Last updated: October 3, 2024 | Originally published: October 3, 2024
We were thrilled to be a proud sponsor of Current 2024, the biggest event in data streaming, hosted by Confluent in Austin, Texas, on September 17-18, 2024. As the premier gathering dedicated to real-time data streaming, Current 2024 showcased the transformational power of this technology—a paradigm shift reshaping the way modern systems are designed and data is managed.
Over the past decade, the surge in microservices, cloud computing, and Apache Kafka® has changed everything. During his keynote, Confluent CEO Jay Kreps highlighted how companies are no longer just software-driven; they’re AI-powered, driving innovation at a pace that often outstrips their data infrastructure. This shift underscores the growing importance of reliable, scalable data streaming solutions that can keep up with the rapid evolution of software architectures.
A Thriving Ecosystem
Current 2024 was a buzzing hub of innovation, with a vibrant ecosystem of vendors showcasing every imaginable solution related to Kafka and data streaming. The event underlined one key point: Kafka’s ecosystem is thriving and shaping the future of how modern software systems are architected, deployed, and scaled.
Where Lightstreamer Shines in the Kafka Ecosystem
At Lightstreamer, we’ve been pioneering real-time data streaming since long before Kafka emerged as a dominant force. But there’s a critical challenge Kafka wasn’t designed to address: last-mile data streaming. This is the pivotal point where enterprise networks extend to end users via mobile, web, and desktop applications.
When it comes to delivering real-time Kafka data to millions of users—over the unpredictable internet, through corporate firewalls, and dealing with fluctuating bandwidth—Lightstreamer steps in as the perfect bridge.
The Lightstreamer Kafka Connector is purpose-built to handle these complexities. As an intelligent proxy, it seamlessly streams real-time data from Kafka to internet-connected devices over WebSockets, eliminating the need for resource-heavy REST polling or MQTT limitations. Its unique Intelligent Streaming feature ensures optimized data delivery, tackling challenges like:
- Scaling to support millions of concurrent users
- Navigating through corporate firewalls and client-side proxies that block Kafka connections
- Overcoming internet bandwidth limitations, including packet loss and disconnections
- Handling large data volumes in high-performance user interfaces
- Sending only the relevant information to each client application with server-side filtering
Building Connections at Current 2024
Our booth at Current 2024 was buzzing with activity! We had the pleasure of meeting countless attendees excited to learn how Lightstreamer can enhance their Kafka-based architectures. Visitors shared their unique use cases, and we had deep, insightful conversations on how Lightstreamer can solve last-mile streaming challenges. We left Austin with numerous new connections, each eager to kick off proof-of-concept projects with the goal of scaling into full production deployments.
We were also excited to announce that the Lightstreamer Kafka Connector has officially earned “Verified Gold” certification from Confluent, now available on the Confluent Hub. This recognition reinforces our commitment to delivering top-tier solutions in the Kafka ecosystem.
Ready to Stream with Us?
We returned from Current 2024 energized and inspired, more certain than ever of Lightstreamer’s pivotal role in the future of data streaming. Do you have a use case that requires streaming real-time data to internet-based applications, or a need to filter Kafka topics on the server side, tailored to each client’s unique criteria? Let’s connect! Together, we can push the boundaries of real-time data streaming and transform your Kafka infrastructure into a powerful, last-mile streaming engine.
Alessandro Alinone
