OLAP vs Observability

Observability workloads are different than OLAP

Parseable is a purpose built observability datalake for logs, metrics, and traces. With support for SQL, PromQL, OpenTelemetry, and object storage first storage built in.

Data lake design

Parseable is a purpose built datalake for observability data. It uses columnar Parquet format on object storage as the foundation. So teams get fast SQL/PromQL based telemetry analysis without the overhead of managing a database or worrying about data silos.

Observability unified

Native support for OpenTelemetry, SQL and PromQL, alerting, forecasting and investigation workflows, and object storage first storage means teams can use Parseable for all their observability needs.

Ready for scale

With object storage first economics, Parseable is built to scale with your data and your team. You can start small and grow without worrying about hitting limits or needing to re-architect as your observability needs evolve.

Why Parseable

Run your observability anywhere - batteries included, no assembly required.

ClickHouse is a powerful OLAP database for teams that want to build fast analytical systems. Parseable is purpose built observability datalake, with complete feature set for observability workloads.

The architecture choice

Columnar storage, object store native

Parseable uses columnar Parquet and object storage as the foundation for the platform. With support for SQL, PromQL, OpenTelemetry, and object storage first storage built in.

1OpenTelemetry ingestion
native
2Columnar Parquet on object storage
foundation
3SQL editor and plain-English querying
built in
4Dashboards and alerts
built in
5Investigation workflows
built in
Operations

Built in Rust with a focus on reliability and performance

With ClickHouse, teams own more of the surrounding observability system. Parseable packages storage, retention, dashboards, alerts, and investigation workflows into the platform.

Ingestion

Telemetry ingestion without extra plumbing

ClickHouse can store observability data, but teams still need to design the ingestion path. Parseable supports OpenTelemetry-native workflows to bring logs, metrics, and traces into one platform.

exporters:
  otlphttp:
    endpoint: ingest.parseable.io
# That's it.
Proactive detection

Detect anomalies upfront

ClickHouse can assist with SQL, but proactive observability still needs custom AI workflows. Parseable includes anomaly detection, forecasting, AI SQL generation, and telemetry investigation workflows inside the platform.

ingest
OTel
detect
AI
alert
auto
Native alerting

Built in alerts for observability signals

With ClickHouse, teams typically wire alerts through Prometheus, custom polling, or another monitoring layer. Parseable gives teams threshold, anomaly, and absence alerts inside the observability platform, with routing to Slack, PagerDuty, webhooks, and email.

SlackPagerDutyWebhooksEmailAlertmanager

Use Cases

Built for every observability challenge

Full stack observability

Monitor applications, databases, infrastructure, network, and cloud providers from a single platform. Parseable's columnar storage keeps high cardinality telemetry manageable without forcing you to drop labels or cap retention.

  • Correlate app errors with infra metrics in a single SQL query
  • No schema changes when new services or labels appear
  • Drill into P99 latency by pod, region, or user segment
astronomy-shop-traces
Duration: 38.5msSpans: 53
Span name
0ms9.6ms19.3ms28.9ms38.5ms
user_checkout_multi
38.5ms
POST load-generator
17.6ms
ingress
15.3ms
router frontend
15.2ms
POST frontend
14.8ms
executing api route
14.5ms
grpc.oteldem.Check
13.5ms
prepareOrderItems
7.6ms
db.query.products
5.1ms
cache.get
1.2ms
POST cart-service
9.8ms

AI workloads observability

Leverage telemetry data from MCPs, LLMs, and Agents to build end-to-end visibility with confidence. Track token usage, latency per model, and cost across inference calls.

  • Cost breakdown per model, per user, per session
  • Token-level latency histograms and P99 tracking
  • Alert on unexpected cost spikes or model drift
Agents · Drill-downLast 24 hours

Total sessions

1,246

−12%

Total tokens

18.2M

+23%

Latency P95

5.32s

−7%

Error rate

2.4%

−17%

Trace ID
Model
Tokens
Prompt
trc_9f3a2c1b
claude-3-5
1,842

My order #88821 hasn't arrived and I'd like a refund...

trc_9f3a2c2a
claude-3-5
976

My package was supposed to arrive yesterday, can you...

trc_9f3a2c3b
claude-3-5
2,103

I received the wrong item and I would like to exchange...

trc_9f3a4c1d
claude-opus
3,418

I want to delete my account and all associated data...

trc_9f3a5c2e
claude-3-5
654

I just wanted to say how great the support was during...

trc_9f3a6c3f
claude-3-5
1,291

Can you confirm that my payment of $142.50 was processed...

trc_9f3a7c4g
claude-opus
2,874

I'd like to upgrade my plan to Pro but the button isn't...

Product observability

Understand user behavior, feature adoption, and performance to optimize the user experience. Correlate product events with infrastructure telemetry for a complete picture.

  • Full-cardinality funnel analysis, not sampled, not aggregated away
  • Feature adoption by plan, cohort, region, or user segment
  • Tie slow API responses directly to user drop-off
Query 1astronomy-shop-traces
SELECT
  "service.name",
  "rpc.method",
  "rpc.grpc.status_code",
  span_name, span_trace_id
FROM astronomy-shop-traces
Run ▶SaveFound 125 records
service.name
rpc.method
status
span_name
fraud-detection
EventStream
4
flagd.evaluation.v1.Service/Eve...
fraud-detection
EventStream
4
flagd.evaluation.v1.Service/Eve...
order-service
CreateOrder
0
oteldemo.OrderService/PlaceOrd...
cart-service
GetCart
0
oteldemo.CartService/GetCart...

Audit logging

Capture and analyze user activity, system events, and security logs to ensure compliance and security. Columnar storage keeps audit queries fast even at billion-event scale.

  • Immutable audit trail with configurable retention
  • Sub-second search across all users, actions, and endpoints
  • Export to SIEM or compliance tooling via OTel
astronomy-shop-logs
Last 1 hourSummarize
INFO
WARN
ERROR
8:25am8:37am8:49am9:01am9:13am

2026-04-29T09:23:59.847

body:Convert conversion successful
flags:1
host.name:anton-M5-7D75
service.name:currency
log_category:INFO
observed_time:2026-04-29T09:23:59.776
schema_url:opentelemetry.io/schemas/1.6.1
scope_name:currency
scope_version:1.23.0

2026-04-29T09:24:01.203

body:Payment auth failed: timeout
flags:0
host.name:node-42-prod
service.name:checkout
log_category:ERROR
observed_time:2026-04-29T09:24:01.119
schema_url:opentelemetry.io/schemas/1.6.1
scope_name:checkout
scope_version:1.23.0

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Can't find what you need? Talk to us.

Choose the faster path to observability.

Parseable gives teams SQL-based telemetry analysis, OpenTelemetry ingestion, dashboards, alerts, and plain-English querying in one observability platform.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Get the latest updates on Parseable features, best practices, and observability insights delivered to your inbox.

SFO

Parseable Inc.

584 Castro St, #2112

San Francisco, California

94114-2512

Phone: +1 (650) 444 6216

BLR

Cloudnatively Services Pvt Ltd.

JBR Tech Park

Whitefield, Bengaluru

560066

Phone: +91 9480931554

All systems operational

Parseable