Virtualization has been a persistent trend in the tech industry for the last 50 years, evolving from the early days of ARPANET to the widespread use of Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and containerization tools like Docker. This technological evolution has enabled the standardization of disparate systems, allowing software-as-a-service (SaaS) to dominate the industry by providing software solutions over virtual servers. However, the diverse formats of APIs remain a challenge, as companies need to integrate data from various systems with different structures. Merge's Unified API aims to address this by standardizing and simplifying the integration process, allowing companies to focus on their unique value propositions instead of the complexities of data integration.