Lessons from Building an Open-Source Business Suite for Grafana
At Volkov Labs, we’ve embarked on an exciting journey to create the Business Suite—a set of open-source plugins that transform Grafana from a leading observability tool into a platform for robust, business-ready web applications. Developing an open-source project goes beyond writing code; it’s about fostering community, embracing adaptability, and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.
In this post, we’re sharing the key lessons we’ve learned while building the Business Suite and how these insights are shaping our future direction.
Community Feedback Guides Our Path
Our initial mission was clear: address functionality gaps for Grafana users solving business challenges. But we soon realized that success isn’t defined by us—it’s defined by the community.
Every GitHub issue, YouTube comment, and user question acts as a compass, pointing us toward what truly matters. Take the Business Text panel, for example. What started as a simple dynamic text tool evolved into a versatile “Swiss Army knife” for Grafana, thanks to user requests for features like custom JavaScript, external libraries, and innovative visualizations. Listening to the community isn’t just good practice—it’s the lifeblood of open-source innovation.
Start with a vision, but let the community steer the direction. Their real-world use cases uncover needs you’d never anticipate on your own.
Simplicity Drives Adoption
Grafana’s strength is its flexibility, but that can also lead to overcomplication. Early on, we were tempted to overload our plugins with features—why not make Business Charts support every chart type under the sun? However, we learned that simplicity is more powerful.
A plugin like Business Forms, which enables data input and updates directly in Grafana, doesn’t need to do everything—it just needs to excel at its core purpose. By prioritizing intuitive interfaces and straightforward setups, we’ve seen user adoption skyrocket. Complexity may dazzle, but simplicity empowers.
To illustrate the potential, we often pair our plugins with real-world examples from production environments. Check out this YouTube short for a quick glimpse of what’s possible, and dive deeper into the full story in the blog post below.
Solve specific problems with elegance. Users will combine your tools in creative ways if you provide the right building blocks.
Compatibility Is a Constant Challenge
Grafana evolves rapidly, and staying in step is non-negotiable. With each new release (hello, Grafana 11.5 users!), we’ve had to ensure our plugins remain compatible.
This has taught us to prioritize rigorous compatibility testing and maintain tight release cycles—sometimes as short as 100 days—to keep the Business Suite aligned with Grafana’s latest features. It’s an ongoing effort, but seeing plugins like Business Calendar and Business Media function seamlessly across versions makes it all worthwhile.
Below, the Business Calendar panel visualizes the frequency of Business Suite plugin releases in 2024. Each dot represents a release, and a plus symbol (like on November 16, 2024) indicates more than three releases in a single day.
In open-source, you’re not just building for today’s platform—you’re preparing for tomorrow’s. Stay agile and test relentlessly.
Documentation Is as Vital as Code
We’ll be honest: we initially underestimated the importance of documentation. While code delivers functionality, without clear guides, examples, and tutorials, it’s like handing someone a puzzle without the reference image. The Business Suite’s growth surged when we invested heavily in comprehensive documentation, detailed release notes, and YouTube tutorials.
Users don’t just want tools—they want to understand how to use them effectively. Seeing someone leverage Business Variable for dashboard redirects or style RSS feeds with Business News in just five minutes is far more impactful than a lengthy README.
Beyond guides, we’ve curated a collection of tutorials—some offering plugin overviews, others providing step-by-step solutions for real-world production tasks. Explore them under the Tutorials menu.
Exceptional documentation transforms users into experts. Prioritize it from the start and update it often.
Collaboration Fuels Innovation
The Business Suite isn’t a solo endeavor—it’s a collaborative masterpiece. Plugins like Business Media and Business Charts truly shine when users combine them in unexpected ways. A file upload dashboard using Business Forms and Business Variable? That idea came from the community, not us.
Open-source thrives on shared creativity—whether through forking a repository, suggesting features, or contributing guest blog posts. We’ve learned to welcome this dynamic energy and celebrate every contribution. A special thanks to Josiah Solomon for sharing inspiring Business Text use cases.
Create tools that integrate seamlessly, then step back and let the community work its magic. Collaboration isn’t just a bonus—it’s the ultimate goal.
Looking Ahead
What’s next for the Business Suite? We’re applying these lessons as we expand our offerings. Expect new plugins addressing niche business needs, deeper integration with Grafana’s evolving ecosystem, and more YouTube videos to guide you through every step. We’re also working to make contributing even easier because this suite belongs to everyone.
If you’re new to the Business Suite, now’s the perfect time to get started. Explore our Foundation series, install a plugin from the Grafana catalog, and share your feedback.
Have a use case, question, or idea? Reach out on GitHub or in the YouTube comments. Together, we’re not just building plugins—we’re redefining what Grafana can achieve.
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