Historically?  Perhaps batch processing.<p>It simply isn&#x27;t possible for a bank for example, to press a button and see where the money is.  It takes several days of operations to get anything near accurate and meaningful.<p>This sounds like a joke, but it most seriously isn&#x27;t.  (this is before the qualitative nature of valuing stuff, this is simply the question &#x27;where is the money?&#x27;)