diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 7acbc70212ef..fa48496d385e 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -1,119 +1,153 @@
+# ENV VARS
 variables:
-  CI_PROJECT_NAME: "opentelemetry-collector-contrib"
-  BUILD_STABLE_REGISTRY: "486234852809.dkr.ecr.us-east-1.amazonaws.com"
   CI_IMAGE: registry.ddbuild.io/ci/opentelemetry-collector-contrib:ci-image-2
-  RESTORE_CACHE_ATTEMPTS: 2
   BUILD_DD_REGISTRY: registry.ddbuild.io/ci/opentelemetry-collector-contrib
   BUILD_DEMO_REGISTRY: 172597598159.dkr.ecr.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/otel-collector-contrib
   BUILD_SANDBOX_REGISTRY: 601427279990.dkr.ecr.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/otel-collector-contrib
-  DOCKERFILE: ci/Dockerfile
+  SANDBOX_CLUSTER_NAME: dd-otel
+  DEMO_CLUSTER_NAME: prod-eks-otel-a-us-east-1
+  SANDBOX_CLUSTER_ARN: "arn:aws:eks:us-east-1:601427279990:cluster/dd-otel"
+  DEMO_CLUSTER_ARN: "arn:aws:eks:us-east-1:172597598159:cluster/prod-eks-otel-a-us-east-1"
+  DEPLOY_SCRIPT: "./ci/scripts/ci-deploy.sh"
+
+
+# BUILD STAGES
 stages:
-  - manaul-jobs
-  - build
-  - push
+  - build-and-push-ci-image
+  - build-collector-image
+  - push-collector-image
   - staging-deploy
   - prod-deploy
 
-# =======================================================================
-# Build and deploy the images used for CI
-# =======================================================================
-.build-ci-image: &build-ci-image
-  stage: build
+# BUILD IMAGES
+build-ci-image:
+  stage: build-and-push-ci-image
+  tags: ["runner:docker"]
+  image: $CI_IMAGE
+  script:
+    - TAG=ci-image-2
+    - docker build --file ci/Dockerfile.gitlab --tag $BUILD_DD_REGISTRY:$TAG .
+    - docker push $BUILD_DD_REGISTRY:$TAG
+
+.build-collector-image: &build-collector-image
+  stage: build-collector-image
   tags: ["runner:docker"]
   image: $CI_IMAGE
   script:
     - IMAGE_TAG_PREFIX=otelcolcontrib
     - TAG="$IMAGE_TAG_PREFIX-v$CI_COMMIT_SHORT_SHA"
-    - docker build --file $DOCKERFILE --tag $BUILD_REGISTRY:$TAG --label target=staging .
+    - docker build --file ci/Dockerfile --tag $BUILD_REGISTRY:$TAG --label target=staging .
     - docker push $BUILD_REGISTRY:$TAG
-build-image-main:
-  !!merge <<: *build-ci-image
+build-collector-image-main:
+  !!merge <<: *build-collector-image
   variables:
     BUILD_REGISTRY: $BUILD_DD_REGISTRY
-.push-image: &push-image
-  stage: push
+
+# PUSH IMAGES
+.push-collector-image: &push-collector-image
+  stage: push-collector-image
   tags: ["runner:docker"]
   image: $CI_IMAGE
   dependencies:
-    - build-image-main
+    - build-collector-image-main
   script:
     - IMAGE_TAG_PREFIX=otelcolcontrib
     - TAG="$IMAGE_TAG_PREFIX-v$CI_COMMIT_SHORT_SHA"
     - docker pull $BUILD_DD_REGISTRY:$TAG
     - docker tag $BUILD_DD_REGISTRY:$TAG $BUILD_REGISTRY:$TAG
     - docker push $BUILD_REGISTRY:$TAG
-push-image-demo:
-  !!merge <<: *push-image
+push-collector-image-demo:
+  !!merge <<: *push-collector-image
   variables:
     BUILD_REGISTRY: $BUILD_DEMO_REGISTRY
-    AWS_ACCT_ID: 172597598159
-push-image-staging:
-  !!merge <<: *push-image
+push-collector-image-staging:
+  !!merge <<: *push-collector-image
   variables:
     BUILD_REGISTRY: $BUILD_SANDBOX_REGISTRY
-    AWS_ACCT_ID: 601427279990
-build-ci-image:
-  stage: manaul-jobs
-  when: manual
-  tags: ["runner:docker"]
-  image: $CI_IMAGE
-  script:
-    - TAG=ci-image-2
-    - docker build --file ci/Dockerfile.gitlab --tag $BUILD_DD_REGISTRY:$TAG .
