Grafana Champions, Crash Course, and a New Team Member: Highlights of 2023 at Volkov Labs
As December unfolds, I find myself reflecting on the year gone by with a mix of nostalgia and excitement for what lies ahead. The realization that another year has passed often sneaks up on me, prompting a deep dive into the incredible moments that defined it.
For Volkov Labs, 2023 was a year of remarkable achievements, inspiring milestones, and jaw-dropping surprises. In this post, I’m thrilled to share our top highlights of 2023 and why we’re buzzing with anticipation for 2024. Let’s dive in!
Becoming Grafana Champions​
This year, Mikhail and I were honored to be named Grafana Champions, a recognition that means the world to us.
During Grafana ObservabilityCon in London, our names flashed across the backdrop screen as part of the announcement. Standing on that stage, we felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment and gratitude for the community’s recognition.
The thoughtful Grafana Champions swag waiting for us at home made the moment even more tangible. Additionally, Grafana featured our videos on their Community, Innovation, Fun page, further amplifying our contributions.
Launching the Grafana Crash Course​
One of the most unexpected yet rewarding projects of 2023 was the creation of the Grafana Crash Course. What began as personal notes while learning Grafana evolved into a comprehensive resource for others on the same journey. I transformed scattered jottings into detailed SVG diagrams, articles, and tutorials, culminating in a polished course.
This course has already supported hundreds of Grafana enthusiasts with concise, insightful content often unavailable elsewhere. It includes conceptual schemas, term definitions, code examples, and even a developer series where I walk through building a panel plugin step by step—perfect for any JavaScript developer eager to create their first Grafana plugin.
The Grafana Crash Course showcases Grafana’s unique architecture and its unparalleled flexibility for solving real-world challenges with elegance. While it’s still a work in progress, we’re eager to expand it further. If you have ideas for topics to cover, please reach out—we love engaging in meaningful discussions!
Keeping Our Plugins Compatible with Grafana’s Latest Versions​
Ensuring that all our plugins remain compatible with the latest Grafana releases is no small feat. It demands meticulous planning, quick adaptability, and deep expertise. We take immense pride in consistently delivering seamless compatibility, providing the best experience for our community.
Explosive Growth on YouTube: 2,140 Subscribers and Counting​
Starting 2023 with 340 subscribers, we thought we’d already achieved a significant milestone for such a niche technical channel. But as the year progressed, your incredible support proved we were just getting started. We gained nearly 1,800 new subscribers, bringing our total to 2,140!
We’re deeply grateful to everyone who has subscribed, commented, shared, sponsored, or referenced our work. Whether through memberships, Big Thanks, or simply spreading the word, your support creates a symphony of notifications that, if you listen closely, sounds a bit like holiday jingle bells!
What’s even more heartwarming is the positivity of the Grafana community. Over the past two years, we’ve encountered nothing but encouragement and solution-focused collaboration. Thank you for embodying the holiday spirit year-round.
Featured in Grafana’s 10th Anniversary Documentary​
In Stockholm, Sweden, Mikhail had the privilege of being interviewed for the second episode of Grafana’s 10th-anniversary documentaries. He highlighted our beloved Apache ECharts (Business Charts) panel as a favorite community plugin, shining a spotlight on our contributions.
Welcoming a New Team Member​
2023 marked the beginning of a new chapter for Volkov Labs with the addition of Alex Simonok to our team. As our Director of Engineering, Alex brings a robust technical background and a knack for solving complex challenges. His expertise is already elevating our work, particularly on our upcoming BI(G) project. Welcome, Alex!
Introducing the BI(G) Vision​
BI(G) stands for Business Intelligence in Grafana. Currently, it includes the Alerting Panel and BI Alert Engine, with groundbreaking features added weekly (stay tuned to our blog for updates). Our vision is to expand BI(G) into a fully standalone Business Intelligence platform, complete with forecasting and AI capabilities.
The concept for BI(G) emerged in September 2023, born from the need to simplify Grafana for data analysts and project managers who excel in their domains but may not be familiar with Grafana’s technical intricacies. Having worked on projects with hundreds of alerts, we recognized the challenge of streamlining management for end-users focused on business outcomes.
BI(G) encapsulates our collective knowledge and experience, representing the most significant milestone for Volkov Labs to date. It’s a testament to our commitment to making data visualization and alerting accessible to everyone.
Not a Conclusion, but a New Beginning​
We’re not ready to wrap up just yet—2023 feels like the start of something even bigger. With hearts full of anticipation, we’re gearing up for an exciting 2024. I can already picture myself writing next year’s recap with an even wider smile, reflecting on more achievements, bolder plans, and a deeper sense of fulfillment.
Happy Holidays from all of us at Volkov Labs! May you find peace, joy, and inspiration in the year ahead.
Always happy to hear from you​
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