API Automation is the New SDK

by Kin Lane on 09/12/2012

I’m seeing a lot of talk about API automation using platforms like IFTTT and Zapier these days. It’s one of the fastest growing areas of my future of web APIs series.

A sign of this growth can be seen by Sendgrid’s announcement of their partnership with Zapier:

Zapier makes it easy to sync data between web applications. They allow SaaS users to create integrations that push data between different web applications without having to waste time coming up with complicated systems. Now you can easily connect to SendGrid along with hundreds of other apps without having to write a single line of code.

API automation is allowing API providers to reach entirely new audiences, acting as a sort of icon-based interface allowing anyone put their APIs to work for them.

Up until now, if you wanted to integrate Sendgrid’s email functionality into your workflow you would need to get a programmer, now any user can integrate email into their every day workflow--using the wide array of cloud services and APIs that automation platforms are supporting.

Does your company have an API that users access via API Automation?