Async / Asynchronous processing
When an automation queues a task and continues without waiting for it to complete. Contrast with synchronous, where each step must finish before the next begins. Async is faster but requires careful error tracking.
Expert insight
A synchronous workflow that times out loses data. An async workflow queues it for safe processing.
In a real workflow
A form submission is acknowledged instantly, while the slow part (enrichment, PDF generation, CRM update) runs in the background a few seconds later.
Common mistakes
- Making users wait for slow steps that could run after the response.
- Forgetting to report failures from background jobs, so errors happen where nobody looks.
Complexity level
Requires some familiarity with automation concepts.
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