This talk follows the journey of IoT data, from the moment it's generated by sensors to the point where it becomes meaningful and actionable. Along the way, we explore how MQTT, a protocol designed for constrained devices, can be connected directly to Kafka, a platform built for scalability and stream processing. Using Waterstream as the bridge between these two worlds, we show how raw data can flow transparently into Kafka, where it becomes part of a powerful ecosystem: enriched, transformed, and analyzed in real-time. Through this journey, we'll see how a simple stream of data can evolve into something far more valuable—insight that drives decisions, automation, and new digital services.