Observability Day traces its roots back to KubeCon Europe 2022 in Valencia, where we hosted FluentCon, a co-located event dedicated exclusively to the Fluentd and Fluent Bit projects. The gathering was a success, and the feedback we received from the community made it clear that we could serve the broader observability space at KubeCon in an even bigger way. To make that happen, we expanded our focus and invited other CNCF projects to join.
Just a few months later, at KubeCon + CloudNativeCon North America 2022, we introduced Open Observability Day, bringing together maintainers and community members from projects such as Jaeger, Fluentd, Thanos, Prometheus, and OpenTelemetry. The response was overwhelmingly positive, and it quickly became clear that this effort needed to evolve into something more formal and structured. Working closely with the CNCF, that vision became reality—and Observability Day was officially born
What do you want attendees to get out of this event?
We want attendees to know that Observability Day is a community-driven gathering where practitioners, end users, and project maintainers come together to shape the future of observability. It’s not just about one tool or project, it’s about learning from each other, sharing best practices, and exploring how the CNCF ecosystem works together to solve real-world challenges.
Whether you’re new to observability or deeply involved in projects like Prometheus, Fluent Bit, Jaeger, Thanos, or OpenTelemetry, you’ll leave with practical insights, valuable connections, and a clearer picture of where the space is heading. Most importantly, this is your chance to directly engage with the people building the tools you use every day.
What is new and different this year?
What’s new this year is the breadth and depth of community-driven content. Observability Day 2025 puts CNCF projects front and center, with maintainers and practitioners sharing the latest updates and lessons learned. You’ll find talks that go beyond theory—covering real-world scaling challenges, cost-efficient monitoring strategies, and new frontiers like AI observability
There’s also a stronger emphasis on OpenTelemetry in action, from rapid adoption patterns to advanced use cases in telco, mobile, and enterprise systems. Panels and lightning talks bring diverse voices together, giving space for emerging projects and honest conversations about what works (and what doesn’t) in production.
In short, this year’s event is designed to help the community connect the dots across projects, learn from real experiences, and shape the future of observability together.
What will the day look like?
Observability Day is a full-day community gathering focused on CNCF observability projects and real-world practices. The program starts with opening remarks and project updates, then moves into a mix of deep-dive talks, case studies, and panels covering everything from scaling OpenTelemetry to tackling cost, performance, and AI observability.
In the afternoon, sessions highlight practical lessons from end users and contributors, followed by interactive panels and lightning talks that showcase emerging ideas. The day closes with reflections from the community, leaving attendees with fresh insights and new connections to carry forward.
Should I do any homework first?
Attendees don’t need to do heavy prep, but a little groundwork can make the experience more valuable. We recommend:
- Reviewing the CNCF observability landscape – get familiar with projects like Prometheus, Fluent Bit, Jaeger, Thanos, and OpenTelemetry, since many sessions dive deep into these.
- Bringing real questions or challenges – the panels and community discussions are a great place to get practical advice directly from maintainers and practitioners.
- Exploring OpenTelemetry basics – since many talks highlight OTel adoption and use cases, having a baseline understanding will help you follow along more easily.
- Skimming the agenda – choose in advance which talks align most with your work, so you don’t miss the ones that matter most to you.
Most importantly, come ready to connect, share experiences, and learn from the community—that’s where the real value of the day comes from.
Meet your community!
At its core, Observability Day is about community and collaboration. It’s the one place where maintainers, practitioners, and end users can come together to learn from each other, share honest lessons from the field, and influence the future of CNCF observability projects.
Whether you’re coming for the technical depth, the project updates, or simply to connect with others who share your challenges, this event is built to give you both practical takeaways and meaningful connections. We’re excited to see how the conversations and ideas from this day ripple out into the wider community
We hope you join us at Observability Day this year!