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The OpenTelemetry Getting Started Survey: Understanding Users' Observability Journeys

Ana Margarita Medina
Senior Staff Developer
ServiceNow

Organizations can face significant challenges, ranging from skill development to user adoption, when implementing new technologies. This is particularly evident in the realm of observability, an increasingly critical area for organizations striving to maintain optimal performance and reliability across digital applications. Recently, the OpenTelemetry End-User SIG surveyed more than 100 OpenTelemetry users to learn more about their observability journeys and what resources deliver the most value when establishing an observability practice.

Most respondents have initiated their observability journey, whether they are in the process of standing up an observability practice or are already well-established. Regardless of experience level, there's a clear need for more support and continued education, especially in helping those who are just starting with observability technologies. When asked what resources they wish they had when getting started with OpenTelemetry, more than half (67%) said they wanted comprehensive documentation, quickly followed by reference implementations for instrumentation (65%), and more detailed tutorials (63%).



When getting started with observability, most respondents are working with containerization technologies, with about 80% using Kubernetes and 63% using Docker.


While quite a few languages are used across organizations, more than 50% of respondents utilize JavaScript, Java, Go, and Python.


The majority of respondents stated that Traces Specification, Instrumentation APIs and SDKs, and Metrics Specification are the most important aspects of their OpenTelemetry journeys.


Observability will continue to be a cornerstone for organizations to not only measure and understand application performance, but to also build resilience into technology stacks. It's imperative for leaders to empower their teams with the necessary tools and knowledge, as they play a pivotal role in the successful adoption and implementation of observability practices. By equipping teams with the proper resources, organizations can overcome the common challenges associated with implementing new technologies, ensuring a smoother transition and maximizing the full potential of their observability initiatives.

Ana Margarita Medina is a Senior Staff Developer at ServiceNow

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The OpenTelemetry Getting Started Survey: Understanding Users' Observability Journeys

Ana Margarita Medina
Senior Staff Developer
ServiceNow

Organizations can face significant challenges, ranging from skill development to user adoption, when implementing new technologies. This is particularly evident in the realm of observability, an increasingly critical area for organizations striving to maintain optimal performance and reliability across digital applications. Recently, the OpenTelemetry End-User SIG surveyed more than 100 OpenTelemetry users to learn more about their observability journeys and what resources deliver the most value when establishing an observability practice.

Most respondents have initiated their observability journey, whether they are in the process of standing up an observability practice or are already well-established. Regardless of experience level, there's a clear need for more support and continued education, especially in helping those who are just starting with observability technologies. When asked what resources they wish they had when getting started with OpenTelemetry, more than half (67%) said they wanted comprehensive documentation, quickly followed by reference implementations for instrumentation (65%), and more detailed tutorials (63%).



When getting started with observability, most respondents are working with containerization technologies, with about 80% using Kubernetes and 63% using Docker.


While quite a few languages are used across organizations, more than 50% of respondents utilize JavaScript, Java, Go, and Python.


The majority of respondents stated that Traces Specification, Instrumentation APIs and SDKs, and Metrics Specification are the most important aspects of their OpenTelemetry journeys.


Observability will continue to be a cornerstone for organizations to not only measure and understand application performance, but to also build resilience into technology stacks. It's imperative for leaders to empower their teams with the necessary tools and knowledge, as they play a pivotal role in the successful adoption and implementation of observability practices. By equipping teams with the proper resources, organizations can overcome the common challenges associated with implementing new technologies, ensuring a smoother transition and maximizing the full potential of their observability initiatives.

Ana Margarita Medina is a Senior Staff Developer at ServiceNow

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According to Auvik's 2025 IT Trends Report, 60% of IT professionals feel at least moderately burned out on the job, with 43% stating that their workload is contributing to work stress. At the same time, many IT professionals are naming AI and machine learning as key areas they'd most like to upskill ...

Businesses that face downtime or outages risk financial and reputational damage, as well as reducing partner, shareholder, and customer trust. One of the major challenges that enterprises face is implementing a robust business continuity plan. What's the solution? The answer may lie in disaster recovery tactics such as truly immutable storage and regular disaster recovery testing ...

IT spending is expected to jump nearly 10% in 2025, and organizations are now facing pressure to manage costs without slowing down critical functions like observability. To meet the challenge, leaders are turning to smarter, more cost effective business strategies. Enter stage right: OpenTelemetry, the missing piece of the puzzle that is no longer just an option but rather a strategic advantage ...

Amidst the threat of cyberhacks and data breaches, companies install several security measures to keep their business safely afloat. These measures aim to protect businesses, employees, and crucial data. Yet, employees perceive them as burdensome. Frustrated with complex logins, slow access, and constant security checks, workers decide to completely bypass all security set-ups ...

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In MEAN TIME TO INSIGHT Episode 13, Shamus McGillicuddy, VP of Research, Network Infrastructure and Operations, at EMA discusses hybrid multi-cloud networking strategy ... 

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In 2025, enterprise workflows are undergoing a seismic shift. Propelled by breakthroughs in generative AI (GenAI), large language models (LLMs), and natural language processing (NLP), a new paradigm is emerging — agentic AI. This technology is not just automating tasks; it's reimagining how organizations make decisions, engage customers, and operate at scale ...

In the early days of the cloud revolution, business leaders perceived cloud services as a means of sidelining IT organizations. IT was too slow, too expensive, or incapable of supporting new technologies. With a team of developers, line of business managers could deploy new applications and services in the cloud. IT has been fighting to retake control ever since. Today, IT is back in the driver's seat, according to new research by Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) ...

In today's fast-paced and increasingly complex network environments, Network Operations Centers (NOCs) are the backbone of ensuring continuous uptime, smooth service delivery, and rapid issue resolution. However, the challenges faced by NOC teams are only growing. In a recent study, 78% state network complexity has grown significantly over the last few years while 84% regularly learn about network issues from users. It is imperative we adopt a new approach to managing today's network experiences ...

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