This article was published on August 1, 2012

Zapier, a Yahoo Pipes for enterprise Web apps, launches its developer platform with 12 services


Zapier, a Yahoo Pipes for enterprise Web apps, launches its developer platform with 12 services

Zapier, the service that helps sync data between web apps through trigger and actions has announced the launch of its developer platform.

12 service providers are already building on the platform including HubSpot, Podio, Sign-Up.to and AgileZen.

The Zapier developer platform lets users and vendors add their own apps to the service instead of waiting on the company to build them out.

According to Zapier, “Syncing data on the web has always been a pain. Either you did it by hand or you buckled down and built it yourself with an API. If you weren’t technical you had few places to turn for help.

“Zapier is for busy people who know their time is better spent selling, marketing, or coding. Instead of wasting valuable time coming up with complicated systems – you can use Zapier to sync the web apps you and your team are already using on a daily basis.”

App developers can hook into the more than 60 apps already supported and any new ones by building one integration. Naturally, having a service to automate these connections can save a great deal of time.

Essentially, Zapier has similarities with If This Then That (IFTTT), however the focus of the applications in Zapier’s connections have a firmer hold on business rather than consumer applications. Though the recently redesigned IFTTT has plans for business channels for its service, you’re more likely to find Salesforce and Yammer than Instagram and Foursquare on Zapier.

Led by developers

The platform has grown with the help of developers and vendors working with Zapier to iterate in private testing. The developer platform now includes the following companies which have found ways to automate:

HubSpot, which recently partnered with HootSuite, is an all-in-one marketing software platform for SMBs. It supports triggers for new contacts, leads, blog articles and actions for new contacts and blog articles.

Podio, now part of Citrix, is a collaborative work platform. It now supports actions for new tasks and notifications.

Instant Customer offers an integrated multi-channel lead capture, follow-up, sales and marketing system and now has triggers for new subscribers and actions for creating subscribers.

AgileZen provides a visual and collaborative way to manage projects. The company supports triggers for new story cards, projects and actions for story cards, comments, and tasks.

Sign-up.to offers social, mobile & email marketing in the cloud and now supports actions for adding new subscribers.

Ronin is online invoicing and time tracking for small businesses and freelancers. It now has triggers for new invoices and clients and actions for new clients and expenses to help synchronise clients.

Totango analyzes in real-time customer engagement and intention within SaaS applications, it now supports triggers for new lists so that users can integrate for insights into their business.

You can check the full developer list on the Zapier blog which may provide more inspiration about how actions and triggers can automate common processes for business.

➤ Zapier

Image Credit: Public Domain Photos

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