In the world of software and business operations, we're obsessed with efficiency. Yet, for years, a common approach to automation has been surprisingly inefficient: polling. Imagine constantly asking, "Is there anything new yet? How about now? Now?" This is how many systems operate—repeatedly checking for updates, consuming resources, and introducing delays.
There's a better way. The future of automation isn't about asking; it's about listening. This is the core principle of event-driven automation, a paradigm shift that transforms clunky, scheduled checks into instantaneous, intelligent reactions. It's about building systems that spring to life the moment something important happens.
Event-driven automation is a model where workflows are initiated by events. Instead of running a process on a fixed schedule (e.g., "check for new orders every 5 minutes"), the process starts automatically the instant a specific event occurs.
Think of it like a push notification on your phone versus constantly refreshing your email inbox. The push notification (the event) arrives instantly, tells you exactly what you need to know, and allows you to act immediately. That’s the power of an event-driven approach.
The key benefits are transformative for business process automation:
To master this approach, you need to understand three simple concepts:
Events: An event is a record of something that happened. It's a signal. Common sources for events include:
Event Triggers: A trigger is the rule that listens for a specific event and decides whether to act. It's the "When this happens..." part of the equation. A powerful trigger system allows for conditional logic, ensuring a workflow only runs when precise criteria are met.
Agentic Workflows: This is the "…do that" part, but elevated. Instead of just running a simple script, an event can launch one or more agentic workflows. These are sophisticated processes carried out by intelligent agents that can perform complex, multi-step tasks, interact with various APIs, and even make decisions.
The true power of modern event-driven automation lies in defining these complex interactions with simple, declarative code. At Triggers.do, we believe your automation logic should be as clear and manageable as the rest of your codebase.
Let's see how you would set up a trigger for a common e-commerce scenario: initiating a special process for high-value orders.
import { trigger } from '@do-sdk/triggers';
// Define a trigger that starts a workflow when a new
// high-value order is received from Shopify.
await trigger.create({
name: 'High-Value Shopify Order',
event: 'shopify.order.created',
filter: 'body.total_price > 100.00',
workflow: 'process-high-value-order',
});
Let's break down this simple, yet powerful, definition:
This workflow isn't just a single task. Because it's an agentic workflow, process-high-value-order could orchestrate several actions in parallel:
One single event can kick off a symphony of coordinated, intelligent actions, all defined and managed as simple code.
The shift to event-driven architecture is more than a technical trend; it's a fundamental improvement in how we build responsive, efficient, and scalable systems. By embracing event triggers, you move from a world of waiting and checking to one of instant action and intelligent response.
This approach untangles complex dependencies, empowers developers to build robust automation with simple code, and enables businesses to operate in true real-time.
Ready to build the next generation of automation? Explore Triggers.do and launch your first event-driven workflow today.