Action Fabric
Execute approved actions across enterprise systems.
Lesson 16 of 17 · Find it on the platform map
01 What it is
What this layer does
The action fabric is where approved decisions become changes in the real world. It connects to the systems the business already runs on and carries out the work: updating records, starting workflows, raising tasks and sending notifications. In SCIKIQ it covers APIs, integrations and RPA, workflow automation, transactions and data updates, notifications, and task management across target systems such as SAP, Salesforce, ServiceNow, ERP, CRM, email, Teams and custom APIs.
02 Concepts
Four ideas to hold on to
Systems of record
The operational applications, such as ERP, CRM and service management tools, that hold the authoritative version of a business fact. Actions should change data there, not in a side copy.
API-first, RPA as fallback
Integrating through published APIs is the most reliable way to act on a system; robotic process automation, which drives the user interface, is used where no suitable API exists.
Idempotency
Designing an action so that running it twice has the same effect as running it once. It prevents duplicate orders or payments when a call is retried after a failure.
Human tasks in the loop
Not every step can or should be automated. Task management hands the parts that need judgement to a named person, with the context to complete them, and tracks them to closure.
03 In SCIKIQ
What the layer contains
04 What good looks like
Signs it is working
- Only actions that have passed the governance gate are executed.
- Every executed action records the target system, the change made and the result returned.
- Failed actions are retried safely or raised as tasks, never silently dropped.
- People are notified in the channel they already use, such as email, Teams or Slack.
05 Diagnostics
Questions to ask your team
- 1
Which of our decisions still end with someone re-keying data into another system?
- 2
For each target system, do we act through an API, RPA or a manual task, and why?
- 3
What happens when an action fails half way through a workflow?
- 4
Can we list every change our automated actions made to a system of record last week?
06 Keep going
Related reading
— Questions
Frequently asked
Does SCIKIQ replace our ERP or CRM?
No. The action fabric acts on existing systems such as SAP, Salesforce and ServiceNow through APIs, integrations and RPA; those systems remain the systems of record.
Can an action involve several systems?
Yes. Workflow automation can chain steps across target systems, combining transactions, data updates, notifications and human tasks.
When is RPA used rather than an API?
RPA is the option for systems that do not expose a suitable API; where an API exists it is the more reliable route.