-    - docker push $BUILD_DD_REGISTRY:$TAG
+
+# DEPLOY COLLECTOR STAGING 
 .staging-deploy: &staging-deploy
   stage: staging-deploy
   tags: ["runner:docker", "size:large"]
   image: $CI_IMAGE
   dependencies:
-    - push-image-staging
+    - push-collector-image-staging
   rules:
     - if: '$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME =~ /-staging$/'
   script:
-    # # For debugging
-    #- aws sts get-caller-identity
     - >-
       TEMP_AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=$(aws ssm get-parameter --region us-east-1 --name ci.opentelemetry-collector-contrib.sand-eks-deploy-api-key --with-decryption --query Parameter.Value --out text)
     - >-
       TEMP_AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=$(aws ssm get-parameter --region us-east-1 --name ci.opentelemetry-collector-contrib.sand-eks-deploy-access-key --with-decryption --query Parameter.Value --out text)
     - export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=$TEMP_AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID
     - export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=$TEMP_AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY
-    # # For debugging
-    # - aws sts get-caller-identity
-    - bash $SCRIPT $NAMESPACE $VALUES
-staging-deploy-demo-eks:
+    - bash $DEPLOY_SCRIPT
+#env:otel-staging
+staging-deploy:
   !!merge <<: *staging-deploy
   variables:
-    SCRIPT: ./ci/scripts/ci-deploy-staging.sh
+    CLUSTER_NAME: $SANDBOX_CLUSTER_NAME
+    CLUSTER_ARN: $SANDBOX_CLUSTER_ARN
     NAMESPACE: otel-staging
-    VALUES: ./ci/values-staging.yaml
-staging-deploy-gateway-eks:
+    NODE_GROUP: ng-3
+    MODE: daemonset
+    REPLICA_COUNT: 1
+    CLUSTER_ROLE: opentelemetry-collector
+    REGISTRY: $BUILD_SANDBOX_REGISTRY
+
+#env:otel-gateway
+staging-deploy-gateway:
   !!merge <<: *staging-deploy
   variables:
-    SCRIPT: ./ci/scripts/ci-deploy-staging.sh
+    CLUSTER_NAME: $SANDBOX_CLUSTER_NAME
+    CLUSTER_ARN: $SANDBOX_CLUSTER_ARN
     NAMESPACE: otel-gateway
-    VALUES: ./ci/values-gateway.yaml
-staging-deploy-ds-gateway-eks:
+    NODE_GROUP: ng-5
+    MODE: deployment
+    REPLICA_COUNT: 3
+    CLUSTER_ROLE: opentelemetry-collector-gateway
+    REGISTRY: $BUILD_SANDBOX_REGISTRY
+
+#env:otel-ds-gateway
+staging-deploy-ds-gateway:
   !!merge <<: *staging-deploy
   variables:
-    SCRIPT: ./ci/scripts/ci-deploy-ds-gateway.sh
-prod-deploy-demo-eks:
+    CLUSTER_NAME: $SANDBOX_CLUSTER_NAME
+    CLUSTER_ARN: $SANDBOX_CLUSTER_ARN
+    NAMESPACE: otel-ds-gateway
+    NODE_GROUP: ng-6
+    MODE: deployment
+    REPLICA_COUNT: 3
+    CLUSTER_ROLE: opentelemetry-collector-ds-gateway
+    REGISTRY: $BUILD_SANDBOX_REGISTRY
+
+# DEPLOY COLLECTOR PROD 
+.prod-deploy: &prod-deploy-demo-eks
   stage: prod-deploy
   tags: ["runner:docker", "size:large"]
   image: $CI_IMAGE
   dependencies:
-    - push-image-demo
+    - push-collector-image-demo
   rules:
+    # changing to staging for testing purposes.
