What Do APIs Mean To Your Business?
By Luis Reyes, Founder and CEO of Software Logic, www.software-logic.net
Ensuring your IT systems work together seamlessly is a must-have for business owners who want to thrive in 2017. The world of Big Data and analytics will get a huge boost from open Application Programming Interface (APIs). So what exactly are APIs, why are businesses motivated to create APIs, and what is the future outlook? In this blog, we will evaluate APIs, their value to businesses of all sizes, API maturation, and deployment factors.
APIs are a code format that enable businesses to provide a simple representation of components within their IT infrastructure—like datasets or service functionalities—in a way that can be integrated into other internal or external IT system architectures. APIs make it easier to create programs and pull together information and capabilities from a host of sources. They also empower your organization to connect the technology with your systems using outside experts who have a host of various competencies, such as location verification, payments, inventory, and more. API technology provides incredible value and new opportunities for businesses.
Because APIs make it so easy for data sources to connect, more and more businesses are using open APIs because of the convenience it provides. APIs can help drive revenue growth, add capacity, enhance service offerings, improve responsiveness, and increase customer loyalty for customers who have connected to your API.
Businesses that have a solution-selling mindset are overwhelmingly looking to build reusable APIs. These forward-thinking businesses are moving beyond endpoints. They understand that, by applying systems design and domain-driven design, they can create clear interface boundaries that can be combined to solve a myriad of use cases. This is a long-term business approach that enables agility.
Each organization may differ when it comes to API deployment. Disruptive startups tend to lean toward building APIs with user-friendly interfaces. An enterprise with a different IT infrastructure may have a different agenda and are less interested in sharing the complexity of their legacy systems. However, IT strategies for both enterprise and SMB continue to evolve and shift.
If an end user is looking to build APIs for a business, it is important to take the hassle out of designing APIs by guiding clients through the process to make it as painless as possible. Since each business is different, software developers should customize each API strategy and define datasets and functionalities that could be packaged into APIs to meet the individual organization’s needs.
To learn more, contact Software Logic today for a complementary consultation.