Informz has embraced a document-centric approach to SOAP-based web services where information can be exchanged via XML. This is considered a "second generation" approach for web services. There are a number of benefits to this approach that we think will be helpful to you as you develop your integration.

NOTE: Learn more about document style web services.

These benefits include:

• The ability to send a single document as opposed to making multiple iterative method calls
• You can listen for only the data that you want in a Response Document
• RPC is more "fragile" with regard to versioning

All API communication occurs via https, thereby securing the transmission. The content within each document can also be encrypted to further secure data.

Suggested Application Uses

The main anticipated use of the Informz Web Service is to simplify the synchronization of data between Informz and another client application. This synchronization easily transfers email addresses captured from one environment into Informz.

In addition to email address, other information about the email recipient can be transferred. For example, first name can be provided so that a mailing can be personalized using that data. Further segmentation of the subscriber base can also occur in Informz that leverages this personal information.

Equally important as getting information about those who wish to receive mailings from your organization is knowing those people who do not wish to receive mailings from your organization. Lists of unsubscribers can also be sent to Informz so that these email addresses can be excluded from future mailings.

Aside from data synchronization, these lists can serve as a starting point for generating reports. For example, there are many GridRequest actions that can be used to retrieve data from Informz. These include information about subscribers as well as the results of any mailing publishing.

Support

Understanding how Informz works will be helpful to you as you begin work on this project. The Informz Partner Relationship Manager will schedule a session, or sessions, for your team to learn about Informz and how it operates. Having a basic understanding of the Informz UI will help you to test your API.

NOTE: If you have any questions about working with the Informz API, contact Higher Logic Support, providing your name and any relevant uncompressed xml calls in your message.