How to automate everything with these two tools

Nothing better than to lay back and let the robots do the work, right?

Note for the future robots in charge: Of course, I didn't mean it in that way... please spare me and my family. 

Jokes aside.

When I speak with companies about system and processes, it's hard not to talk about tools. They have become a vital part of any company to replace tedious tasks, manage data and help companies to collaborate more efficiently.

But there is no one tool for everything. Often teams use multiple tools with a very functional approach: Slack is for communication. Trello for Tasks. Google for Storage.

Automation becomes important when you have the feeling that those tools need to talk to each other. Therefore I want to highlight two tools, that help you to connect everything and save a lot of time.

IFTTT

IFTTT is completely free and very easy to use. You can connect your favourite tools (e.g Google Calendar) and create simple recipes that will run in the background for you.

There are many recipes in the community that you can use right out of the box. But you can also create your own recipes. Those always follow the order: If this, then that. (Short: IFTTT) Where this represents what triggers the recipe and that describes what should happen afterwards.

Examples

• If a new photo is posted on Instagram, then also post it on Twitter
• If I leave at work, then send my partner a message that I'm coming home.
• If it rains tomorrow, then send me a notification to pack my umbrella.

Zapier

Zapier has the same idea, but way more powerful. You can connect over 1500 business apps and also create multi-step recipes. Therefore you also have the possibility to communicate with multiple tools in one workflow.

Automated workflows in Zapier are called Zaps. Similar to IFTTT you have to provide a trigger and then you can define what should happen afterwards. Because Zapier is made to connect Business Apps, you can also filter and manipulate data, before you pass it to other tools.

Examples:

• Get email notifications for new rows in a Google Sheets spreadsheet
• Get a digest of completed Trello tasks sent to your email on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis
• Translate non-English Help Scout tickets and create Trello cards for them

Conclusion

It's possible to connect and automate nearly every tool that is out there. IFTTT and Zapier and are not rocket science and with a little practice, they are easy to make use of.

What I recommend is to take a look at example recipes from tools and apps that you are using. That can be a good inspiration for what is possible and what could be helpful for you.

Do you have experience with Zapier/IFTTT or other tools?

If so, write your thoughts into the comments below! ??