JRuby allows developers to write plugins for data processing systems like Norikra and Embulk in Ruby while taking advantage of Java libraries and the JVM. Norikra is a stream processing system that allows SQL queries over data streams. It is written in JRuby and uses the Java Esper library. Embulk is an open-source ETL tool that loads data between databases and file formats using plugins. Both systems use a plugin architecture where plugins can be written in JRuby or Java and are distributed as Ruby gems. This allows for a pluggable ecosystem that benefits from Ruby's productivity while utilizing Java libraries and the JVM's performance.