Imagine juggling multiple tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zendesk for your business operations. Each one has its own unique API, authentication process, and data structure. Managing all these separate integrations can quickly become overwhelming, expensive, and error-prone. This is where Unified APIs come to the rescue!

What Are Unified APIs?

Think of Unified APIs as the Swiss Army knives of the integration world. They bring together different APIs into a single, easy-to-use interface, making your life as a developer much simpler. Instead of dealing with the quirks of each platform's API, you interact with one consistent system that handles everything for you.

What Do Unified APIs Do?

Unified APIs tackle several technical headaches so you don't have to:

• Data Normalization: They convert data from different platforms into a single, unified format. For example, "leads" from Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive all get transformed into one standard schema. All kinds of APIs like REST, SOAP, GraphQL are abstracted to use only REST.
• Authentication Simplification: Whether it's OAuth, OAuth 2.0, API keys, or basic authentication, Unified APIs manage it all, letting you authenticate once to access multiple platforms.
• Error Mapping: Instead of handling different error messages from each platform, Unified APIs provide consistent error responses, making troubleshooting a breeze.
• Multi-Resource Support: Manage various entities like users, tickets, campaigns, or audiences through across multiple API Providers using one common interface.

Two Approaches to Unified APIs

When it comes to Unified APIs, there are two main approaches: Caching-Based and Real-Time. Let’s dive into why one clearly outshines the other.

1. Caching-Based Unified APIs

This approach involves periodically syncing data from different platforms into a central cache or database. While it might sound efficient, it comes with some serious drawbacks:

• Data Inconsistency: The cached data might not always be up-to-date, leading to outdated or incorrect information.
• Synchronization Complexity: Keeping everything in sync is tricky and can lead to failed sync jobs or data conflicts.
• Customer Frustration: Outdated data can lead to poor business decisions and a frustrating user experience.
• Flawed Merge Logic: Combining cached data with live data during updates can create mismatches and further compromise data integrity.
• Security Risks: Centralized caches can become attractive targets for hackers. If the cache is compromised, all the cached data can be exposed, leading to significant security breaches.

Bottom Line: Caching at the provider’s end often leads to unreliable, inconsistent data and introduces significant security vulnerabilities. It’s better to handle caching on the customer side or during data merging, where it can be more contextually managed and secured.

2. Real-Time Unified APIs

Real-time Unified APIs take a different route by making live calls to the underlying systems every time you make a request. This ensures that the data you receive is always fresh, accurate, and actionable.

Advantages of Real-Time Unified APIs

1. Up-to-Date Data: Get the latest information directly from the source systems whenever you need it.
2. No Synchronization Overhead: Forget about complex sync jobs and managing stale data.
3. Improved Actionability: Perform actions like updating a CRM record or launching a marketing campaign instantly.
4. Simplified Architecture: No need for intermediate caching layers—focus on direct interactions with your source systems.
5. Enhanced Security: By avoiding centralized caches, there are fewer points of vulnerability, reducing the risk of large-scale data breaches.

Real-Time APIs eliminate the risks of stale data and security vulnerabilities associated with caching, making them the superior choice for dynamic and secure business environments.

Why are Truto Unified APIs better?

Truto is built entirely on a real-time integration model, addressing all the pitfalls of caching while adding a bunch of awesome features that make it the ultimate choice for seamless integrations.

Real-Time Data Access

Truto connects directly with your underlying platforms, ensuring you always get the most current data and can perform actions instantly. No more worrying about outdated or inconsistent information!

Webhooks for Event-Driven Automation

With Truto’s Webhooks, you get real-time notifications whenever something changes in your connected systems. Imagine this:

• A new lead is added to Salesforce.
• A support ticket is updated in Zendesk.
• A campaign status changes in Google Ads.

These webhooks let your applications respond immediately to these changes, powering dynamic workflows and cutting down on the need for constant polling.

Read more about Webhooks

Sync Jobs for Data Continuity

While Truto shines in real-time interactions, it also offers sync jobs known as RapidBridge for scenarios that require periodic updates, such as:

• Importing Historical Data: During onboarding, Truto can import your existing data seamlessly.
• Reconciling Data Between Systems: Ensure consistency and accuracy across platforms with regular syncs.

These sync jobs are lightweight and complement Truto’s real-time capabilities, ensuring you have both current and historical data without any hiccups. You can combine these Sync Jobs with webhooks so that your application gets the data it needs. The sync jobs can run on demand or on a cron schedule.

Read more about RapidBridge

Security Features

Truto takes security seriously. Here’s how it keeps your data safe:

1. Data Encryption: All communications between you, Truto, and your connected systems are encrypted using top-notch protocols like TLS 1.3.
2. Granular Access Control: Only authorized users have access or modify your data, thanks to strict access controls.
3. OAuth Proxying: Truto handles OAuth authentication on your behalf, securely storing and refreshing tokens as needed.
4. Auditing and Monitoring: Every API call and action is logged, providing robust monitoring, auditing, and debugging capabilities.

Advanced Error Handling

Truto makes dealing with errors simple by standardizing error responses across all supported platforms. For instance, a rate-limit error from Google Ads and a similar one from LinkedIn are both translated into consistent Truto error codes with clear explanations.

How Unified APIs Are Structured

Unified APIs are designed to simplify your interactions with multiple systems, acting as a seamless bridge that handles all the complexities behind the scenes. Let’s dive into the architecture of a Unified API and see how each component works together to make your life easier.

