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Batch vs Real-Time Pipelines

MediumPipelines00:00
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Your question is Batch vs Real-Time Pipelines. Take a moment with it on the right.

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Problem

Scenario

You're planning an operational workflow and need to choose the right pipeline pattern before implementation. Some workflows can tolerate delay, while others need immediate updates to drive downstream actions.

Question

How would you decide whether to use a batch process or a real-time process for an operational workflow?

What Drives the Choice

  • Freshness SLA and user impact
  • Tolerance for missing or late data
  • Operational complexity and on-call burden
  • Need for replay, correction, and auditability
  • Cost of always-on compute versus scheduled compute

Batch vs Real-Time

Batch
  • Simpler orchestration
  • Lower infrastructure cost
  • Better for heavy joins and recomputation
  • Higher latency
Real-Time
  • Low latency decisions
  • Higher operational complexity
  • More sensitive to schema and ordering issues
  • Better for immediate operational actions