The modern API: What it is and why you need it

Application programming interface, or API as it’s universally referred to, is a technology almost as old as software itself, designed to allow data to flow between different applications. Today, modern APIs enable much more than inter-application data exchange; they are the foundation of new business processes, the lifeblood of customer-centric innovation. APIs speed new business processes into production, to quickly exploit opportunities and drive revenues. This white paper provides an actionable overview of best practices for building and managing modern APIs, the technology engine that drives business growth and value creation, 21st-century style.

The conduit of digital ecosystems

Increasingly, sophisticated new processes are created between companies, not just within. Along with their business partners, the most advanced organizations form a digital ecosystem, which Gartner defines as an “interdependent group of actors (enterprises, people, things) sharing standardized digital platforms to achieve a mutually beneficial purpose.”1 As to what that mutually beneficial purpose may be, Gartner notes, “Business ecosystems offer unprecedented access to the capabilities, resources, and talent on a global scale that sets the stage for innovation.

The seismic change in the API landscape

Processes like mobile deposit were unimaginable even a decade ago; since then, the API landscape has changed significantly. The highly structured SOAP data exchange protocol of yesteryear has been largely supplanted by the built-for-the-web REST protocol, improving business outcomes by allowing legacy applications to work more effectively with newer technology. The complexity of SOAP slowed operations and innovation, a hindrance that has been largely reversed by REST. For example, basic online banking has been available for well more than a decade, yet robust, reliable web and mobile banking has been fully enabled only within the past several years.

iPaaS: A better way to build APIs

Ad hoc, hand-built point-to-point integration has given way to a strategic approach. Many organizations have embraced integration platform as a service (iPaaS) technology to assist in building their digital ecosystems. An iPaaS is a cloud-based platform enabling the deployment, management, and governance to connect software applications and services across different environments. An iPaaS should allow the user to create integration pipelines and convert the composite into an API, a process that is much faster than writing and testing an API from scratch.

Modern API management: Where are you on the maturity curve?

As modern APIs proliferate across enterprises and digital ecosystems, effective management becomes an issue of paramount importance. The API Integration Maturity Curve illustrates the management requirements that correspond with the ever-higher benefits organizations can derive from the strategic use of APIs.

API Creation: The first level of API maturity involves meeting the needs of individual use cases — in other words, solving a business problem. For example, to get new employees productive more quickly, onboarding processes must be automated.
API Management: The next level of maturity is achieved when lines of business, such as sales and marketing teams, use APIs to achieve interconnectivity.
Full-Lifecycle API Management: Achieving full maturity includes enabling a digital ecosystem via connections to external partners.
API creators need the right support and guidance. Whether “citizen integrators” or developers, API creators want fast, easy application and data integration.

API 101: Modern Technology For Creating Business Value

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