     - if: '$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME == "prod"'
   script:
-    # # For debugging
-    #- aws sts get-caller-identity
     - >-
       TEMP_AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=$(aws ssm get-parameter --region us-east-1 --name ci.opentelemetry-collector-contrib.eks_access_key --with-decryption --query Parameter.Value --out text)
     - >-
       TEMP_AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=$(aws ssm get-parameter --region us-east-1 --name ci.opentelemetry-collector-contrib.eks_secret_access_key --with-decryption --query Parameter.Value --out text)
     - export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=$TEMP_AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID
     - export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=$TEMP_AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY
-    # # For debugging
-    # - aws sts get-caller-identity
-    - bash ./ci/scripts/ci-deploy-demo.sh
+    - bash $DEPLOY_SCRIPT
+#env:otel
+prod-deploy:
+  !!merge <<: *prod-deploy-demo-eks
+  variables:
+    CLUSTER_NAME: $DEMO_CLUSTER_NAME
+    CLUSTER_ARN: $DEMO_CLUSTER_ARN
+    NAMESPACE: otel
+    NODE_GROUP: 
+    MODE: daemonset
+    REPLICA_COUNT: 1
+    CLUSTER_ROLE: opentelemetry-collector
+    REGISTRY: $BUILD_DEMO_REGISTRY
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/ci/scripts/ci-deploy-demo.sh b/ci/scripts/ci-deploy-demo.sh
deleted file mode 100644
index 2b02093b1468..000000000000
--- a/ci/scripts/ci-deploy-demo.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,40 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-
-# Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
-
-# This script is used to deploy collector on demo account cluster
-
-set -euo pipefail
-IFS=$'\n\t'
-set -x
-
-install_collector() {
-  # Set the namespace and release name
-  release_name="opentelemetry-collector"
-  release_name_deployment="opentelemetry-collector-deployment"
-  namespace="otel"
-
-  # if repo already exists, helm 3+ will skip
-  helm --debug repo add open-telemetry https://open-telemetry.github.io/opentelemetry-helm-charts
-
-  # --install will run `helm install` if not already present.
-  helm --debug upgrade "${release_name}" -n "${namespace}" open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector --install \
-    -f ./ci/values.yaml \
-    --set-string image.tag="otelcolcontrib-v$CI_COMMIT_SHORT_SHA"
-
-  # --install collector that fetches jmx metrics. The jmx receiver cannot be used in the daemonset deployment
-  # as this would lead to duplicate metrics.
-  helm --debug upgrade "${release_name_deployment}" -n "${namespace}" open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector --install \
-    -f ./ci/values-jmx.yaml \
-    --set-string image.tag="otelcolcontrib-v$CI_COMMIT_SHORT_SHA"
-}
-
-###########################################################################################################
-clusterName="prod-eks-otel-a-us-east-1"
-clusterArn="arn:aws:eks:us-east-1:172597598159:cluster/${clusterName}"
-
-aws eks --region us-east-1 update-kubeconfig --name "${clusterName}"
-kubectl config use-context "${clusterArn}"
-
-install_collector
diff --git a/ci/scripts/ci-deploy-ds-gateway.sh b/ci/scripts/ci-deploy-ds-gateway.sh
deleted file mode 100644
index 2f65ea3500b4..000000000000
--- a/ci/scripts/ci-deploy-ds-gateway.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,45 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-
-# Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
-
-# This script is used to deploy collector on demo account cluster
-
-set -euo pipefail
-IFS=$'\n\t'
-set -x
-
-install_collector() {
-	# Set the namespace and release name
-	release_name="opentelemetry-collector"
-	release_name_gateway="opentelemetry-collector-gateway"
-	namespace="otel-ds-gateway"
-
-	# if repo already exists, helm 3+ will skip
-	helm --debug repo add open-telemetry https://open-telemetry.github.io/opentelemetry-helm-charts
-
-	# --install will run `helm install` if not already present.
