Pulsar vs Kafka was a significant lesson to me: The "best" technology isn't always the winner.

I put it in quotes because I'm a massive fan of Pulsar and addressing the shortcomings of Kafka. However, with regards to some choices at a former workplace: The broader existing support/integration ecosystem along with Confluent's commercial capabilities won out with regards to technology choices and I was forced to acquiesce.

A bit like Betamax vs VHS, albeit that one pre-dates me significantly.