Latency · from event to channel
Is it real time?
At 18:40 Laura leaves a pair of trainers in her cart. Everyone says the CDP is real time. Choose how it is set up and see when each channel finds out. It almost never depends on the channel, but on where the data comes in and how it is triggered.
Example assumptions
Example person, times and store. CJA uses Adobe estimates, checked on 17 September 2026; these are not an SLA. Other timings are illustrative. The axis is logarithmic.
From 18:40
When each channel finds out
Time since the cart and the outcome for each channel. CJA shows Adobe estimates; other channels show example ranges. These are not guaranteed timings.
Optional detail
What happens and why
Open the chart or a channel explanation. Timings depend on configuration, volume and contract.
Architecture
Where it fits in the platform
Map of Adobe Experience Platform with Journey Optimizer and Customer Journey Analytics, top to bottom in five stages. Capture: the Web and Mobile SDK, on the client or the server, sends XDM events, and systems such as the CRM or the warehouse deliver files. Ingestion: the Edge Network receives the XDM event in its datastream and streams it to Profile, and also to Data Lake datasets. Sources receives files and API calls through its connectors and Data Prep, and in these examples loads them into the Data Lake in batch, although it also supports streaming connectors. Profile and Data Lake: Identity Service links identifiers from several namespaces in a graph and passes it to Profile. Profile joins attributes and events in real time, and is fed by the enabled datasets of the Data Lake, which keeps the history. Audiences and governance: Segmentation receives the profiles and evaluates audiences with three methods. Governance applies labels, policies and consent. Applications: audiences go out to Destinations, in Real-Time CDP, where Governance checks its policies at activation. Journey Optimizer receives profiles and events to act in its journeys in real time. Customer Journey Analytics ingests the Experience Platform datasets selected in a connection and exposes them for analysis through its data views.
The recommendation
Latency is decided by the entry point, the trigger and the destination, not the channel
Asking whether the CDP is real time does not help much. The useful question is where the data comes in, how the action is triggered and which destination receives it.
- 01
Where the data comes in
Through the browser it passes through the Edge, and the website can react on the same page. From the backend it goes straight to the profile, and the visit is already over.
- 02
How it is triggered
The same email goes out in minutes from an event-triggered journey, or tomorrow from a scheduled campaign. The channel matters least.
- 03
What kind of destination
Streaming sends as soon as the profile changes. Batch, every 3 to 24 hours. And inbound channels, like the app, wait for the customer to come back.
- 04
Where it is checked
For standard CJA, Adobe estimates under 95 minutes via Edge and 105 via streaming or Adobe Analytics connectors. Other sources, including batch: under 25 hours. These are approximate references, not an SLA.
Explore this decision
- The load is green. What about the campaign?
A completed load does not prove a campaign works. Separate technical health, data freshness and recovery in AEP operations.