What is...?
Do you want to outsource redundant work steps so that your employees can focus on the really important things in your company? Do you want to design customer journeys ingeniously or have you already toyed with the idea of making your company processes more efficient with the help of digital technologies? This is exactly what process automation is suited for as a sparing partner. There are now several established providers of automation software, one of which is Zapier. But what is Zapier? How does the application work at all?
And what is your benefit from this?
Zapier can be categorised as BPA software from a business perspective. RPA software solutions are also part of the BPA. Zapier and other tools such as Make or Power Automate can be described as cloud BPA.
What exactly does that mean?
BPA, or Business Process Automation, means the automation of workflows in the company. This supports and simplifies complex business processes, reduces human interaction and frees up working time for other tasks. This area of digital transformation includes numerous technologies such as RPA (Robotic Process Automation) or iPaaS (read more here). In order to make automation possible, appropriate software and tools are needed. This is exactly where Zapier comes into play.
Numerous repetitive processes run through our everyday working lives - most of them are costly and time-consuming, even though they are usually not directly related to our own work. Nevertheless, they are of central importance for the company's success.
These processes can be found in almost every company - large or small. Accounting, marketing, customer service and product manufacturing are recurring processes in every day's work. To reduce this volume of work and save time and money, there are cloud process automation, i.e. software solutions to automate all these redundant yet important steps. One of these solutions is Zapier.
We will be happy to advise you on your individual Zapier automation, possibilities, potentials and visions. Call us, send us an email or make an appointment right now to automate your business processes with Zapier.
Zapier is an online tool that makes it possible to link different web applications, transfer data and thus realise process automation. It does this by automatically linking and synchronising the actions of most of the apps and software used in your company so that recurring processes can be executed automatically. To do this, you need so-called "Zaps", automated workflows between your web apps that link two or more apps together. Zaps are made up of two elements: a trigger and the subsequent automated actions. The trigger is the first event that sets the Zap in motion and starts the action that has been set up.
For purely effective use of Zapier, it is advisable to first identify all company processes and, based on this, create Zaps through which the processes are coordinated. Even if these first steps sound complicated and cumbersome, automating routine tasks can save your company time and money in the long run, optimise business processes and minimise error rates. In addition, you will achieve greater transparency and quality for both employees and customers through process automation.
Zapier offers a free version in which zaps can be created. We recommend this option to get to grips with the application and become familiar with it. However, although the interface is kept very simple and user-friendly, you will probably quickly reach your limits. Why is that?
Especially for complex processes in which more than just two or three applications are to be linked, a lot of know-how about Zapier and the various possibilities is needed. Because there are numerous of them. Not only the triggers, but also the subsequent actions are diverse.
It may also happen that you do not find the programme you want to use and connect with Zapier in the selection of thousands of apps. This is because Zapier only supports cloud-based software. If this is the case, but you are aiming for automation, IT advice on alternative applications can be helpful.
Furthermore, you may notice during the creation that your process is redundant or inefficient in some places. This is precisely why we carry out a process analysis before automation. Because only optimised, efficient processes are worth automating and thus sustainably support your company.
We are happy to help you develop your process automation so that when the question "What is Zapier?" comes up in the future, you know exactly what it's all about. Call us, send us an email or make an appointment right now to automate your business processes with Zapier.
Cloud Integration, iPaaS, SaaS, BPA… Ough, hard to keep track of all these terms. They are currently used frequently (and increasingly) in the context of automation, and it is sometimes difficult to make a clear distinction and distinction. We have already written blog posts on the terms iPaaS, SaaS and BPA, but we’ll take them up again here to make the difference.
But let’s start with cloud integration, because that’s the central umbrella term in which we embed all the other technologies in this blog post.
Arrange a free cloud integration consultation now
Arrange a free cloud integration consultation now
To illustrate these advantages, an example is suitable that we know well from our everyday work as an automation agency:
The central data to be used here is the data of a major customer. This can be the simplest information, such as the address. This address is required in numerous but completely different processes in the company: on the one hand, for correct invoicing in accounting. On the other hand, in the CRM system, where all the data of the large customer is also stored. But the address is also important in sales, for example, when employees go to the sales meeting on site.
Now the customer announces that the address of the company has changed after a move. This information will reach you by e-mail. There are now two options:
01. The e-mail is forwarded to all affected departments, accounting, sales, customer service, marketing… All persons open their corresponding program, CRM, accounting software, marketing tools (such as newsletter marketing) and change the data already stored there of the customer. This means that in multiple applications, different people do exactly the same thing: change one address.
02. But there is also an alternative: By connecting your applications, thus by integrizing them, the customer’s e-mail, or rather the information it contains about the address change, is automatically passed on to all affected applications: CRM, accounting, marketing, ERP. This does not require any clicks, because the cloud integration detects a trigger, i.e. address change, and thus automatically starts the process.
What sounds unimpressive in a single process becomes more effective when such a process occurs several times a day or weekly. Because there is a lot of data that is available in different applications and should always be correct. If these applications are cloud applications they are suitable for cloud integration.
But cloud integration doesn’t just happen. There are now a variety of applications that enable and implement this. Such tools usually allow us to link the relevant cloud applications on a central platform and define clear rules on when, how, where, how much data should be passed on and what happens to them.
To realize cloud integration, there are various applications and technologies that are sometimes used interchangeably.
We have made a first distinction between iPaaS and BPA here.
We explain the term SaaS in more detail here.
Cloud integration is rather an umbrella term that includes numerous technologies, such as SaaS, iPaaS and BPA, and this is also absolutely necessary. Cloud integration is a concept that is made possible by appropriate technologies.
However, all terms share the commonality that they are cloud-based and thus offer enormous potential for growth and scaling. In addition, they are often cheaper to implement and maintain because changed requirements are easy to implement.
As an independent automation agency, we implement cloud integration according to your requirements. We use a variety of SaaS tools and iPaas (strictly speaking BPA) software. Together we find individual solutions that are flexible and scalable.
