Why Observability Is Critical for MSSPs
As an MSSP in 2025, you’re under pressure like never before. Clients want real-time detection, airtight SLAs, and full compliance — all while you manage lean SOC teams and rising infrastructure costs.
Sound familiar?
- You’re managing isolated data across multiple tenants
- You’re drowning in alerts but can’t afford to miss real threats
- You’re still doing compliance reports manually
This isn’t just about visibility. It’s about observability that works — fast, reliable telemetry that cuts through noise, reduces response times, and protects your margins.
“A one-hour delay in detection isn’t just a metric miss — it’s a reputational hit.”
Here’s how to build observability that scales with you — not against you.
What MSSPs Really Need From Observability
Observability isn’t about dashboards. It’s about action. If Done right, it helps your SOC:
- Spot anomalies before they cause irreparable harm to clients
- Trace root causes quickly
- Automate alerts and compliance reporting
The trifecta: logs, metrics, and traces — stitched into one real-time view per tenant.
The top 4 Hidden Cost of Bad (or No) Observability
Avoiding a real observability stack might seem easier or cheaper — but it’s not.
1. Missed Alerts = SLA Violations + Lost Business
Delays lead to angry calls, fines, and reputational damage. Sometimes, the client spots the problem before your team does.
2. Alert Fatigue = Burnout + Mistakes
SOC analysts spend up to 40% of their time chasing false positives or manually correlating data. That’s wasted time and real risk.
3. High Tooling Costs = Low Margins
Commercial tools charge by data volume or host count. That model breaks down when scaled across dozens of clients.
- Splunk: $3,000+/month
- Datadog: $1,200–$2,500/month
- OSS Stack: Self-hosted, predictable cost
4. Manual Reporting = Time Sink + Errors
Creating PDF reports by hand doesn’t scale and leaves room for error — especially under compliance audits.
Real-World MSSP Challenges — And the OSS/Alternative tools that Helps
| MSSP Challenge | Toolset | Why It Works |
| Alert fatigue | Prometheus + Alertmanager | SLA-tuned alerts, deduplication |
| SLA risk | Grafana + Loki | Unified metrics/logs, uptime dashboards |
| Compliance reports | Skedler Reports | Branded, scheduled PDFs per tenant |
| Storage costs | Loki + S3 tiering | Retention control, cheap cold storage |
| Tenant isolation | Cortex + Thanos + Grafana Orgs | Built for multi-client scale |
| Agent overload | OpenTelemetry Collector | One agent to rule them all |
Top Open Source Tools for MSSPs
1. Prometheus
Metric collection that scales with your Kubernetes stack.
- Built-in exporters
- HA and federation via Thanos
- Alertmanager supports tenant-based routing
2. Grafana
Dashboards your SOC and clients actually use.
- Multi-tenant views
- Access control
- Integrates with everything
The problem: Grafana OSS lacks inbuilt reporting
Solution: Need reports? Use Skedler Reports to schedule branded PDFs and CSVs per client.
3. Loki
Log aggregation without the Splunk tax.
- Scalable with minimal indexing
- Compliance-ready retention tuning
- Seamless with Grafana and Prometheus labels
4. OpenTelemetry
Unified telemetry across your entire client base.
- Metrics, logs, and traces from one agent
- Works with any backend
- Great for standardizing instrumentation
5. SigNoz
All-in-one OSS observability platform.
- Bundles Prometheus, Jaeger, and Loki features
- Fast to deploy
- Ideal for MSSPs new to observability
OSS vs Commercial Tools: What Fits MSSPs Best?
| Tool | Strengths | Watchouts | Best For |
| Prometheus | Massive exporter library, scalable | Requires tuning for tenants | SLA monitoring |
| Grafana | Tenant dashboards, great UX | Needs add-ons for reporting | Client views, SOC ops |
| Loki | Cheap log storage | Less mature than Splunk | PCI-ready aggregation |
| OpenTelemetry | Unifies everything | Setup complexity | Cross-client instrumentation |
| SigNoz | Fast OSS starter stack | Less customizable | MSSP observability starters |
| Datadog | Easy SaaS setup | High cost, no infra control | Mid-Sized MSSPs |
| Splunk | Deep SIEM + search | Expensive, heavy infra | Large / Enterprise MSSPs |
Multi-Tenant Observability & Compliance — Done Right
As an MSSP, you need more than visibility — you need control, segregation, and compliance at scale. That’s where Skedler comes in.
We help MSSPs build observability stacks that are:
✅ Multi-tenant ready — with Grafana Orgs, Loki tenant IDs, and OpenTelemetry Collectors configured per client
✅ Compliance-proof — automate PCI-DSS, ISO, and SLA reports with encrypted PDF/CSV outputs via Skedler Reports
✅ Efficient and scalable — with Prometheus + Thanos clusters, cold storage tiering, and alerting tuned to SLA thresholds
✅ SOC-optimized — tightly integrated into your existing workflows (Elastic, Splunk, SIEMs)
Whether you’re building from scratch or overhauling a bloated setup, we tailor your observability to match your team size, threat model, and client mix — without adding overhead.
TOP FAQ’S
Q: How do I cut alert fatigue using OSS tools?
A: Prometheus + Alertmanager with SLA-aware routing and deduplication.
Q: Can Grafana send scheduled reports?
A: Not out of the box — but Skedler adds PDF/CSV scheduling, branding, and delivery.
Q: How do I isolate client logs in Loki?
A: Use tenant IDs and label filters — we can automate this for you.
Q: What’s a good PCI log retention strategy?
A: Use Loki for 30–90 days of hot storage and S3 for long-term cold archive. Devise a Personalised Strategy with a Skedler Observability Expert
Future-Proofing MSSP Observability
Modern SOCs rely on clean, correlated telemetry to drive:
- Automated response
- AI-based anomaly detection
- Threat scoring
Skedler helps MSSPs stay ahead — whether you’re building open source, hybrid, or something in between.
📞 Ready to scale smart? Book your free consult
