Glossary
OpenTelemetry
Also called OTel.
Definition
OpenTelemetry is an open-source project that provides standard APIs, software development kits and a collector for producing and sending metrics, logs and traces.
Why it matters when you’re buying
Instrumenting with OpenTelemetry separates how you collect telemetry from where you send it, so you can change or combine backends without touching application code. Ask vendors which of their features still need their own agents.
How it relates to other terms
It is the collection layer for observability and the most common way to produce distributed traces.
Where to go next
- Observability: news, companies and community questions
- How to evaluate Observability vendors: criteria, questions to ask and red flags
- Observability and monitoring: the latest stories and threads on this topic
Written by Techarda editors · Updated . Think a definition is wrong or missing something? Email engage@techarda.com. All terms.