June 2021 Summaries

Merge's Unified API offers a streamlined integration solution for B2B companies, particularly in HR, payroll, recruiting, and accounting, by enabling them to sync user data across multiple platforms without extensive engineering resources. Simeon Lee, the Founding Designer at Merge, describes the evolution of the company's API documentation, emphasizing the importance of well-designed, accessible documentation for user success. Initially housed within the company's dashboard, the documentation was later made publicly available, leading to user feedback that prompted significant redesigns to improve information architecture and user experience. These changes included breaking down complex information into manageable sections, enhancing navigation with distinct colors for HTTP methods, and incorporating a search bar to aid information discovery. The goal is to create a seamless integration experience, helping customers integrate efficiently and effectively, which is central to Merge's mission of revolutionizing the API economy.

Shensi Ding, CEO and co-founder of Merge, discusses with Ashby engineer Aaron Norby the integration of Remote Procedure Call (RPC) APIs, highlighting Ashby's decision to utilize RPC for its Applicant Tracking System (ATS) rather than the more common REST or GraphQL API styles. Although GraphQL was used internally, Ashby opted against it for their external API due to its steep learning curve, while REST's ease of use and standardization were attractive but sometimes cumbersome for simpler operations. Norby, having prior experience with Slack's RPC API, found RPC more intuitive and akin to writing functions, despite its unfamiliarity compared to REST, which is more prevalent for public integrations. The team found that RPC facilitated easier documentation and error handling, and despite initial concerns about the learning curve, the feedback from early customers has been positive. Merge's platform enables businesses to seamlessly integrate with Ashby and other services, promising transformative customer-facing integrations.

Merge has introduced a single tenant architecture to cater to enterprise-level users seeking enhanced security and compliance with industry standards. This approach, likened to renting a private Airbnb, offers increased flexibility and custom specifications for data management. The company faced challenges in syncing customer-specific and operational data across isolated systems, which they addressed using Amazon Web Services' Simple Notification Service (SNS) and Simple Queue Service (SQS) to ensure reliable and scalable data propagation. This development is part of Merge's broader strategy to provide a robust integration platform, and the company is actively hiring to continue solving such engineering challenges.