Recap: Establishing a Digital Core for Real-Time Applications

The ability to act in real-time is a cornerstone of modern business success. In our recent webinar, “Establishing a Digital Core for the Real-Time Economy,” I had the privilege of moderating a conversation with panelists from leading global enterprises. The panelists shared first-hand experiences guiding their organizations’ use of real-time data and AI to create a digital core, unlock new efficiencies, and drive sustainable growth.

The panel featured leaders from financial services, healthcare, and eCommerce enterprises. The speakers included:

• Aman Sardana, Senior Principal Application Architect, Discover Financial Services
• Meera Dugar, VP, Consumer and Community Banking, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
• Anand Ramakrishnan, Global IT Director Data and Analytics, Baxter (Kidney Care)
• Manuel Neto, VP – Global Analytics & Data Science, Capri Holdings Limited

The discussion began by exploring today’s real-time landscape, emphasizing why data is essential for operational agility and informed decision-making. The speakers also unpacked strategies for prioritizing data-driven approaches and examined how AI is reshaping business architectures, addressing its challenges and the opportunities it presents.

Whether you missed the live session or want to revisit the key takeaways, this blog recaps the strategies and actionable insights shared by the speakers.

1. Speed to Action: Time is Money

Real-time capabilities are critical in the modern economy. Organizations must prioritize speed, as the ability to act quickly directly impacts competitiveness and profitability. The days of delayed decision-making are over—real-time solutions allow businesses to seize opportunities and respond to challenges immediately.

Hazelcast Perspective

The location of data is a critical element of the design phase for two reasons: 1) moving data is expensive, especially when dealing with CSPs, and 2) hosting commonly accessed data in a cache and processing it with distributed compute, near the application significantly reduces latency.

2. Shift-Left Engagement: Collaboration is Key

Architects are pivotal in designing systems that meet rapidly changing business demands. Architects can create adaptable, tailored solutions by engaging early with various organizational functions. This “shift-left” approach to collaboration ensures that challenges are addressed proactively rather than reactively.

Hazelcast Perspective

Adaptable architectures are inherently challenging to design upfront, especially with constantly evolving business demands. At Hazelcast, we believe a comprehensive – yet flexible – real-time data framework is essential to accommodate these shifts. By equipping architects and developers with a robust platform that grows alongside their needs, businesses can proactively address challenges, reduce technical debt, and remain agile in the face of change.

3. Customer-Centric ROI: Defining Success

Businesses must track ROI for real-time technology projects across multiple dimensions. The starting point is to define value from the customer’s perspective. Companies can establish clear success criteria and drive meaningful outcomes by focusing on what matters most to the end user.

Hazelcast Perspective 

A real-time application built on a strong and scalable foundation is essential for quickly adapting to changing customers or industry demands. Hazelcast emphasizes dependable performance under known and unpredictable conditions, ensuring businesses can scale seamlessly without compromising reliability. With a highly performant and resilient solution that supports real-time decision-making, organizations can realize measurable ROI while staying aligned with customer-driven success criteria.

As Aman [Sardana] from Discover highlighted, using proven solutions enables businesses to focus on delivering customer value rather than reinventing the wheel.

4. AI is Not a Magic Hammer: The Importance of Data Practices

AI offers incredible potential but is not a quick fix for underlying issues. To function effectively, AI systems rely on solid data governance. AI cannot deliver its full value without a strong foundation of well-organized data practices. Businesses must invest in robust data management as a precursor to successful AI implementation.

Hazelcast Perspective 

Panelists unanimously agreed with Meera’s (JPMorgan Chase) observation that AI requires high-quality data. In fact, everyone “here” would agree that AI’s success is contingent on high-quality, well-governed data. It’s vital to emphasize creating a unified data integration layer that connects disparate sources, enabling a consistent and reliable data foundation. Businesses can ensure data consistency and unlock AI’s full potential to drive meaningful outcomes by reducing duplication and providing a cohesive API for data access.

5. Do More with Less: Leveraging Standard Solutions

Efficiency is a common theme in today’s economic landscape. Organizations should leverage standard solutions and established patterns to get more done with fewer resources. These tools can help businesses avoid common pitfalls, accelerate implementation, and maximize impact without overextending resources.

Hazelcast Perspective

Driving efficiencies is critical in today’s economic environment, and leveraging established platforms can provide a significant advantage. As Aman from Discover highlighted, using proven solutions enables businesses to focus on delivering customer value rather than reinventing the wheel. Emphasize reducing TCO and accelerating time to market with a comprehensive solution that streamlines implementation and maximizes impact with fewer resources.

Driving Real-Time Transformation

The strategies discussed offer a clear roadmap for companies looking to shed legacy technologies, unlock new efficiencies, and tap into new revenue streams. As businesses embrace these principles, they’ll be better positioned to navigate and adapt to evolving demands, make faster decisions, and remain competitive in an increasingly dynamic landscape with real-time data.

Whether starting your real-time transformation or refining your approach, this discussion’s insights will inspire you to build a resilient, data-driven future.

Thank You!

On behalf of myself and everyone at Hazelcast, we’d like to thank Aman, Meera, Anand, and Manuel for joining the conversation and sharing their experiences and advice.

Did you miss the live session? You can watch the full webinar recording.