Introduction

The AppiWorks for Zoho Client Platform is a comprehensive integration solution that allows businesses to connect and automate Zoho applications with other systems and services directly from the Zoho products. The integration is made available to Zoho products via Zoho Marketplace Extensions. AppiWorks provides many extensions on Zoho products to perform deep integration with other applications.

This platform enables seamless data flow, with customizable integration and automation between Zoho products and third-party applications, helping organizations streamline their business processes and improve overall efficiency. 

Need for deep integration

Users of Zoho products often use products from other vendors/ platforms, too. For example, they might use QuickBooks for Accounting and MySQL for a custom-developed application. They need Zoho products and the other products to work together seamlessly to run their business. 

To ensure operational efficiency and data consistency, these disparate systems must interoperate seamlessly with their Zoho deployments. Our extensive experience in facilitating such connections underscores a critical user requirement: the need for deep, granular integration that empowers them with comprehensive control over configuration and automation workflows between Zoho products and external platforms. This level of integration is essential for optimizing business processes and unlocking the full potential of their technology investments.

Services represent the core integration points within the Zoho Client Platform. A service is a configurable integration that enables data exchange between Zoho and external systems. Services can be custom-built or based on pre-defined templates.

Services form the foundation of all integrations and automations within the platform, serving as the bridge between different systems.

Service Templates provide pre-configured integration frameworks for common use cases. These templates offer a starting point for creating services without building from scratch, accelerating the implementation process.

Users can select from available templates and customize them to meet their specific business requirements, significantly reducing configuration time and effort.

Export automations move data from Zoho applications to external systems. These automations are triggered based on specific events like the creation or updation of records or manual triggering in the Zoho module, and transfer data outward to other applications.

Automatic Execution 

This setting enables trigger-based automated exports without requiring manual intervention. When enabled, the system monitors for specified events and automatically initiates the export process when those conditions are met.

Available triggers include:

• New: Automatically exports data when new records are created in Zoho CRM

• Edit of record: Automatically exports data when existing records are modified in Zoho CRM

You can select multiple triggers to ensure comprehensive data synchronization. For example, selecting "new" and "edit of record" ensures that the export process runs whenever records are created or modified in Zoho Records. 

Manual Execution 

Accessing Manual Export 

When the "Allow manual execution" option is enabled for an export service, users can initiate exports directly from the Zoho dashboard through the following steps:

1. Navigate to the relevant module in Zoho (e.g., CRM Accounts)

2. View the list of records in the standard dashboard view

3. Select the records for export using one of these methods:

   • Select individual records using the checkboxes next to each record

   • Select all records on the current page using the header checkbox

   • Apply filters to narrow down records before selection

Clicking the extension button opens the Execution Dashboard, a streamlined interface for managing your export process. Simply click the "Execute" button to start the export process.

Import automations bring data from external sources into Zoho applications. These can be scheduled or triggered by external events.

Key characteristics of Import automations:

• One-way data flow from external systems to Zoho

• Data validation and cleansing options

• Duplicate detection and handling

• Error management for failed imports

• Support for various incoming data formats

Quick Import 

Quick Import provides an immediate, one-time transfer of data from your external source into Zoho. 

Key characteristics:

• Immediate Execution: Data import begins when you click "Import Now."

• One-Time Process: Runs only once, not recurring or scheduled

• Real-Time Feedback: Provides immediate results and import status

• Complete Dataset: Typically imports the entire filtered dataset in a single operation

• Manual Initiation: Must be manually triggered each time an import is needed

Quick Import is ideal for initial data migrations, occasional imports, or when immediate data transfer is required without recurring imports.

Scheduled Import 

Scheduled Import allows you to set up automatic, recurring data transfers at predefined intervals. 

Key characteristics:

• Recurring Execution: Imports run automatically based on your schedule

• Configurable Frequency: Set imports to run daily, weekly, monthly, or at custom intervals

• Hands-Off Operation: Once configured, imports execute without manual intervention

• Consistency: Maintains regular data synchronization between systems

• Time Optimization: Schedule imports during off-peak hours to minimize system impact

Scheduled Import is perfect for maintaining synchronized datasets between systems where data regularly changes in the source system and needs to be reflected in Zoho.

Update Matching Records 

By Matching ID

• Links external system records directly to Zoho records using unique identifiers

• Requires a column in your external data source that contains Zoho record IDs

• Provides the most precise and reliable record matching

• Ideal when you have previously exported Zoho IDs to your external system

By Matching Filter

• Matches records based on field values rather than IDs

• Allows configuration of custom matching criteria (e.g., email address, company name + phone)

• More flexible but slightly less precise than ID matching

• Useful when direct ID relationships aren't available between systems

The Scheduler enables automated data imports to run at predetermined times without manual intervention. This functionality ensures your Zoho CRM data remains synchronized with external systems through consistent, scheduled updates. 

Trigger Types

The Scheduler offers two primary trigger types for determining when imports will run:

At Interval

• Definition: Imports run repeatedly at fixed time intervals

• Use Cases: Maintaining near real-time data synchronization where data changes frequently

• Configuration Options:

  • Minutely: Every specified number of minutes

  • Hourly: Every specified number of hours

  • Daily: Once per day at a specified time

  • Weekly: On selected days of the week

  • Monthly: On specific dates each month

At a Specific Time

• Definition: Imports run once at a precisely defined date and time

• Use Cases: One-time future imports or special event-driven data updates

• Configuration Options:

  • Date: Calendar selection for execution date

  • Time: Hour and minute selection for execution time

  • Timezone: Selection of the applicable timezone to ensure accurate timing

Incremental Import 

Incremental Import is a critical efficiency feature that allows the system to import only new or changed records rather than the entire dataset each time:

• Purpose: Minimizes data transfer volume and processing time by focusing only on changed data

• Enable/Disable: Optional feature that can be toggled based on requirements

New Data

• Imports only records created in the source system since the last import run

• Requires a "created date" timestamp column in the source data

• Particularly efficient for systems with the high volume of new record creation

Modified Data

• Imports only records updated in the source system since the last import run

• Requires a "last modified date" timestamp column in the source data

• Essential for keeping existing records synchronized across systems

View automations provide real-time data visualization and reporting capabilities. They allow users to access and analyze data from multiple sources without permanent data transfer.

Mapping is the process of defining how data fields from one system correspond to fields in another system. The mapping configuration enables proper data transformation during integration processes.

Effective mapping ensures data integrity across systems and is crucial for successful integrations.

Execution History provides a comprehensive log of all integration activities within the platform. This feature allows users to monitor, troubleshoot, and audit integration processes.

Key components of Execution History:

• Detailed execution logs for all automation runs

• Success/failure status tracking

• Performance metrics and timing information

• Error details for failed executions

• Data payload inspection capabilities

• Filtering and search options for historical analysis

The Execution History serves as both a monitoring tool and an audit trail, enabling users to ensure their integrations function correctly and identify any issues requiring attention.