-    # gateway with DD exporter
-	helm --debug upgrade "${release_name_gateway}" -n "${namespace}" open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector --install \
-		-f ./ci/values.yaml \
-		-f ./ci/values-ds-gateway.yaml \
-		--set-string image.tag="otelcolcontrib-v$CI_COMMIT_SHORT_SHA" \
-		--set-string image.repository="601427279990.dkr.ecr.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/otel-collector-contrib"
-
-    # daemonset with otlp exporter
-	helm --debug upgrade "${release_name}" -n "${namespace}" open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector --install \
-		-f ./ci/values.yaml \
-		-f ./ci/values-otlp-col.yaml \
-		--set-string image.tag="otelcolcontrib-v$CI_COMMIT_SHORT_SHA" \
-		--set-string image.repository="601427279990.dkr.ecr.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/otel-collector-contrib"
-
-}
-
-###########################################################################################################
-clusterName="dd-otel"
-clusterArn="arn:aws:eks:us-east-1:601427279990:cluster/${clusterName}"
-
-aws eks --region us-east-1 update-kubeconfig --name "${clusterName}"
-kubectl config use-context "${clusterArn}"
-
-install_collector
diff --git a/ci/scripts/ci-deploy-staging.sh b/ci/scripts/ci-deploy-staging.sh
deleted file mode 100644
index 36749fd85d7c..000000000000
--- a/ci/scripts/ci-deploy-staging.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,53 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env bash
-
-# Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
-
-# This script is used to deploy collector on demo account cluster
-
-set -euo pipefail
-IFS=$'\n\t'
-set -x
-namespace=$NAMESPACE
-values=$VALUES
-
-install_collector() {
-	release_name="opentelemetry-collector"
-
-	# if repo already exists, helm 3+ will skip
-	helm --debug repo add open-telemetry https://open-telemetry.github.io/opentelemetry-helm-charts
-	helm repo update open-telemetry
-	# --install will run `helm install` if not already present.
-	helm --debug upgrade "${release_name}" -n "${namespace}" open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector --install \
-		-f ./ci/values.yaml \
-		-f "${values}" \
-		--set-string image.tag="otelcolcontrib-v$CI_COMMIT_SHORT_SHA" \
-		--set-string image.repository="601427279990.dkr.ecr.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/otel-collector-contrib"
-	helm list --all-namespaces
-
-	if [ "$namespace" == "otel-staging" ]; then
-		install_deployment
-	fi
-}
-
-install_deployment() {
-	release_name_deployment="opentelemetry-collector-deployment"
-
-	# --install collector that fetches jmx metrics. The jmx receiver cannot be used in the daemonset deployment
-	# as this would lead to duplicate metrics.
-	helm --debug upgrade "${release_name_deployment}" -n "${namespace}" open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector --install \
-		-f ./ci/values-jmx.yaml \
-		--set-string image.tag="otelcolcontrib-v$CI_COMMIT_SHORT_SHA" \
-		--set-string image.repository="601427279990.dkr.ecr.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/otel-collector-contrib" \
-		--set nodeSelector.alpha\\.eksctl\\.io/nodegroup-name=ng-3
-
-}
-
-###########################################################################################################
-clusterName="dd-otel"
-clusterArn="arn:aws:eks:us-east-1:601427279990:cluster/${clusterName}"
-
-aws eks --region us-east-1 update-kubeconfig --name "${clusterName}"
-kubectl config use-context "${clusterArn}"
-
-install_collector
diff --git a/ci/scripts/ci-deploy.sh b/ci/scripts/ci-deploy.sh
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..b78255fb97bf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ci/scripts/ci-deploy.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+# Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+# This script is used to deploy collector on demo account cluster
