Grafana Labs has launched a new Microsoft Azure metrics data source plugin that allows Azure users to integrate their metrics directly into Grafana without the need for ETL processes, streamlining access and reducing associated costs. This development stems from a collaborative effort between the Microsoft Azure team and Daniel Lee from Grafana Labs, reflecting Microsoft's recent strategic shift towards embracing open source and open standards. The plugin, which is available as a preview version, is designed to enhance interoperability and customer experience by unifying Azure metrics with other data sources for comprehensive analysis. Grafana, committed to aggregating all time series data, now includes Azure as its 43rd data source in its expanding catalog, and the plugin can be installed both on self-hosted Grafana and GrafanaCloud. The collaboration was also announced on the Azure blog, and Grafana has become available on the Azure Marketplace, marking an important milestone in the partnership between the two companies.