I’ve been asked several times about the difference between the terms ‘observability’ and ‘monitoring’, and why someone might prefer one approach vs. the other.
Since this is a bit of a false dichotomy, and the (many) articles written on this subject appear to be rather vague, I wanted to write up my thoughts and add some clarity.
Observability and monitoring do not have specific technical meanings and they delineate different eras in history. Additionally, corporate marketing has naturally muddied the water of their definitions. But don’t worry about this. Familiarize yourself with the new technology and techniques that are part of the movement to contextualize and standardize data as a way to improve quality, which the term ‘observability’ has become associated with.
