> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://stephen-tsoi.gitbook.io/stephen-tsoi-docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://stephen-tsoi.gitbook.io/stephen-tsoi-docs/opentelemetry/from-missing-events-to-complete-visibility-tracing-enterprise-transactions-with-opentelemetry/day-33-34-is-it-really-to-get-what-you-want-via-trace-log.md).

# Day 33/34 Is it really to get what you want via trace log?

We talked a lot about OpenTelemetry (OTel) recently. At first glance, it looks like a perfect solution—bringing together logs, metrics, and traces to solve troubleshooting challenges for engineers, while also enabling insight-rich dashboards for operations and business teams.\
One of the biggest advantages of OTel is its strong industry alignment. With broad adoption and a growing ecosystem, many vendors are moving in the same direction, making observability more standardized and reducing fragmentation across tools.\
But the key question remains:\
Does OTel really deliver everything we want today?

The reality is that OTel is still evolving, and there’s still a long way to go before it can comprehensively cover all scenarios. Some of the major challenges include:

* 3rd‑party product coverage is still limited or inconsistent
* Programming language support varies in maturity
* Protocol support is not yet comprehensive
* Additional bandwidth usage, which can significantly increase infrastructure and network costs, especially at scale
* Sampling strategies are complex and far from one-size-fits-all
* APM license costs remain very expensive
* Dashboard design still requires significant effort and expertise

OTel is clearly a big step in the right direction, but successful adoption requires realistic expectations, careful architecture decisions, and a clear understanding of its current limitations.

Curious to hear from others—\
**What has been your experience with OpenTelemetry so far?**

<figure><img src="https://2617374589-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FcQN1DZY6gJZPxlsQf9Re%2Fuploads%2FJE5leG74tz2d9INCo80C%2Fimage.png?alt=media&amp;token=4c625644-e4f9-4481-ba1a-8f3734aab1ae" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

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