OpenTelemetry collector: What it is, when you need it, and when you don't
Do you really need an OpenTelemetry Collector? If you're just sprinkling SDKs into a side project - maybe not. If you're running a multi-service production environment and care about cost, performance, security boundaries, or intelligent processing - yes, you almost certainly do. This post explains exactly what the OpenTelemetry Collector is, why it exists, how data flows with and without it, and the trade‑offs of each approach. You’ll leave with a decision framework, deployment patterns, and p