What Is Serverless Architecture and the Domino Effect of Events

Hello everyone! 

Here’s the next post in our Know Catalyst series where we uncover how Catalyst services make development simpler and faster.
If you missed our previous post, do check it out!

Now, imagine that same chain reaction in backend development. 

That’s exactly what Zynchronise did with Catalyst while building Zimple, an integration between Zoho People (HRMS) and SimplePay (payroll).

The Payroll Event

To eliminate manual data entry between Zoho People and SimplePay, the team used Catalyst to automate the workflow .
Just like the first domino, the trigger was simple , a new leave submission or payroll update

The Chain Reaction

Once the event occurred, Catalyst orchestrated a seamless, automated workflow:

• Functions handled the heavy or long-running business logic
• Job Scheduling automated CRON-like polling and workflow triggers, making processes reliable and consistent.
• SmartBrowz generated  PDF payslips automatically attached to customer records.
• Data Store (with ZCQL) stored structured transactional data efficiently.
• AppSail hosted the full-stack application supporting complex sync-heavy workflows without worrying about infrastructure.
• API Gateway managed and secured APIs, simplifying integrations with external platforms.
• Mail & Notification APIs kept customers informed with email and push notifications.
• Authentication used Catalyst’s plug-and-play OAuth system, saving time on custom login flows.
• DevOps logging tools helped troubleshoot and fix issues quickly.
• Domain mapping & SSL made deployment and access effortless.

From the Zynchronise team "Coming from a background where setting up things like authentication, CI/CD, and hosting usually meant juggling multiple tools or even needing extra team members, it was super refreshing to have just one developer manage everything. "

The Developer Win

Catalyst freed the developer to focus on innovation rather than infrastructure. As Kyle Ferrara CTO ,Zynchronise, part of the Both& Digital Transformation Group shared:

“Catalyst provides an incredibly fast and cost-effective way to build and deploy full-stack applications without needing a dedicated DevOps team.One of the biggest strengths of Catalyst is how it simplifies infrastructure. Whether you're setting up authentication, hosting your frontend, managing domains, or deploying APIs, Catalyst handles it all with minimal configuration.

It's much easier and faster to set up than traditional platforms like AWS, making it ideal for teams who need to launch quickly.
If you're working on a lean team or don't have infrastructure experts, Catalyst is excellent. ”

With Catalyst, one small trigger  a payroll or leave update set a full workflow into motion: data sync, PDF generation, notifications, storage, and API management all happened seamlessly.

Impact on Users

The Zimple integration delivered measurable results:

• Eliminated manual data duplication between HR and payroll systems.
• Delivered real-time visibility of leave allocation and payroll information.
   

Quick links for reference:

Cookbook - https://catalyst.zoho.com/cookbook/catalyst-101/create-your-first-catalyst-
project/
https://catalyst.zoho.com/cookbook/catalyst-101/understanding-catalyst-architecture/
Help docs- https://docs.catalyst.zoho.com/en/