1. Abstraction Layer

What Is It?
The abstraction layer is the heart and soul of a Unified API. Think of it as the translator that converts all the different languages (APIs) into one common language that your application understands.

What Happens Here?

• Normalization of Resources:
  Different platforms represent similar data in various ways. For instance, Salesforce might use "Leads," HubSpot uses "Contacts," and Pipedrive has "Persons." The abstraction layer converts all these into a single, unified "Lead" object, so you don’t have to juggle different terminologies.

• Data Transformation:
  Data comes in all shapes and sizes. This layer ensures that whether you’re pulling data from Google Ads, Zendesk, or LinkedIn, it’s formatted uniformly.
  Example:

  {
    "id": "0012w000024KwDeAAK",
    "name": "Truto",
    "city": "Bangalore"
  }

  This standardized format makes it easier to work with data from any integrated platform.

• Error Normalization:
  Each platform has its own set of error codes and messages. The abstraction layer standardizes these errors into a consistent format, making troubleshooting much simpler.
  Example:

  {
    "error": "Invalid request. The field 'xyz' is not supported."
  }

---

2. Connectors

What Are They?
Connectors are specialized adapters that link the Unified API to each individual platform. They handle the nitty-gritty details of communication between systems.

What Happens Here?

• Authentication Management:
  Each platform may use different authentication methods like OAuth, API keys, or basic authentication. Connectors manage these varied authentication processes, so you don’t have to worry about the specifics.
  Example:
  Truto’s connector for Salesforce handles OAuth token retrieval and refreshing automatically.

• Platform-Specific Requests:
  When you make a request through the Unified API, connectors translate it into the specific format required by each platform’s API.
  Example:

  • Unified API Request: GET /unified/crm/accounts
  • Salesforce API Call: GET /services/data/v57.0/sobjects/Account

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3. Sync Jobs for Historical Data

What Are Sync Jobs?
While real-time data is essential, there are times when you need to work with historical data or perform large data imports. Sync jobs handle these scenarios seamlessly.

What Happens Here?

• Initial Data Imports:
  When you first set up your integration, sync jobs can import all your existing data, getting you up and running quickly.
  Example:
  Importing all past leads from HubSpot into your unified CRM system during onboarding.

• Periodic Reconciliation:
  To ensure data consistency across systems, sync jobs run regular checks and updates, keeping everything in harmony.
  Example:
  Monthly syncs between your CRM and marketing platforms to reconcile any discrepancies.

• Complementing Real-Time Operations:
  Sync jobs work alongside real-time interactions, providing a complete picture by combining current and historical data.
  Example:
  Having both live campaign data and historical performance metrics available for comprehensive analysis.

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4. Security Layer

Why It’s Crucial:
Security is the backbone of any Unified API, ensuring that your data remains protected at all times.

What Happens Here?

• Data Encryption:
  All data transfers between your application, the Unified API, and connected platforms are encrypted using industry-standard protocols like TLS 1.3.
  Example:
  When you send a request to Truto, the data is encrypted during transit, safeguarding it from potential breaches.

• Token Management:
  Handling and refreshing authentication tokens can be tricky, but the security layer manages this securely, so you don’t have to worry about it.
  Example:
  Truto’s ensures OAuth tokens are stored and refreshed securely without exposing sensitive credentials.

• Access Control:
  Only authorized users and systems can access or modify your data. Strict access controls prevent unauthorized access and ensure data integrity.
  Example:
  Setting permissions so that only certain roles within your team can update CRM records through the Unified API. Truto supports setting permissions as admin or member.

Unified APIs in Action

Let’s see how all these components come together with a practical example. Imagine you’re managing your marketing campaigns across Google Ads, Meta Ads, and LinkedIn Ads. With a Unified API like Truto, here’s how it works:

1. Unified API Request
   You make a single request to fetch all your campaigns:

   GET /unified/marketing/campaigns

2. Abstraction Layer in Action
   Truto’s abstraction layer normalizes the request and prepares it for each platform.

3. Connectors Translate the Request

   • For Google Ads:
     GET /ads/v1/campaigns
   • For Meta Ads:
     GET /marketing_api/v2.0/campaigns
   • For LinkedIn Ads:
     GET /v2/adCampaigns

4. Real-Time Data Fetching
   Truto makes live calls to each platform, ensuring you receive the most current campaign data.

5. Webhooks Notify You of Changes
   If a campaign status changes in Google Ads, a webhook instantly notifies your application to update the dashboard.

6. Sync Jobs Handle Historical Data
   Regular sync jobs ensure that any historical campaign data is also up-to-date and reconciled across platforms.

7. Security Layer Protects Your Data
   All data transfers are encrypted, and only authorized users can access or modify campaign information.

8. Error Handling Made Simple
   If LinkedIn Ads returns an error, Truto maps it to a standardized format, making it easier for you to handle:

   {
     "error": "Invalid request. The field 'xyz' is not supported."
   }

9. Response Mapping for Consistency
   The response from LinkedIn Ads is transformed into Truto’s unified format:

   {
     "id": "cmp-67890",
     "name": "Holiday Campaign",
     "status": "Active",
     "budget": "5000"
   }

10. Final Response to Your Application
    You receive a consistent, easy-to-use response from Truto:

    [
      {
        "id": "cmp-12345",
        "name": "Summer Sale",
        "status": "Active",
        "budget": "3000"
      },
      {
        "id": "cmp-67890",
        "name": "Holiday Campaign",
        "status": "Active",
        "budget": "5000"
      }
    ]