Automating data in Middle
Learn about the power of Middle and how it handles data
Simply, Middle is built to easily sync data from web applications and perform automations with this data. Middle is a powerful tool to construct business processes with ease and scale integrations quickly.
Where does data come from?
Middle apps are the highly configurable medium in which syncs are managed and data is ingested. Apps authenticate with other systems, sync data, store data, and contain workflow actions. Within an app you are able to add data syncs, customize data syncs, and manage which syncs are running.
Typically, Middle gets data by querying an API, but Middle can also get data through a direct database connection or a file transfer protocol. Apps can be configured in a variety of ways to support multiple environments, including staging environments. They can handle a variety of authentications, including OAuth flows, API keys, and admin credentials.
Middle features three different ways to sync data:
Complete transfers - Grab all the data available from an endpoint or external resource.
Primary key lookups - Request data for a specific record using a primary identifier.
Recent record updates - Syncs data from a past datetime range.
When Middle syncs a record from an external source, if it finds a record, it compares the new record to the old. If the new record is different, it updates the existing record in the Middle database. If the record in the database is not found, it is inserted into the Middle database.
Apps feature a data schema in which data is synced and stored. For example, with an eCommerce platform, you'd expect to see a data schema that features the following record types: customers, invoices, and products. Using primary IDs between the different records, you can connect this data together. You could begin a workflow on an invoice record, reference the customer, and perform decisions based on the product that was purchased. You can even look at a customer and then connect to an array of all the invoices Middle has synced for that individual.
Apps are the foundation of your Middle account. There is no limit on how many apps you can connect. Combined with the customizability afforded by the developer portal, Middle apps provide you with the power to integrate the systems you need.
What can you do with the data?
Once your data is in Middle, you can use workflows to perform automations. Workflows allow you to construct logic and then setup actions that touch other systems. When Middle syncs data it tracks changes to the record, allowing you to create workflows that only run when a record has been discovered or updated by Middle. You are also able to input the last version of a record into a workflow so that you can cross-compare and construct logic based on changes over time. Workflows can also be scheduled.
Using a logic tree and visual programming interface, data can be filtered using decision nodes. Middle's parameters and relational data storage give you the power to build out the logic outcomes you need. Finally, you can use actions to push out of Middle to other apps. Actions can do anything from updating user data to applying a credit to a customer's account to fetching data. If there is an endpoint for it, a Middle action can handle it. Workflows unlock your ability to say yes and avoid burdening your development team with new projects.
Why is the data stored?
Data is stored in Middle in a relational format. This means that you can connect your data together to build logic and perform powerful calculations. When Middle grabs a record, such as a class attendance, you can reference the associated client, class type, or instructor by using the data stored in Middle.
Say if you want to see all the purchases Middle has ever synced for an individual, you can look at the client's data and then select an array of all the sales Middle has synced for that individual.
Stored data also provides you with the tools to troubleshoot your automations. If one of your workflows fail you can look up the data the workflow was supposed to perform on, review what happened, and then re-run the workflow after you've fixed the issue.
While you are able to search your stored data via the account portal, you can't directly export stored data out of Middle.
Middle allows you to search and delete individual records and schedule when data that's no longer being used by workflows should be deleted to remain data compliant. If you only need the last 30 days of data for workflow and troubleshooting purposes, Middle can be set up to delete any data that's older than 30 days.
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