Grafana is transitioning from using API keys to service account tokens (SATs) for enhanced security and flexible access control, with all existing API keys continuing to function seamlessly until their migration to SATs by January 2025. This change, which includes the removal of the api_key resource from the Grafana Terraform provider in version 3, aims to improve security by reducing the surface area and operational costs associated with supporting both authentication methods. Service accounts, available since Grafana 9.1, simulate Grafana users to run automated workloads and offer more granular, role-based access controls compared to API keys. Developers are encouraged to transition their automation scripts and tools, such as Terraform, to use SATs by the end of 2024, with a detailed migration path provided. Grafana 11, introduced at GrafanaCON 2024, includes new features to securely scale within organizations, with detailed sessions available on demand. Grafana Cloud offers a free tier for easy access to metrics, logs, traces, and dashboards.