Apache Kafka is an open-source, distributed event streaming platform designed for real-time data processing at scale. Its architecture supports both streaming processing and batch processing, making it a versatile tool in modern data architectures that need to handle real-time analytics, data lakes, and data warehouses. Key benefits of Kafka include scalability, real-time analytics, and real-time processing speed. Common use cases for Kafka span across various applications such as activity tracking, messaging, log aggregation, stream processing, operational metrics, and microservices communication. Industries like financial services, e-commerce and retail, healthcare, IoT, and media and entertainment also benefit from Kafka's capabilities in managing real-time data streams. CData offers drivers and connectors for Kafka to simplify integration with other data streams and applications, enabling seamless connections within an organization's data ecosystem.