In the modern digital landscape, organisations are continually seeking new ways to boost their operations and stay ahead of the competition, and API development is one of the ways they can achieve this.
Around 83% of respondents consider API development as a vital part of business strategy.
Application programming interfaces (APIs) have emerged as robust tools offering seamless integration and improved development processes.
By acknowledging the transformative potential of APIs, forward-thinking enterprises are turning to API development companies to drive business growth.
In this post we explore the top ways API development can benefit your business.
What is API integration?
API integration is a way to connect different systems together via code.
By connecting systems together you can share data and perform different functions in one system, then update another.
Examples of API integrations could be:
- Sending an email or phone number to a third party to confirm if it’s real
- Checking if bank details are valid
- Pulling data from a website using code
- Updating information in a system via another system
- Gathering product data from an ecommerce store
- Get the correct figures for a finance widget
There are different types of API such as REST or GraphQL but essentially they are used to simplify complex operations and automate them as much as possible.
By using or developing APIs your business can open up whole new ways of integration and automation which otherwise would be slow and cumbersome.
How can API development help your business?
Ease of integration
As business needs change so does the number of systems and platforms you use also grow.
API integration is the perfect way to integrate multiple, disparate systems and combine them seamlessly.
By integrating different platforms together via code you can save money, time and energy on having to manually use them.
Automating tasks
The cornerstone of many automation methods, for which APIs become essential, is the integration of apps.
Automation of manual operations through integrations creates a seamless transition between connected applications.
Using APIs can massively improve performance by automating many tasks which otherwise would take a person minutes/hours to do – with an API you can do these in seconds.
Improved services
APIs make it easier to implement new applications, digital products, and business models.
Additionally, they facilitate the effective communication between services of third parties.
As a result, a lot of developers and businesspeople are willing to pay for API usage.
Foster innovation
Apart from facilitating integration, they also play an essential role in encouraging innovation within businesses.
By providing well-documented APIs, your business can facilitate an ecosystem that exchanges ideas and functionalities.
Enterprises may also swiftly roll out new products and strategies, thanks to APIs.
Building APIs within a business encourage new thinking with the aim of simplifying actions and breaking them into manageable chunks.
Build new product capabilities
APIs can aid in the development of new product capabilities.
As a business, you can permit third-party developers to make platform-compatible extensions.
As a result, extensions can be created for your platform without the need for business involvement.
An excellent illustration of this is eBay, which offers an eCommerce API that enables outside developers to design specialised services for certain clients.
This enables eBay to enter more industries without having to put forth any effort.
Cost savings with API development
Applications or products can be made using APIs, saving developers the need to start each project from scratch.
Companies can save money whilst using APIs because the number of development stages is greatly reduced.
By streamlining the integration process, they no longer need to deal with extensive manual coding and time-consuming troubleshooting.
Businesses thus can effectively allocate resources whilst focusing on other critical areas of operations.
Make it easy for your customers and users
The main point of API development is to make life easier for your users – whether these are other developers, companies, customers or internal users.
By utilising the power of APIs you can help them complete multiple tasks in a shorter time frame, and also with less effort.
With well made APIs you can help save your users time, and in a vast majority of cases give them extra functionality they otherwise did not have.
Choose StudioRav for your API development
In our line of work at StudioRav we work with APIs on a daily basis.
As such, we are confident of being able to use and develop APIs which suit you and your business needs.
By building your own APIs and connecting your systems to existing micro-services or third party providers you can achieve a lot more, with a lot less.
If you need any such advice or guidance please feel free to contact us today.