---
title: 'Module 7 - API Gateway, Parallel State, Express workflows'
weight: 90
---
Amazon API Gateway is a fully managed service that makes it easy for developers to create, publish, maintain, monitor, and secure APIs. Step Functions integrates directly with API Gateway, enabling you to trigger the execution of a state machine with an HTTP request. API Gateway can be used with both Standard and Express workflows. Integrations may be synchronous or asynchronous.

The Parallel state can enable faster data processing by creating a fixed number of parallel branches of execution in your state machine.

In this module you will learn about how API Gateway integrates with Express workflows via asynchronous and synchronous patterns. You will also learn how to use the Parallel state to create multiple concurrent branches of logic.

  ![API Gateway to Step Functions architecture](/static/img/module-7/architecture.png)

Learn more about [Parallel States](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/step-functions/latest/dg/amazon-states-language-parallel-state.html).

Learn more about [API Gateway Integration](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/apigateway/latest/developerguide/api-gateway-api-integration-types.html).

**Estimated Duration: 25 minutes**