Developing a streaming solution working against a self-managed Kafka cluster, can be awkward and time consuming, largely due to security requirements and configuration red-tape. It’s beneficial to use Confluent Cloud in the early stages to get quick progress. Creating the cluster in Confluent Cloud is super easy and allows you to concentrate on defining your Connect sources and sinks as well as fleshing out the streaming topology on your laptop. It also shows the client how easy it is to swap out the self-managed Kafka cluster with Confluent Cloud.