The business benefits of APIs

blog

An Application Programming Interface (API) is a set of functions and procedures that allows the creation of applications that access the features or data of an operating system, application, or another service. They allow for an application to withdraw information from a segment of software and use that information for data analysis.

Why should your business care?

An API-driven strategy is a long-term solution to bridge the integration gap and it can help businesses manage complex technological demands. And, APIs can be utilised by companies of all sizes for website analytics, project and team management tools, online payment systems, and for many other operational solutions.

In addition, many businesses are already using APIs and seeing the advantage of doing so, as research has found that 44% of IT decision-makers believe building and managing APIs is fundamental to their ability to complete digital transformation projects more quickly (deloitte.wsj).

How your business can benefit

There are a number of benefits that your business can experience when utilising APIs.

Below, we’ve identified the top four.

1. Digital transformation success
   A buzzword that is growing momentum is digital transformation, and to conduct it successfully you’ll need to introduce APIs into your operations.
   Digital transformation success requires continuous evolution, and APIs can allow you to streamline your processes and create an ecosystem that promotes flexibility, adaptability, agility and innovation.
2. Decrease operational costs
   The cost of incorporating an external API within an internal platform is always lower than developing a new platform from scratch, and nine times out of ten they’ll be an API available to solve your problems.
   So, next time you have any issues or problems with a digital process, look into the APIs that your platform supports.
3. Improve user experience
   Using an API can drastically enhance the usability of a platform, if you’re experiencing issues with certain aspects of it. APIs are highly customisable and can be optimised to suit specific requirements.
4. Gain a competitive advantage
   In order to compete with your competition, you must stay up to date with the latest technological advancements, which includes APIs. And, research has shown that 59% of organisations have started developing APIs in the past five years (jaxenter).

Companies that use APIs can capitalise on what other companies offer such as their services, data, algorithms and general functionalities.