+
+set -euo pipefail
+IFS=$'\n\t'
+set -x
+
+namespace=$NAMESPACE
+nodegroup=$NODE_GROUP
+mode=$MODE
+replicaCount=$REPLICA_COUNT
+clusterRole=$CLUSTER_ROLE
+clusterName=$CLUSTER_NAME
+clusterArn=$CLUSTER_ARN
+registry=$REGISTRY
+
+install_collector() {
+	release_name="opentelemetry-collector"
+
+	# Add open-telemetry helm repo (if repo already exists, helm 3+ will skip)
+	helm --debug repo add open-telemetry https://open-telemetry.github.io/opentelemetry-helm-charts
+	helm repo update open-telemetry
+
+    helm_cmd="helm --debug upgrade ${release_name} -n ${namespace} open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector --install \
+        -f ./ci/values.yaml \
+        --set-string image.repository=${registry} \
+		--set-string image.tag=otelcolcontrib-v$CI_COMMIT_SHORT_SHA \
+        --set clusterRole.name=${clusterRole} \
+        --set clusterRole.clusterRoleBinding.name=${clusterRole} \
+        --set mode=${mode} \
+        --set replicaCount=${replicaCount}"
+
+    if [ -n "$nodegroup" ]; then
+        helm_cmd+=" --set nodeSelector.\"alpha\\.eksctl\\.io/nodegroup-name\"=${nodegroup}"
+    fi
+
+	eval $helm_cmd
+
+	# only deploy otlp col for otel-ds-gateway
+	if [ "$namespace" == "otel-ds-gateway" ]; then
+		install_ds_otlp
+	fi
+}
+
+install_ds_otlp() {
+	release_name="opentelemetry-collector-ds"
+
+	# daemonset with otlp exporter
+	helm --debug upgrade "${release_name}" -n "${namespace}" open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector --install \
+		-f ./ci/values.yaml \
+		-f ./ci/values-otlp-col.yaml \
+		--set-string image.tag="otelcolcontrib-v$CI_COMMIT_SHORT_SHA" \
+		--set-string image.repository=${registry}
+}
+
+###########################################################################################################
+clusterName="${clusterName}"
+clusterArn="${clusterArn}"
+
+aws eks --region us-east-1 update-kubeconfig --name "${clusterName}"
+kubectl config use-context "${clusterArn}"
+
+install_collector
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/ci/values-ds-gateway.yaml b/ci/values-ds-gateway.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index 49a87acd35c2..000000000000
--- a/ci/values-ds-gateway.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-mode: deployment
-replicaCount: 3
-nodeSelector:
-  alpha.eksctl.io/nodegroup-name: ng-6
-clusterRole:
-  name: "opentelemetry-collector-ds-gateway"
-  clusterRoleBinding:
-    name: opentelemetry-collector-ds-gateway
-presets:
-  logsCollection:
-    enabled: true
diff --git a/ci/values-gateway.yaml b/ci/values-gateway.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index 342add0e1b16..000000000000
--- a/ci/values-gateway.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-mode: deployment
-replicaCount: 3
-nodeSelector:
-  alpha.eksctl.io/nodegroup-name: ng-5
-clusterRole:
-  name: "opentelemetry-collector-gateway"
-  clusterRoleBinding:
-    name: opentelemetry-collector-gateway
-presets:
-  logsCollection:
-    enabled: true
diff --git a/ci/values-jmx.yaml b/ci/values-jmx.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index 2e70080f3667..000000000000
--- a/ci/values-jmx.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,72 +0,0 @@
-mode: deployment
-image:
-  repository: 172597598159.dkr.ecr.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/otel-collector-contrib
-  tag: ""
-securityContext:
-  runAsUser: 0
-  runAsGroup: 0
-extraEnvs:
-  - name: HOST_IP
-    valueFrom:
-      fieldRef:
-        fieldPath: status.hostIP
-  - name: OTEL_COLLECTOR_NAME
-    value: $(HOST_IP)
-  - name: OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT
-    value: http://$(OTEL_COLLECTOR_NAME):4317
-  - name: OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES
-    value: kafka_source=deploymentcol
