The business side of the conversation will be about fulfilling needs for new products and services. The business team may not understand the full capabilities of APIs, especially when API-driven apps are under consideration. To this end, an internal API registry is essential for getting the most out of them. If you already have an API registry, it’s a good idea to think about modernizing it.

The insurance company itself gives potential customers a way to get rate quotes — whenever they want, and from wherever they happen to be — through web and mobile apps. This API strategy has allowed the company the opportunity to improve customer engagement as well as creating database and API integration new products and new channels that can be used in increasingly innovative ways. APIs are microservices, or building blocks, that lessen the problem of data silos by enabling you to create reusable integration workflows for your applications and data internally.

Overcoming the Challenges of Building an API Strategy

The challenge was to convince long-established customers—some with contracts dating back a century—that moving away from paper-based data delivery would make it easier to do business with the company. The ability to develop and publish standard APIs facilitated the process and elevated the organization’s engagement with those customers. Rigorous, ongoing performance measurement should focus on relevant usage and traffic metrics, such as the number of user registrations, the percentage of users by customer type, and the number of requests over time. Tracking data errors or API response times helps to test and validate desired strategic and customer outcomes.

It is important for software engineering leaders to balance the technical and business goals of their API strategy and practice by considering these top 5 aspects. According to the above diagram, we have different backend systems of the organization and the user base (mobile, web, and direct API consumers) on either side. And, we use a combination of Edge APIs and API façades to connect those two entities.

API and EDI in SAP Business Network for Logistics

These are critical factors when a business is developing well-crafted, engaging APIs that will be widely adopted. An API-first approach to building products can benefit your organization in many ways. And API first approach requires that teams plan, organize, and share a vision of their API program.

• In addition, it facilitates the creation of scalable systems and decreases the time to market for new services and products.
• Many organizations cannot develop or deliver traditional proprietary software.
• When it does, users fail to derive value from it and, worse yet, lose trust in the company.
• Typically, you’ll want to set a goal that doesn’t explicitly deal with data and then work backward from there.
• A good API strategy is not something that can be established once and then forgotten about forever, even assuming the rollout goes without a hitch.
• Eighty-nine percent of respondents also find that it’s easier for developers to integrate with partners when they are API-first because of how well-designed and documented the APIs are.

Apigee, for example, has created a set of compatible APIs that help banks address PSD2 requirements (supported by an open-banking infrastructure). Businesses can also use APIs to improve functionality or add new features to existing products and services. An application programming interface (API) is a set of rules and protocols that allows different software applications to communicate with each other. An API defines the way that different components of a system interact with each other, allowing developers to build new features and functionality on top of existing systems. An enterprise API strategy is an approach to managing APIs throughout their entire lifecycle.

How do you implement API first strategy?

A good API strategy is not something that can be established once and then forgotten about forever, even assuming the rollout goes without a hitch. Not only will the APIs need to be overseen and monitored to ensure proper usage, but also the connections may need routine maintenance over time to remain highly functional. Having an API integration platform can help handle and automate many maintenance and oversight tasks. Once the strategy https://www.globalcloudteam.com/ has been thoroughly established, then comes the time to see how it works in the real world. Trialing the new strategy with just a specific department or team, or within a small subset of the IT ecosystem, enables you to see if the strategy works as intended or if additional tweaks may be necessary. No rollout goes 100 percent smoothly, and a trial run ensures that initial hiccups do not cause organization-wide headaches.

Eighty-nine percent of respondents also find that it’s easier for developers to integrate with partners when they are API-first because of how well-designed and documented the APIs are. An enterprise API strategy should monitor API traffic and track API usage with analytics. Analytics allows you to make data-driven decisions based on insights gained from API usage. Internal and third-party developers should be able to easily integrate their applications if an organization’s APIs are interoperable, consumable, and documented well.

How to Implement an API Integration Strategy

To manage requests and responses between multiple computer and software systems, APIs must be completely predictable. Every system must know precisely how the API interface operates, along with all of the available calls, arguments, parameters, messages and so on. API software changes affect all of these items, which can interrupt or corrupt data access and flow, and force API users to adjust their systems — a source of dissatisfaction. SAP Business Network Global Track and Trace supports process monitoring with out-of-the-box visibility connectivity, exception management and impact analysis. Modern businesses are feeling the pain of struggling with the massive volume of data, systems and applications that their departments use on a day-to-day basis. A trial run is a crucial step in assessing the effectiveness of a new strategy of API development.

It may be difficult to identify what differentiates different vendor solutions when it comes to potential, viability and maturity. Review critical capabilities for API life cycle management to understand the respective strengths and weaknesses of each solution and select the best possible fit. Looking at APIs as a way to achieve technical purposes isn’t enough in the postpandemic world.

Products

Think of this as an internal proof of concept (POC) where your initial learnings will go a long way to making your larger initiative a success. It is also important to ensure this POC phase is clearly communicated with all stakeholders and players in Step 4, including defined expectations of what will—and will not, be accomplished during this trial run. You don’t want to increase your headwinds because the results were misaligned with expectations.

Please take a look at our latest detailed product presentation to understand limitations in terms of event updates and process to SAP Help for more details. Not illustrated in the graphic is that we also support acknowledgement of successful transfer of EDI message (EDI 997) for inbound message 214. As an alternative to connecting via API, carriers may also integrate using standard EDI 213 and 214. For the operational process of tracking, there are standard API (see graphic below). There is a ‘Provider API to update track process’ and a ‘Consumer API for Order Tracking’ that notifies the carrier about a new or updated tracking request. Not illustrated in the graphic is that we also support acknowledgement of successful transfer of EDI message (EDI 997) for inbound messages i.e.