Posts

The Important Reasons Why You Need an API Integration Platform

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |API Integration| The Important Reasons Why You Need an API Integration PlatformAPIs are a necessary part of every IT infrastructure for modern enterprises. It isn’t just a matter of whether APIs are required, but how many are needed, and how can they be published and created. More than 16,500 APIs exist today, and that number is just the tip of the iceberg. Most organizations have a lot of different options available to them, especially when it comes to creating and implementing APIs. However, among the choices, only one stands head and shoulders above everyone else– the API integration platform.

There are several reasons why modern-day businesses require an API integration platform. We are going to highlight some of the most important ones. These include the following:

Help Enhance Team Productivity

API Integration platforms are extremely effective in boosting productivity for members of the IT department, especially developers and coders. It helps in better time management, as hours can be spent fixing, overseeing, managing, and creating APIs, instead of anything else.

API integration platforms help make a difference for other departments as well. It helps develop stacks but also allows non-technical teams to manage and create APIs as well.

Easier Connection to Cloud Apps

There are thousands of cloud apps in existence today and this technology has become a vital part of every enterprise. Forbes conducted a survey in 2016, which found that even the most basic organization was using at least 6 cloud apps. APIs are the best way to connect with cloud apps. A lot of legacy integration technology, such as enterprise service buses (ESBs), has been designed in the on-premise era, and they tend to struggle when they need to support API-connectivity behind the firewall.

Most apps have shifted towards the cloud. It doesn’t make sense anymore to house the platform, which could connect clouds behind the firewall. An API integration platform can be easily used to connect with modern cloud APIs.

Meet the Demands of Modern-Day Apps and Tools

Finance departments in modern-day enterprises have a lot of different tasks that must be handled by various teams. It includes everything from insurance payouts, taxes, billing, and accounts payable. Even though there are various tools available that can easily handle all the tasks in the finance department, choosing that solution is both expensive and not good at all.

A lot of departments, which include 96% of finance and account teams, create their own solutions and assemble their own platforms by using apps and tools that handle data sets and specific tasks. An API integration platform allows departments to easily connect with the best tools and apps available. This helps them replace inadequate and all-encompassing options with a highly effective and sleek stack.

Create New APIs Easily and Quickly

You only had two main options if you required an API, which meant that you could either build one from scratch or use one that was available in the market. There were problems in both scenarios because acquiring an API from an outside source meant it could have limited use or functionality. It isn’t ideal to build one from scratch as well since it is a difficult and time-consuming process.
However, API integration platforms provide a third option, where you can build an API from integration with only a click of a button. This will not only help you save money and time but also allow you to take full advantage of all your investments in technology.

Greater Ease in Composing New Apps

Did you know that Instagram had only 13 employees when Facebook bought it in 2012? WhatsApp also had only 55 employees when Facebook purchased it in 2014. So how did these corporations manage to build such widely successful apps with small teams? They managed to do so because of APIs.

An API integration platform can make a world of difference in such a case, as it allows businesses to create their own APIs for internal uses. Businesses can also extract data from older databases and servers easily by reusing workflows and business logic that works.

Most popular apps are constructed from existing technology that is combined to create unique APIs. Social media technology and photo filters used to exist before Instagram, but they used APIs to package them together in a completely different manner. Composing new apps can be done in the same manner, as teams can use an API integration platform to quickly connect with disparate technology and expose existing integrations as microservices or APIs for bringing new apps into the market.

Making Teams More Strategic

Organizations that create APIs manually must have IT staff and a team of developers to ensure everything is running smoothly. Most enterprises that don’t have integrated or concrete stacks tend to hire staff members for handling one or two apps. An API integration platform allows teams of developers to focus all their efforts on strategic projects, and there are fewer people required for keeping all departments productive.

Helps Manage API Individually

The maintenance and oversight of API will fall on IT staff members and developers in the business, even if the API was built by a third-party. As it becomes more common to use APIs, tracking all of them can be time-consuming and exhausting. This is where an API integration platform makes a world of difference since it helps reduce the administrative burden. It also simplifies the overview, management, and security processes.

High-Level of Support

It doesn’t matter whether the APIs were created by third parties or the business itself. When it comes to acquiring help, businesses don’t have many options. APIs created by third parties may have documentation and guides, but it can be difficult to get in touch with Amazon or Google if you have any specific queries.

On the other hand, API integration platform providers have in-house experts who will offer a high level of support that allows businesses to maximize their IT investments and APIs. This is what ends up making the difference for most businesses and is the reason why you should also be considering getting an API integration platform.