# Real-time analytics · Glossary
Analysis of data within seconds or minutes of it being generated, so that people or systems can respond while events are still unfolding.
[Glossary](/glossary) · Analytics engineering and analytics

# Real-time analytics

     Analysis of data within seconds or minutes of it being generated, so that people or systems can respond while events are still unfolding. It relies on streaming or near-real-time data pipelines.

## Why it matters

     Some decisions, such as intervening in a failing delivery, reallocating staff during a shift or stopping a fraudulent payment, depend on current information. Real-time analytics supports those decisions.

     Real-time capability costs more to build and run than daily reporting. The right question is how fresh data needs to be for each decision, which is often ‘hourly’ rather than ‘instant’.

## In practice

     For example, a UK NHS-commissioned patient transport service might track vehicle locations and job status in near real time, allowing controllers to reassign vehicles when a discharge is delayed.

## Where Rodan fits

     Rodan designs data freshness to match each decision in [Analytics and Intelligence](https://rodan.io/what-we-build/analytics-intelligence) work.

## Related terms

- [Stream processing](/glossary/stream-processing)

- [Change data capture (CDC)](/glossary/change-data-capture)

- [Dashboard](/glossary/dashboard)

- [Anomaly detection](/glossary/anomaly-detection)

- [Event-driven architecture](/glossary/event-driven-architecture)

- [Prescriptive analytics](/glossary/prescriptive-analytics)
HTML: https://rodan.io/glossary/real-time-analytics