How to Promote and Market your API: Unified APIs
What is a Unified API? Why do people use them? Should I make my API part of a unified API? Which one should I partner with?
I will cover all of those questions and more in this article so keep reading to learn more!
What is a Unified API?#
A Unified API, also known as a universal API, is a single application programming interface (API) that combines multiple APIs from the same software category. This can include APIs for accounting, HR, CRM, or e-commerce. Unified APIs can simplify integration by providing a standard endpoint, authentication, and normalized data.
Benefits of Using a Unified API#
- Streamlined access: Unified APIs can provide access to various services, such as payments, account information, and transaction data, through a single interface. This means only one set of auth credentials and endpoints to manage.
- Reduced complexity: Unified APIs can simplify development and reduce complexity by abstracting away platform-specific differences. Imagine having to transform some contact data to the formats required by Stripe, Hubspot, and Twilio's API manually. Even if you write a program to do it, you need to maintain that program as APIs change over time.
- Enhanced interoperability: Unified APIs can enable efficient interactions between different systems and applications. It also acts as an abstraction layer in case you need to add or switch services that are connected to the Unified API
- Consistent developer experience: Unified APIs can result in a more consistent developer experience with less integration hassle. This is especially handy to reduce maintenance time spent, with the tradeoff being the cost of the Unified API platform
What Does This Have To Do With My API?#
The relationship between Unified APIs and integration platforms is the same as trainers and Pokemon - Gotta catch 'em all! Unified APIs often boast about how many providers they integrate with. My advice here is similar to what I said about iPaaS platforms but slightly tweaked.
If your API is in a category with a lot of competitors (ex. Accounting, CRM, etc.) and works best when integrated with/used alongside other platforms, then you should consider putting your API in a Unified API. I feel that typically, customers of these Unified API platforms are having difficulty with managing different services (ex. perhaps they have a limited tech team) and go in with the services they are already using and paying for. This means that there are high adoption barriers and switching cost barriers for many of these companies, but if you are listed on a Unified API they use, then the technical burden of switching to your service is greatly reduced.
Common Unified API Categories#
- HR/HRIS (Human Resources Information Systems)
- ATS (Application Tracking System)
- CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
- Ticketing (Project management)
- Accounting
- File storage
How to Partner with a Unified API#
Each platform will likely do partnerships differently, however the basic ingredient you will need is an enterprise-grade API for the Unified API to call into. You will also need to have adequate security measures (ex. rate limiting, authentication), performance, and documentation (ex. OpenAPI spec, developer portal) before you are eligible to be listed. You can use an API Gateway like Zuplo to get all of these features, and bring your API up to snuff for free.
Which Unified API Platform Should I Partner With?#
This largely depends on the category of API that you are offering. APIs related to sales and marketing, for example, are offered in almost all general Unified APIs. However, there are Unified API platforms that specialize in certain industries (e.g. Agave for construction APIs).
I am not an expert in Unified APIs, nor have I tried all of the platforms below. For a more in-depth comparison, check out this G2 article. If you want a more thorough and complete list, check out unifiedapis.io. Below are popular platforms that you might want to consider.
Enjoying this blog so far? It's part of our full guide on API Promotion and Marketing strategies. Check it out
General Unified APIs#
The platforms have unified API for two or more of the categories covered above, without any particular specialization.
Merge.dev#
Merge is one of the best-known Unified APIs in the space and is quite highly regarded. They have 200+ integrations across many categories, including Accounting, ATS (Application Tracking System), CRM (Customer Relationship Management), File Storage, HR & Payroll, Ticketing, Marketing Automation, and more! Unfortunately, I do not see an easy way to contact Merge to have your API added as an integration. Given their scale - you will likely need a large user-base before they can justify the engineering effort.
Knit#
Knit is also a general Unified API but seems to be focused on ease-of-use with a custom workflow builder to map and transform data between different platforms. They support various categories like HR, ATS, CRM, Accounting, etc - you can find all of them here. I didn't find a specific partnership page, but you can contact Knit directly.
Unified.to#
Unified.to is a growing player in the Unified APIs space - covering nearly every category of API you can think of. Accounting, CRM, ecommerce, ticketing, marketing, "AI", lion, tigers, and bears, oh my! At this point - I'd say their integration page is like an enterprise API Directory. You can likely join the 200+ integrations they have by contacting their team.
Other General Unified APIs#
CRM#
Nylas#
Nylas focuses on a much narrower set of APIs than other Unified APIs - targeting Email, Calendar, and Contacts APIs. I can tell you from first hand experience that Email and Contacts are quite hard to unify across multiple platforms and service providers. If your API has to do with one of those three categories, you can contact them via the partnerships page to express interest.
Employment & HRIS#
Finch#
Finch is a unified API focused entirely on HRIS (Human Resources Information Systems) and Payroll. They have a sophisticated unified API that covers employee organization, benefits, deductions, and more. If your API falls into one of those categories, you can contact Finch directly.
Other Employment & HRIS Unfied APIs#
Accounting#
Rutter#
Rutter claims to be "The Unified API for B2B financial products". They primarily focus on Accounting, Ads, Payments, and Commerce APIs. I did not see a way to contact their team about adding an integration.
Other Accounting Unified APIs#
Cool Miscellaneous Unified APIs#
Not the most common use-cases, but these unified APIs are bringing order to chaos in their respective industries.
Construction: Agave#
Not an industry you would expect to see in a list like this - but the construction industry is undergoing digitalization like everyone else, and APIs are a part of that. Agave aims to be the best way to connect with all of the construction related systems. You can partner with Agave via their website.
Travel: Duffel#
Duffel provides a unified API for an industry that is notoriously hard to navigate and integrate with - travel. If you are offering an API related to flights or accommodation bookings, you should contact them.
Miscellaneous Unified APIs#
Not that these aren't cool but I didn't have enough time to write about them
- Codat - Lending and Accounting
- UtilityAPI - Utilities
- Poozle - Open source, but seems inactive
- Makini - industrial systems
- Plaid and Teller - financial institutions
- Smartcar - vehicles
- Terra API - health/wearables
Wrapping Up#
Joining a unified API can help with marketing your API and improving discoverability - but it can be difficult at first and requires some engineering effort. It's a bit of a chicken and egg problem where you likely need some notoriety or usage before platforms start integrating with you - but in conjunction with my other API promotion tactics (ex. API Directories), Unified APIs can prove to be an effective growth strategy.
Next Steps#
Check out our Ultimate Guide to API Promotion and Marketing for a more holistic understanding of the problem.
