Accelerate your business with an API

According to Wikipedia, an application programming interface (API) is a set of subroutine definitions, protocols, and tools for building software and applications. A good API makes it easier to develop a program by providing all the building blocks, which are then put together by the programmer. API development may be for a web-based system, operating system, database system, computer hardware, or software library.

Moving away from the technical jargon, an API can simply be described as technology that allows information to be transferred between online services.

API development can modernise your business and bolster your marketing efforts in many ways. Listed below are just a few examples of what an API can help achieve.

Real-time data

Faster time-to-market for new product and service development

Opens up new markets

Operational efficiencies through automation

Improve internal communication and collaboration

Efficient supply chain management

Holistic business intelligence analytics

Harness remote storage

Meet rising customer expectations across multiple channels

Faster and easier data migration

Personalised customer service

The strategic importance of developing an API is paramount to the growth of your business. API’s are at the centre of the digital economy, and should be the cornerstone of your digital ecosystem. It is the catalyst of digital transformation and can inspire innovation.

An article titled The Strategic Values of API’s, published in the Harvard Business Review, opens with the following statement “Today, a firm without application program interfaces (APIs) that allow software programs to interact with each other is like the internet without the World Wide Web. Just as the World Wide Web opened up the internet’s potential for use by billions, APIs are allowing companies to grow businesses at unprecedented rates by sharing services with external firms.”

A a business owner, you don’t have to worry about the complexities of how an API works but rather understand the potential an API strategy can have on your bottom line. If you don’t have a strategy in place, then it’s time you start your digital transformation journey and accelerate your business with an “API first” approach.