Grafana Tempo 1.1 has been released, featuring notable improvements such as hedged requests that significantly reduce latency by allowing retries for slow backend requests, resulting in a 45% performance boost. The update introduces a tenant index that enhances performance and reduces the total cost of ownership by minimizing the frequency of backend queries, leading to a 60% cost reduction. New caching parameters provide operators with better control over cache space, addressing issues like excessive cache requirements for bloom filters. Bug fixes include resolving startup errors for queriers and improving ring reliability by addressing issues with unhealthy ring members using memberlist. The release also deprecates older block formats, urging users to upgrade to ensure compatibility with future versions. Tempo's release cycle remains bi-monthly, with exciting features like native search on the horizon for version 1.2. Users are encouraged to engage with the Tempo community through various platforms and explore Grafana Cloud's free tier to get started with Tempo.