If This Then That (IFFTT)

Giving users creative control and interoperability over the products and apps they love

Key facts

• IFTTT¹, a mobile app that enables interoperability, employs the concepts of Channels, Triggers, Actions, Recipes and Ingredients to bring interconnectivity to its users. Recipes are simple connections between products and apps. There are two types of Recipes: IF Recipes and DO Recipes.
• IFTTT is connecting growing numbers and kinds of objects, moving beyond simple non-physical apps to objects in the Internet of Things (IoT) (around 20% of recipes).

Uniqueness

• IF Recipes run automatically in the background. They create powerful connections with one simple statement — ‘if this then that’.
• DO Recipes run with just a tap and enable you to create your own personalized Button, Camera, and Notepad. (iOS and Android).
• Possible uses of DO Buttons include users employing them to set their Nest Thermostat to a particular temperature, control their Philips Hue lights or record their time and location in Google Drive.

Value

• As an IoT business, IFTTT was valued at ~$170 million at the end of 2014 and listed as one of the top 10 IoT companies around the world.
• IFTTT users are now “cooking” about 20 million “recipes” each day, organized across 170 public channels (over half built by third-party developers).
• Notable investors: Andreessen Horowitz and Norwest Venture Partners.

Approach

• In June 2012, the service entered the IoT space by integrating with Belkin WeMo devices, allowing Recipes to interact with the physical world.
• On February 19, 2015, IFTTT launched three new applications: DO Button, DO Camera, DO Notes and rebranded the original app to IF for simplicity.

Footnote
1. Sources: www.IFTTT.com; Tech Crunch; Pitchbook Data Inc.; TNW News; WEF/Accenture Analysis