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Charts, Diagrams, and Infographics What I’m Up To

My graphics from Unified.to’s “What is a unified API?” article

What is a unified API? A unified API is an API that brings together multiple APIs and presents them as a single API service. With a unified API, developers can integrate their applications with multiple SaaS applications using a single, consistent interface.
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Last week, I revised one of Unified.to’s earliest articles, An Overview of Unified APIs, rewriting it as What is a Unified API?

In addition to updating the text of the article, I also created some explainer graphics to liven it up and save the reader from being hit with just a wall of text. Those graphics are what you see in this article — enjoy!

Endpoints in a unified API A unified API should have unified or common endpoints for specific categories of integrations. Most API solutions don’t actually offer this.
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Data models in a unified API A unified API should unify data models from different APIs that represent the same thing into a single data model with enough properties to satisfy most use cases.
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Authorization in a unified API A unified API should have a method for authorizing access to customer data that is easy to use. Ideally, it should provide an authorization component that can be embedded in applications.
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Webhooks in a unified API A unified API should abstract all of the complexities of handling those vendors that don’t support webhooks and provide a unified webhook experience.
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Unified API breadth and depth Breadth refers to the number of APIs supported by a unified API. Depth refers to the number of fields supported by a unified API’s data model.
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