When choosing between these streaming platforms for Snowplow events, consider your specific infrastructure requirements and operational preferences.

Apache Kafka:

• Open-source platform with full control over infrastructure and configuration
• Better for complex event-driven architectures with strong support for stream processing (Kafka Streams)
• Requires more management and setup but offers maximum flexibility in configurations
• Ideal for multi-cloud environments and custom streaming applications

AWS Kinesis:

• Fully managed by AWS with deep integration into the AWS ecosystem
• Ideal for organizations heavily invested in AWS services
• Offers high throughput with automatic scaling but less flexibility compared to Kafka
• Best for AWS-centric environments requiring minimal operational overhead

Azure Event Hubs:

• Fully managed Azure service with seamless integration into Azure services ecosystem
• Best for Azure-centric environments, offering low-latency event ingestion
• Native Kafka protocol support allows migration from Kafka applications
• Less complexity but reduced flexibility compared to self-managed Kafka

All three integrate effectively with Snowplow's event pipeline and trackers, enabling granular, first-party data collection and real-time processing.