On the API roadmap, where is your organization? Are they moving towards greater API integration maturity, or are they not even on the map because they’re not sure where to get started?
APIs can be valuable to an organization because they can enhance existing capabilities. Additionally, they can help companies discover new capabilities – read on to learn more. Are You Ready to integrate?
How Do APIs Work?
To understand how APIs can deliver incredible value to organizations, let’s explore how they work.
The abbreviation “API” is short for “application programming interface.” APIs allow an application to consume information from a data source (the same way an electrical socket allows a device to consume electricity in a way that’s appropriate for that device).
“APIs allow an application to consume information from a data source.”
We’ll illustrate with an example. Let’s say you have an app to order office supplies on your phone. That app uses APIs to connect with the store’s database of products. Whenever you order, the APIs connect to the database to request those products.
APIs: Enhancing Your Organization’s Existing Capabilities
There are several ways in which APIs can enhance your organization’s existing capabilities:
- Real-time information transfer – you no longer need to wait until a batch of data has been processed
- They can speed partner onboarding, so new customers can purchase from you sooner
- API deployment is faster than EDI deployment, so you can see results sooner
- APIs work on mobile devices, while EDI systems don’t
With APIs, you boost your existing capabilities through greater speed. Because APIs work swiftly, you gain a competitive advantage: it’s easier to work with you, and you can respond faster to changing circumstances (for example, if you find out a supplier can’t deliver an order on time, you can save the delay by finding a new one who can). Additionally, mobile devices have become a fixture in the modern workforce – APIs allow your employees to be productive wherever they are.
APIs: Discovering New Capabilities
How can APIs help organizations discover new capabilities? There are two ways:
- APIs connect to a wider variety of information streams than EDI systems alone
- You can monetize APIs to create a new source of revenue
APIs connect to new technologies, such as IoT and blockchain. If you’re using sensors that transmit information about your shipments, APIs can give you real-time updates about those shipments. For many companies, this is an entirely new capability – they were never able to effectively harness this information previously.
These new information streams represent an opportunity for monetization. Trading partners want to know where their shipments are right now, while suppliers need invoice statuses. By selling APIs to trading partners as part of a package, you’re giving them a way to stay updated (and you’re creating a lucrative revenue stream for yourself).
“These new information streams represent an opportunity for monetization.”
With APIs, you can build on the capabilities you already possess to become more agile and deliver a better customer experience. Additionally, you can create new, lucrative capabilities for your organization. Integrate. Then Dominate.
