Why I Am Continuing To Integrate Zapier In My Business Workflow

I depend on a number of cloud services to make my personal and business world go round. Even as a programmer, who can hand code just about any script to integrate, automate, and orchestrate my world, I find myself using more reciprocity services like IFTTT and Zapier.

API reciprocity providers are one of the most important evolutions of the API space, because they make the whole world of APis accessible to the normals, and not just to the geek crowd. My time is valuable, and personally I'd rather being using existing tools and services, rather than re-inventing the wheel, and when it comes to orchestrating my online life, I need all the help I can, which is why I am looking IFTTT and Zapier for help.

I’ve been using both platforms in 2014, but as I do with any other software I’ve been dating for any sustained period, I start looking at getting a little more serious. This is where I have to part ways with IFTTT, and other other platforms that don’t have clear relief valves for their free tier, allowing me to start paying monthly or annually for my use of their service, and sensibly scale up as my needs grow.

Zapier has a pretty straightforward pricing framework, giving you just enough room to get hooked, then you can pay for more usage as needed. Having a free tier for any cloud service is essential, but having a tiered business model, and clear monetization strategy, so I know that you will be around in the future, is a requirement.

I will keep my IFTT account to play with, but when it comes operating my business, continuing to integrate Zapier into my workflow makes sense as they have a clear business model that fits my needs. Plus Zapier has an API. Ummmm…hello? An API for your automation and integration layer across all the services you depend on, via their APIs--how cool is that!

When launching your own APIs, make sure it has a clear, visible, intuitive and ascendable service framework--it is something that will go a long way in helping companies decide if they will use your APIs, or not.