What you need to know about the API economy
If you’re a marketing or IT professional, chances are, you come across references to the API economy on a daily basis. It’s hard to read a tech article these days without the mention of APIs and it’s easy to see why: they’re great time savers and can make life easier.
Before we get stuck into the finer details though, let’s take a step back and look at what APIs actually are. Put simply, APIs are a set of requirements that dictate how one particular application talks, works and functions with another. What you may not realise is that you’re seeing and using APIs all the time, even if you’re doing so unknowingly.
Ever used your Facebook ID or Google account to sign into an app such as Trello or Dropbox? Doing so is really handy and saves us time and this functionality relies upon either Facebook or Google APIs to work. No doubt you’ve landed on a great article online and seen the icon prompts to share the article on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn or elsewhere. Again, these links are calling on the APIs associated with each service to allow users to share an article easily.
As you can imagine, when it comes to asking the following question, APIs play a key role: what is customer relationship management (CRM)? What we’re talking about here are the various strategies and new technologies that organisations use to manage, analyse and increase their customer interactions throughout the customer life cycle. Of course, every company is working towards improving their relationship with customers, retaining them in the long-term and ultimately, increasing sales and growth.
So, why all the fuss about APIs and the API economy? We’re heading into an age where the future is all about connected systems and APIs are the key. Sure, we’ve used some examples here that may leave you with the impression that APIs are all around us and they’re fairly simplistic in nature. Unfortunately, it’s not always as easy as it seems. The core function of any API is to provide access in predefined ways, however, many requirements are specific and need a specialist integrator in order to achieve their goals. It’s also important to realise that APIs are not always plug-in and play or even easy to orchestrate in relation to complex systems. A great example of APIs functioning as they should can be seen when CRM data works seamlessly with EDMs and other digital marketing initiatives thanks to the use of APIs.
Unfortunately, there are more than enough examples out there we can draw upon to illustrate what happens when APIs don’t quite go to plan. It’s important to realise that companies have the ability to shut down services and the very APIs that a particular application has been built and is designed to depend on. Who can forget when Twitter made the move to limit third-party applications’ use of its APIs? If you happened to be an alternative Twitter client, this is a move that really could have had a detrimental impact on your core activities.
If you only take away two pieces of information after reading our piece, make it these two:
- APIs are not a one size fits all solution
- Every integration requires careful analysis and consideration
Here at Pronto Woven, we pride ourselves on paying attention to those finer details that require careful consideration and analysis. You can visit the API documentation page on the relevant Pronto Woven sites in order to learn more.
If you find yourself reading about this and know APIs could help your organisation in some way, feel free to get in touch. Our team is committed to delivering fully integrated solutions and we’ve built our business based on the trust and loyalty we’ve shared with clients over many years. We take the time to understand the complexity of your business and can provide you with all of the services you’re after. That’s our promise to you - contact us for an obligation free meeting.
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