Why is it challenging to achieve observability at scale?

Achieving observability at scale is particularly challenging due to the numerous device types and third-party resources involved in modern IT environments. As organizations adopt increasingly diverse infrastructures that include cloud services, microservices, and IoT devices, monitoring and understanding the interactions between these varied components becomes complex. Each device or service may produce different types of data and use different protocols, which can complicate data collection and analysis efforts.

Additionally, third-party resources further complicate the landscape as they introduce external variables that may not be under direct control, leading to challenges in integrating their monitoring data seamlessly with internal systems. This multifaceted environment requires sophisticated solutions to aggregate, process, and analyze the data effectively, which is often a major hurdle in achieving comprehensive observability.

While server resources, third-party dependencies, and a variety of tools do play roles in observability challenges, the core issue arises from the expansive variety of device types and how they interact within the ecosystem. This variability necessitates robust strategies and systems to ensure that all components can be monitored and understood cohesively.