Business Considerations with APIs

Introduction

APIs are the foundation of major technology trends today. From mobile devices to cloud computing to the Internet of Things (IoT), so much relies on APIs to connect with their distributed components and deliver solutions to their respective industries. More and more enterprises are moving towards digitization, and APIs are the catalysts behind this revolution.

The role of APIs in modern business strategy

Let's take a look at how businesses can benefit from APIs and what business strategies they can use to get ahead of the competition.

When an API is in the planning process, the business use cases must be considered a priority. Organizations that skip this will find themselves in trouble later because there are no business goals to meet. These goals can be driven by multiple factors, such as revenue, new market routes, and new products, but all of these must be outlined at the beginning so that all the decisions and choices lead toward the defined goals.

Companies focusing on successful API initiatives focus on one or more of the following factors:

• Monetizing existing assets: An API is a great multiplier for the return on investment (ROI) on the company’s assets. Let’s say that we own a house and want to rent out a room to someone to help with the bills, such as electricity and mortgage costs. Companies with existing assets can do something similar. They can expose these tech assets to the world and get an ROI through APIs. An example would be IBM selling access to Watson for data analytics.

• Connecting business domains: This usually refers to interactions across multiple lines of business. These often work independently, but can also benefit from sharing data to smooth out some processes. An example of this is Google Suite, which contains different products that cater to different domains, such as Gmail and Google Drive. APIs allow the data to be shared in a controlled and safe manner. In some cases, domains may be physical locations. Big organizations have multiple locations, including cloud and on-site data centers. These companies occasionally use APIs to secure and control the data flow between these locations.

• Self-service: The ability to extend our outreach worldwide can be made possible via a self-service portal API. Potential clients can learn about these features and services at any time, and they can integrate any of the features they need. These individual customers can then be contacted later to be able to retain them. An easy-to-integrate API is necessary for developers looking for an API, because it’s likely they’ll test the service for integrations immediately. Developers ...