APIs make the world go round. We all rely on them, and yet they’re largely unknown or misunderstood. API, standing for Application Programming Interface, isn’t just an app. It’s not a program you open up on your phone, and yet all software programs and devices use them. If you aren’t sure what APIs are or how they can help your business expand and develop, use this guide.
What’s an API Anyway?
While an API is a program, it’s more useful to think of it as a tool. It’s a component that allows two different software programs to talk to each other. A very common API is a widget. Like many of them, your phone with the weather widget is a key example. This API works to connect the weather app software with your phone’s software, so you can see the weather on your phone’s screen or widget page without opening a specific application.
In general, APIs work to connect to a server (in the example, the weather app) and the client (the phone).
So How Can APIs Help Your Business?
APIs are essential for every business. They are the tools that give your software and platforms more features and benefits. They’re also the tools you’d use to automate your workflows. Businesses that are considered API-first have the ability to scale, grow, and innovate faster than companies that don’t rely on them as much.
This is because APIs are typically used to improve operations behind the scenes. They help facilitate automation, let you boost the capabilities of your current software, and can actually improve security as a whole.
Developing your own APIs can help you solve unique issues in your business, but you shouldn’t just consider it a tool-building investment for your own company. You can easily – and should – sell on your APIs so that you have the freedom to invest in a solution that works for you fully. After all, it’ll likely work for others in your industry as well.
How To Develop Your Own APIs
You will, naturally, need an API developer or team on hand to help understand your needs and develop a solution that will help fix that. In order to speed up that development from there and even better manage APIs as a product, you’ll also want a SaaS API management gateway. Such a platform helps accelerate development and gives you greater control over distribution and management, making it an all-in-one tool.
How to Mature Your API Approach
There are four stages of any API development. The first is to understand your needs, the second is to create a program, and the third is to mature that program so that it is standardized, works consistently, and can be reused reliably. From there, the final stage is to turn that into a product. Reaching API maturitywill typically mean getting the most out of your API development, especially if you sell your solution onward since you can then bring in new revenue streams.
