Latency (in IT systems) refers to the time delay between performing an action and the moment the result of that action is visible or processed. It is usually measured in milliseconds (ms) and is a critical factor in the performance and user experience of systems.
Latency can be caused by networks (by the time it takes to transmit data), by applications (by the time it takes for software to process a request), by databases (by the time it takes to process a request), Query to execute and return a response to the application) and by hardware.
Latency can negatively impact the user experience, for example because someone has to wait for a response. In some cases, latency can be a fundamental obstacle, such as in business-critical processes.
Read more about the influence and latency build-up.
See also realtime