ApproveThis manages your xConnect Integration approvals.

When Real-Time Monitoring Meets Streamlined Approvals

Modern businesses face two universal challenges: reacting quickly to operational disruptions and maintaining control over critical decisions. xConnect provides the eyes – monitoring hardware health and flagging issues before they escalate. ApproveThis provides the brain – orchestrating structured approvals to ensure the right people validate every action. Together, they create a closed-loop system where potential problems trigger immediate review processes, keeping operations agile without sacrificing oversight.

Why This Integration Changes the Game

xConnect excels at detecting anomalies – a server overheating, a production line sensor failing, or a remote device going offline. But until now, acting on those alerts required manual triage: emails to managers, Slack threads seeking consensus, or worse, delayed responses while tracking down decision-makers. ApproveThis eliminates that friction by converting alerts into trackable approval workflows with built-in escalation rules.

Consider a regional hospital chain using xConnect to monitor MRI machines. When a coolant pump shows abnormal vibrations, xConnect detects it immediately. Through Zapier, this triggers an ApproveThis workflow that routes to the Head of Radiology (for technical assessment) and the CFO (for budget approval if replacement is needed). The entire review happens in hours, not days, with full audit trails.

Beyond Basic Alerts: Operational Use Cases

Automated Incident Response for IT/OT Teams

For manufacturing plants using xConnect to track industrial IoT devices, outage alerts can now require formal approvals before initiating maintenance. ApproveThis adds accountability layers:

• Sequential approvals ensure safety engineers validate shutdowns before technicians receive work orders
• Conditional thresholds auto-approve minor incidents but escalate major outages to plant managers
• Email-based approvals let on-call staff respond directly from mobile devices

Budget-Guarded Maintenance Cycles

Facilities management companies use xConnect's predictive alerts to schedule equipment servicing. By connecting these alerts to ApproveThis, they enforce spending controls:

Example: When xConnect flags an HVAC compressor nearing end-of-life, ApproveThis routes the replacement request through three steps – technical verification (Engineering Director), vendor selection (Procurement), and purchase approval (CFO). Calculated fields within ApproveThis automatically compare quoted costs against budget limits, flagging exceptions for executive review.

Implementation Made Simple

Setting up the integration requires no coding expertise. Here’s how technical teams can activate it in under 30 minutes:

1. Create a Zapier account or log in at Zapier.com
2. Choose "xConnect Outage Events" as the trigger
3. Map critical alert details (device ID, severity level, error codes) to ApproveThis request fields
4. Configure conditional logic in ApproveThis to route based on outage type:
   – Critical Severity 1 alerts → Escalate to Director-level approvers
   – Routine maintenance flags → Auto-approve if under $5k
5. Test with simulated xConnect alerts before going live

Pro Tip: Use ApproveThis’ Vacation Delegation feature to ensure outage approvals never stall because someone’s OOO. Approval Groups can be configured to automatically reassign requests after 12 hours of inactivity.

Cross-Functional Benefits

For Operations Teams

Reduce mean time to repair (MTTR) by eliminating approval bottlenecks. Field technicians receive pre-authorized work orders the moment xConnect detects failures, with all necessary parts/service approvals attached.

For Finance Controllers

Maintain budget discipline without slowing response times. Approval thresholds in ApproveThis automatically greenlight urgent repairs up to $10k while flagging larger spends for pre-approval. Real-time dashboards show pending/capitalized costs across all active incidents.

For External Partners

3PL providers managing client warehouses can invite external stakeholders as approvers without requiring xConnect licenses. When a client’s refrigeration unit fails, the 3PL’s xConnect alert triggers an ApproveThis workflow where both the warehouse manager (internal) and client’s logistics lead (external) must approve repair actions.

Advanced Capabilities for Complex Environments

While the integration works out-of-the-box, enterprises can leverage ApproveThis’ deeper features for tailored governance:

Multi-Stage Approval Chains

Global manufacturers might configure a 4-stage process for production line outages:
1. Local plant manager (initial assessment)
2. Regional operations lead (cost approval)
3. Central engineering (technical validation)
4. EHS coordinator (safety sign-off)

Dynamic Data Handling

ApproveThis’ Calculated Fields can enrich xConnect alerts with external data during the approval process. When reviewing a server outage, approvers might see real-time calculations of:
– Downtime cost per minute based on last quarter’s revenue data
– SLA penalty estimates from integrated CRMs
– Parts availability from ERP systems

Getting Started

To activate the integration:

1. Ensure you have active accounts with both ApproveThis and xConnect
2. In ApproveThis, build your approval template(s) matching xConnect’s alert types
3. Use Zapier’s pre-built template for “xConnect → ApproveThis” or create a custom Zap
4. Run test scenarios to validate routing logic and field mappings

For teams managing 50+ devices, we recommend starting with high-impact outage scenarios before expanding to predictive maintenance approvals.

Transparency Where It Matters

ApproveThis doesn’t just automate approvals – it documents them. Every action taken on an xConnect-generated request is timestamped and stored with:

• Original device telemetry data from xConnect
• Approver comments/reasoning
• Auto-generated audit reports for compliance reviews

This becomes invaluable during root cause analyses or insurance audits, providing a clear chain of custody from initial alert to final resolution.

Next Steps for Operational Excellence

The xConnect-ApproveThis integration isn’t about replacing human judgment – it’s about arming your team with context to decide faster. By automating the administrative heavy lifting of approval chains, technical staff focus on what matters: resolving incidents and optimizing uptime.

Ready to transform how your organization responds to critical events? Schedule a personalized demo to see live examples tailored to your industry, or start a free trial and connect your first Zap within minutes.