The removal of Apache ZooKeeper from Apache Kafka deployments is expected to simplify architecture, improve control plane performance, and introduce a single security model for the whole system. This change will be achieved through KIP-500, which will replace ZooKeeper with a built-in consensus layer in Kafka. To prepare for this change, developers can start by updating their tooling, applications, and CLI commands to use metadata from brokers instead of ZooKeeper. This includes replacing `zookeeper.connect=zookeeper:2181` with `bootstrap.servers=broker:9092` in client configurations, using the `AdminClient` instead of the deprecated `--zookeeper` argument in Kafka command line tools, and updating the REST Proxy API to v2 or v3. Additionally, developers should review their Kafka deployment thoroughly to ensure that all tooling and services are ZooKeeper-free. The removal of ZooKeeper will also make Confluent Cloud more portable for codebases that previously relied on it.