-config:
-  receivers:
-    jmx:
-      jar_path: /opt/opentelemetry-jmx-metrics.jar
-      endpoint: "opentelemetry-demo-kafka:1099"
-      target_system: kafka
-      log_level: trace
-    jmx/jvm:
-      jar_path: /opt/opentelemetry-jmx-metrics.jar
-      endpoint: "opentelemetry-demo-kafka:1099"
-      target_system: jvm
-      log_level: trace
-    jmx/consumer:
-      jar_path: /opt/opentelemetry-jmx-metrics.jar
-      endpoint: "opentelemetry-demo-frauddetectionservice:1098"
-      target_system: kafka-consumer
-      log_level: trace
-    jmx/producer:
-      jar_path: /opt/opentelemetry-jmx-metrics.jar
-      endpoint: "opentelemetry-demo-orderproducer:1097"
-      target_system: kafka-producer
-      log_level: trace
-    zookeeper:
-      endpoint: "opentelemetry-demo-zookeeper:2181"
-      collection_interval: 20s
-      initial_delay: 1s
-    kafkametrics:
-      brokers: "opentelemetry-demo-kafka:9092"
-      protocol_version: 2.0.0
-      scrapers:
-        - brokers
-        - topics
-        - consumers
-  exporters:
-    debug:
-      verbosity: detailed
-    logging: null
-    otlp:
-      endpoint: ${env:OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT}
-      tls:
-        insecure: true
-  processors:
-    resourcedetection/env:
-      detectors: [env]
-    batch:
-      send_batch_max_size: 1000
-      send_batch_size: 100
-      timeout: 10s
-  service:
-    pipelines:
-      metrics:
-        receivers: [jmx, jmx/jvm, jmx/consumer, jmx/producer, zookeeper, kafkametrics]
-        processors: [batch, resourcedetection/env]
-        exporters: [otlp]
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/ci/values-otlp-col.yaml b/ci/values-otlp-col.yaml
index 9e0b716e5678..af6275e5fd7e 100644
--- a/ci/values-otlp-col.yaml
+++ b/ci/values-otlp-col.yaml
@@ -7,16 +7,35 @@ clusterRole:
 config:
   exporters:
     otlp:
-      endpoint: opentelemetry-collector-gateway:4317
+      endpoint: opentelemetry-collector.otel-ds-gateway.svc.cluster.local:4317
       tls:
         insecure: true
+  processors:
+    k8sattributes:
+      passthrough: true
+      auth_type: "serviceAccount"
+  receivers:
+    otlp/2:
+      protocols:
+        grpc:
+          endpoint: 0.0.0.0:1234
   service:
     pipelines:
       metrics:
+        receivers: [otlp]
+        processors: [k8sattributes, batch]
         exporters: [otlp]
       traces:
+        receivers: [otlp]
+        processors: [k8sattributes, batch]
+        exporters: [otlp]
+      # hack to disable this pipeline. otlp/2 does not receive data.
+      traces/sampled:
+        receivers: [otlp/2]
+        processors: []
         exporters: [otlp]
       logs:
+        processors: [k8sattributes, batch]
         exporters: [otlp]
 resources:
   limits:
diff --git a/ci/values-staging.yaml b/ci/values-staging.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index 1d8b6afb0322..000000000000
--- a/ci/values-staging.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,5 +0,0 @@
-nodeSelector:
-  alpha.eksctl.io/nodegroup-name: ng-3
-presets:
-  logsCollection:
-    enabled: true
diff --git a/ci/values.yaml b/ci/values.yaml
index ba0bccaacc39..ea8b5bfe2f21 100644
--- a/ci/values.yaml
+++ b/ci/values.yaml
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ config:
         peer_service_aggregation: true
         trace_buffer: 1000
       api:
-        key: "$DD_API_KEY"
+        key: "${env:DD_API_KEY}"
   processors:
     attributes:
       actions:
@@ -240,7 +240,7 @@ config:
       traces/sampled:
         receivers: [datadog/connector]
         processors: [probabilistic_sampler, batch]
-        exporters: [datadog]
+        exporters: [datadog, debug]
       logs:
         processors: [memory_limiter, resourcedetection, k8sattributes, attributes, attributes/kafkasrc, transform, batch]
         exporters: [datadog]