Application Programing Interface (API)

What is an API?

An API (Application Programming Interface) enables different software applications to communicate and interact by defining a set of rules for data exchange. APIs can be used within an organisation to connect internal systems or externally to integrate with third party applications and data sources.

Many popular software solutions, such as accounting platforms, CRM systems, and workforce management tools, offer open APIs to enable data sharing and automation. However, bespoke software and certain third party solutions do not provide open APIs. In these cases, a custom built API or an alternative integration method may be required to connect the two systems.

What Can An API Offer Businesses?

APIs offer businesses a wide range of opportunities that can help to streamline their internal workflows, improve productivity and overall performance through the connections they allow to other software and systems. As well as the obvious aspects such as integration and data exchange, automation and improved collaboration, there are also some less obvious benefits that APIs can offer businesses.

Innovation

APIs can help businesses to innovate. They do this by providing access to external services and data and vice versa which in turn, enables businesses to enhance their product offerings to their end users.

Expansion

Through the use of APIs, businesses can expand their reach through working with partners or integrating into larger ecosystems.

Cost Savings

When businesses opt to utilise APIs in order to meet their requirements, they may well save on development costs by not having to build alternatives that do the same thing from scratch.

Better Customer Experience

Because businesses are able to connect to third party services such as payment gateways and social media, they can provide a more user friendly experience to their customers by allowing them to access a range of different services from their own system.

Who Might Use An API?

As should be evident from above, APIs can be useful for businesses of all shapes, size and industries - the connections they offer to other data sources and third party systems can bring benefits to pretty much any organisation. Here, we will look at some specific use cases for APIs.

Social Media Sharing

Most businesses today use Social Media in some way, shape or form. APIs can be used to share content directly from an application such as Hubspot CRM to social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. This allows for engagement to be tracked and negates the need to use multiple systems.

Ecommerce Store Payment Integration

APIs are popular for connecting online stores with payment gateways such as PayPal or Stripe. This allows for secure transactions, inventory management systems and shipping services and the credibility of the payment platforms can help build credibility for the business integrating with them.

Authentication

APIs can be used to implement single sign-on (SSO) or social login features such as being able to log in to a new system with a users Google or Facebook account instead of them having to create a new log-in.

Mobile App Development

If an organisation has a mobile app, APIs can be used to allow the apps to communicate with backend servers for data storage, user profiles or push notifications.

CRM Systems

Another common use case for APIs is to connect customer relationship management (CRM) systems with marketing and customer support tools which can streamline sales efforts, automate communication tasks and ensure all contact with a prospect/customer is logged in one place.

How Can we Help?

Whether you're looking for a custom built API or to have someone connect your systems with readily available APIs, our development team can help. We have may years of experience working with APIs of all types and will work with you to find a solution for your specific business requirements.

FAQs

Q) What does API stand for?

A) Application Programming Interface

Q) Who is responsible for the API once it's developed?

A) Once an API is developed, it is generally handed over to the buyer. The developer should be on hand to support if needs be but do always make sure to confirm this in advance if you don't have the necessary technical resources.

Q) Can an API be changed or updated to accommodate new software?

A) Yes they can, and because you will own the source code you can do this yourself. Alternatively, we will always be on hand to do this for you if you don't have the necessary technical expertise.

Q) What is API testing?

A) API testing is a form of software testing that allows the developer to confirm that an API is working it is meant to be from a functionality, reliability, performance and security perspective. API tests can be undertaken manually, or they can be automated providing the developer has access to the correct types of API testing tool(s). There are a variety of different forms of API tests with each one having a unique role in ensuring the API remains functional and to requirements standard.

Further Reading

Do I need an API?

How do APIs work?

What if an API is not suitable?