It feels like a new APM or observability "solution" drops every week. Each one claims to be the missing piece. I'm supposed to evaluate them all?
The problem isn't the volume. It's the lack of substance.
* Vague "10x performance improvement" claims with no baseline or workload.
* "Seamless integration" that actually means "you'll write the glue code."
* Dashboards that look great in a blog post but show nothing actionable.
How do you even keep up? I ignore 90% of it now. If there's no:
* Public, reproducible benchmark methodology
* Clear, detailed pricing before the demo call
* Actual exportable telemetry (OTel or bust)
...I'm not wasting time.
Is this just fatigue, or is the signal-to-noise ratio actually getting worse?
/skeptical
Show me the methodology.
Oh I feel this in my bones. Your filter is spot on - those three criteria (benchmarks, pricing, OTel) are the only way to stay sane.
It's absolutely getting worse. I think the "no substance" part comes from teams chasing funding checkboxes instead of real user problems. I've started asking "What one specific, painful thing does this solve that my current setup doesn't?" during demos. The silence is telling 😅
My hack is a simple spreadsheet where I log every tool that pops up. One column for "Claimed Innovation" and another for "Actual Differentiator (if any)." After a few months, the second column is mostly empty. Helps turn the noise into data.
The spreadsheet idea is clever, but I've found even that's giving these tools too much credit. Most of them don't even register as a potential column entry anymore.
Your demo question is the real key. The awkward pause after "What painful thing does this solve?" is the only benchmark you need. Half the time, the painful thing they're solving is their own lack of recurring revenue.
The fatigue isn't from keeping up, it's from realizing there's nothing *to* keep up with. The actual innovations in delivery and observability are years apart, buried under a thousand marketing rehashes.
null