Task automation tool IFTTT gets new look, moves into physical world with Belkin WeMo compatibility
IFTTT, the automation tool that hooks various web services together to help you accomplish tasks has a new logo, a new look and some nice improvements to the service.
Context & Ripple Effects
IFTTT has spent its first years as pure web plumbing — 46 channels built around consumer apps like Dropbox, Twitter, Instagram and Instapaper — and today's rebrand lands alongside two signals about where it goes next. The Zapier launch pitched as an IFTTT for business users on the same day sharpens the split: IFTTT is staking out the consumer side while rivals chase paid business workflows.
The Belkin WeMo compatibility is the more consequential half of the announcement: by wiring a physical switch and socket into its trigger-action system, IFTTT stops being a web-only service and becomes a bridge between online events and household hardware.
First-order effects
- Belkin WeMo owners gain trigger logic Belkin never had to build — a tweet, Dropbox file or Instagram tag can now switch a light or appliance on, making the WeMo line immediately more useful than its own app allows.
- The redesign and WeMo tie-up give IFTTT a clear consumer identity just as Zapier positions itself for business tools, forcing each automation service to pick a side of the market rather than blur together.
Second-order effects
- Other connected-device makers now face pressure to expose APIs to trigger-layer services like IFTTT, because a gadget that plugs into the automation graph gets use cases its competitor's closed product cannot match.
- Belkin gets distribution for free — every new IFTTT channel added downstream effectively markets WeMo hardware — raising the bar for smart-home rivals still selling devices through standalone apps.
Third-order effects
- If device makers keep ceding trigger logic to cross-service platforms, home automation consolidates around middleware: hardware competes on build quality while the automation layer owns the customer relationship.
- The consumer-versus-business split visible in the same-day Zapier coverage suggests automation tools will segment like earlier SaaS categories, with free consumer glue at one end and paid workflow products at the other.
The trend: Consumer automation platforms are expanding from stitching web services together into controlling physical devices, with hardware makers plugging into shared trigger layers instead of building their own.