.com/in/vjsamuel/),
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[Nočnica Mellifera](https://www.linkedin.com/in/otel-mom/), and
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[Iris Dyrmishi](https://www.linkedin.com/in/iris-dyrmishi-b15a9a164/) came
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together to share their experiences and insights on the evolution of
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Observability practices, in this panel hosted by the
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[OpenTelemetry End User Working Group](/community/end-user/). The discussion
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centered around their journey with OpenTelemetry and how it has shaped their
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Observability practices. Watch the full recording:
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{{<youtube zSeKL2-_sVg>}}
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<br/>For a quick summary, check out some of the key discussion takeaways below.
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## 1- Observability Before OpenTelemetry
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The panelists started off by talking about their experiences before
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OpenTelemetry. Challenges included the lack of standardization, the use of
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proprietary clients, and difficulties in monitoring large, complex systems.
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Observability practices were often driven by specific tools and technologies,
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leading to fragmented solutions.
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Companies like [eBay](/blog/2022/why-and-how-ebay-pivoted-to-opentelemetry/) and
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[Farfetch](/blog/2023/end-user-q-and-a-03/) found value in adopting
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OpenTelemetry due to its standardization of telemetry data and its
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vendor-neutrality.
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## 2- OpenTelemetry as a Game Changer
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OpenTelemetry emerged as a game-changing solution for enabling Observability. It
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provided a standardized approach to instrumenting applications. The adoption of
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OpenTelemetry allowed for seamless integration across various systems and
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languages. The community-driven and open source nature of OpenTelemetry appealed
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to many organizations, making Observability more accessible and
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developer-friendly.
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## 3- The OpenTelemetry Collector
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The panelists talked about the [OpenTelemetry Collector](/docs/collector/), and
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how they were able to use it to replace vendor-specific agents. Some
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organizations built their own Collector distributions to meet their own
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requirements using the
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[Collector Builder tool](/docs/collector/custom-collector/) tool. In doing so,
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they were able to include only the components that were applicable to their use
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case, including using custom processors.
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## 4- Surprising Aspects of OpenTelemetry Adoption
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Challenges included convincing teams to adopt OpenTelemetry, especially when
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components like [Logs](/docs/concepts/signals/logs/) were not yet stable. The
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evolving nature of OpenTelemetry made sometimes challenging to keep up with new
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features and updates while ensuring that teams did not lag behind.
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## 5- The People Problem of Observability
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Observability, like so many issues in the tech industry is more of a people
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problem than a technical problem. Successful OpenTelemetry adoption and
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implementation required addressing cultural and organizational challenges,
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including leadership buy-in and developer acceptance.
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## Join us!
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If you have a story to share about how you use OpenTelemetry at your
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organization, we’d love to hear from you! Ways to share:
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- Join the [#otel-endusers channel](/community/end-user/slack-channel/) on the
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[CNCF Community Slack](https://communityinviter.com/apps/cloud-native/cncf)
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- Join our monthly
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[End-User Discussion Group calls](/community/end-user/discussion-group/)
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- Join our [OTel in Practice](/community/end-user/otel-in-practice/) sessions
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- Share your stories on the
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[OpenTelemetry blog](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry.io/blob/954103a7444d691db3967121f0f1cb194af1dccb/README.md#submitting-a-blog-post)
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- Contact us on the
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[CNCF Community Slack](https://communityinviter.com/apps/cloud-native/cncf)
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for any other types of sessions you'd like to see!
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Be sure to follow OpenTelemetry on
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[Mastodon](https://fosstodon.org/@opentelemetry) and
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[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/opentelemetry/), and share your
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stories using the **#OpenTelemetry** hashtag!
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And don't forget to subscribe to our
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[YouTube channel](https://youtube.com/@otel-official) for more great
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OpenTelemetry content!
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