Apache Kafka

Ecosystem

Traditional Messaging System	Kafka Streaming Platform
Transient message persistance	Stores events based on a retention time. Events are immutable.
Brokers responsibility to keep track of consumed messages.	Consumers responsiblity to keep track of consumed messages.
Target a specific Consumer.	Any Consumer can access a message from the Broker.
Not a distributed system.	Distributed streaming system.

To process payments and financial transactions in real-time, such as in stock exchanges, banks, and insurances.
To track and monitor cars, trucks, fleets, and shipments in real-time, such as in logistics and the automotive industry.
To continuously capture and analyze sensor data from IoT devices or other equipment, such as in factories and wind parks.
To collect and immediately react to customer interactions and orders, such as in retail, the hotel and travel industry, and mobile applications.
To monitor patients in hospital care and predict changes in condition to ensure timely treatment in emergencies.
To connect, store, and make available data produced by different divisions of a company.
To serve as the foundation for data platforms, event-driven architectures, and microservices.