With 11 million users running over a billion applets each month, IFTTT is poised to become a service that connects almost everything, although some users say it can still be improved. You have no doubt heard of Software as a Service. Those deeply versed in computer technology call their heads in recognition when acronyms like IaaS (infrastructure as a service) and PaaS (platform as a service) are thrown at them. But here is one of them “aaS” that you may not have heard of yet: everything is like a service. And that’s the future, according to Linden Tibbets, CEO and co-founder of IFTTT.
What is IFTTT?
IFTTT takes its name from the conditional programming operator if this, then this. The company offers a software platform that connects apps, devices, and services from different developers to launch one or more automated apps that include those apps, devices, and services.
Here are just three, if so, then this is an automation you can initiate using IFTTT: If you place a call on your phone, the call log is added to the Google table; If you add a new task to your Amazon Alexa on back, it will be added to your iOS app reminders; If the International Space Station passes by your home, you will receive a smartphone notification about it. (Yes, this is the actual IFTTT applet.)
There are currently 54 million IFTTT applets, according to IFTTT. For more examples, see “41 Cool and Useful IFTTT Applets.”
And for the record, Tibbets’ favorite apps include one that lets you quickly email yourself notes, and another that alerts you when a new Craigslist post meets your IFTTT History search criteria.
Tibbets and Jesse Thane co-founded IFTTT in 2010 and officially began providing services in 2011. Based in San Francisco, IFTTT has attracted $ 39 million in venture capital funding from investors, including Andreesen Horowitz, according to the IFTTT.
Tibbets is currently the CEO of IFTTT. Thane left IFTTT in 2012.
In November 2016, IFTTT expanded its recipes that connected two devices, apps, or services, turning them into applets that can connect multiple devices, apps, or services.
Tibbets and Jesse Thane co-founded IFTTT in 2010 and officially began providing services in 2011. Based in San Francisco, IFTTT has attracted $ 39 million in venture capital funding from investors, including Andreesen Horowitz, according to the IFTTT.
Tibbets is currently the CEO of IFTTT. Thane left IFTTT in 2012.
In November 2016, IFTTT expanded its recipes that connected two devices, apps, or services, turning them into applets that can connect multiple devices, apps, or services.
How IFTTT works
Automation is done using applets, which are macros that connect multiple applications to perform automated tasks. You can enable or disable the applet using the IFTTT website or mobile apps (or mobile app widgets). You can also create your own applets or create existing applets through the user-friendly IFTTT interface.
IFTTT has posted a video on YouTube (see below) that explains in more detail how applets are created. Developers such as Ring and BMW paid IFTTT a one-year fee for delivering applets on the IFTTT platform. IFTTT is free for users.
Typically, developers kick off their IFTTT presence with the applets they create, and then the user community “builds things developers didn’t expect,” Tibbets said. Applets can use JavaScript, advanced filtering, and other tools to create new interactions.
Support for JavaScript helps IFTTT partners build applets that are robust compared to the more limited IFTTT recipes of yesteryear, Tibbets said. You can create some kind of custom JavaScript that will automatically filter things out, so that the applet, for example, will turn on multiple lights in your house if you arrive after 6:00 p.m. or just the porch light if you arrive home before 6:00 p.m. said Ribbons. Such functionality was not possible with simpler recipes, but was achieved with applets.
“Applets are simpler for users and much more powerful for developers,” Tibbets said.
Today, IFTTT has more than 550 partner services, including Facebook, Domino’s Pizza, and even the city of Louisville, Kentucky. According to the company, in a community of 11 million users, more than a billion applets run each month.
IFTTT as a service
The idea for IFTTT arose from the fact that “everything will be a service,” Tibbets said. “And I mean everything: every brand, every organization, every physical object. It will be difficult for you to name something that will not be connected to the Internet or tracked over the Internet to such an extent that it can also be connected. IFTTT’s goal is to connect these disparate services and systems. “We help all products and services work together so that you trust each other and help these services create rich interactions in their ecosystems,” Tibbets said.
IFTTT Members
The system is aimed primarily (but not exclusively) at consumers looking for an easy way to get more from their devices, services or apps, Tibbets said. With IoT automation, special attention, not only in the desire to do all the service.
Zapier is a freemium service for consumers, as well as businesses and power users. Its Zaps are workflows that connect applications like Gmail and Dropbox to launch and automate actions between them. You can create zaps for free in two steps. More complex Zaps require a monthly fee. For 20 per month, you can connect three or more steps in the 750 Zapier apps. The 250 month plan is managed by the team, offering unlimited zaps and access to all premium features.
Microsoft Flow combines 195 services to create automated processes called flows, with a focus on business productivity. For example, if you are looking for Spotify automation, you can find it in IFTTT and Zapier, but not in Microsoft Flow. A free service lets you run 750 threads per month and create an unlimited number of threads. More advanced features cost $ 5 or $ 15 per user per month.
What users like
In an informal request, some IFTTT users explained why they were fans of the service. Some examples:
“IFTTT automates what I could do on my own, but would use my time badly,” said Paul Tanner, founder of Freedom To Exist. One example is the ability to automatically save Instagram posts to your Dropbox business.
“I love IFTTT for its simplicity,” said Clive Bearman, marketing director for Lexumo, an open source company. It’s ideal for automating these manual tasks, which can be simple but tedious to perform. For example, I’ll use it to listen to competitor’s social media and upload those results to a Google spreadsheet. Then I can easily analyze how often they tweet and on what topics. “What I like most about IFTTT is the variety and growing number of applets due to the growing popularity of the site and the growth of IoT,” said Donald Pingaro, Marketing Coordinator of Redstage, an e-commerce agency. “Almost every day there are new applets for something you never thought of, but it can show you something new or reduce the simplicity of the pain in your life. “
“The strength is in how it bestows superpowers on people who aren’t developers or engineers,” said Jesse Robbins, Founder and CEO of Orion Labs, which provides voice services to companies like translation. in real time. “Anyone can use it to personalize the technology in their life.”
