APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) play a huge part in today’s connected world.
Much of our online connectivity is facilitated by these often-unsung heroes, and without them we’d find ourselves unable to as easily do many of the things we take for granted – holiday bookings and social media logins, for instance. In layman’s terms, APIs act as a sort of middle man between users and IT systems, processing requests and enabling the corresponding responses to be delivered. In this way, it can be seen as a kind of messenger.
Increasingly, companies across a wide range of sectors are looking to API integration to streamline their processes, and create a better user experience. The team here at Impress Solutions develops bespoke API packages for businesses. We also act as API vendors; this means that, one way or another, whether through development or distribution, we can provide the necessary API. We wanted to look at how these APIs can drastically improve a business, both for the client and the company.
API Developers
No two businesses are the same. No matter how similar they may be, each company has its own nuances that make it what it is. With that uniqueness come individual needs and goals, separate from those of even their most like-minded of competitors. With these distinct needs, businesses need correspondingly distinct API and web development solutions. Bespoke, completely tailored API integration enables a business to meet its exact needs.
Your web platform is built to work around your objectives and goals, as opposed to previous years, whereby you’d have to compromise on your needs, catering to the API that best fit the requirements (which in many cases, was something akin to fitting a square peg in a circular hole). These purpose-built interfaces greatly help to streamline a business’ operations, saving both time and money.
Another benefit of having APIs developed is that they cater to evolving businesses. The world of commerce and industry is by no means a static thing. An API that proved useful to customers in one month, might be redundant six months further down the line. API developers, such as ourselves, can create an API for your business as and when it needs.
API Providers
There are instances, of course, where the needs of a company may be simpler. In these cases, something more general will usually suffice in meeting these goals. After all, there’s little point putting in the work to write a whole new API, when there are countless ones out there that may do the job perfectly. API providers or vendors can source the appropriate API for your business and integrate it into your system. The importance of using a trusted provider cannot be overstated.
Reputable web development companies will only secure APIs from trusted vendors, and only implement those interfaces which satisfy rigorous criteria pertaining to issues such as security, for instance. It can be tempting to cut corners on things like this to save on costs, but should things go wrong, then you’ll be landing your company with much greater costs down the line.
API Integration
In a nutshell, APIs mean that the cogs of a business run more smoothly; as well as enabling the addition of whole new cogs, in fact! If connecting different parts (or new parts) of a business was once a nightmare for firms, APIs make it a dream. The landscape of the corporate ecosystem has developed in a generative way over the past few years. One of the best ways to keep all those developing, separate strands connected to one another is through the humble API.
If you’re still skeptical as to the usefulness of these online tools, consider the following statement just for a moment. APIs were first developed in the early 2000s; now, there are over 23,000 available APIs out there. So, if you’d like to find out more about our API integration work, whether it be the development of entirely new APIs, or simply the vending of existing APIs, then get in touch!
Contact Impress Solutions today on 01708 759 760.
