Reviewing API for business performance

API stands for Application Programming Interface. In the context of APIs, the word Application refers to any software with a distinct function. Interface can be thought of as a contract of service between two applications. This contract defines how the two communicate with each other using requests and responses. What Is an Example of an API? When you use an application on your mobile phone, the application connects to the Internet and sends data to a server. The server then retrieves that data, interprets it, performs the necessary actions and sends it back to your phone.

APIs are broadly accepted and used in web applications. There are four principal types of API commonly used in web-based applications: public, partner, private and composite. In this context, the API “type” indicates the intended scope of use.

A public API is open and available for use by any outside developer or business. An enterprise that cultivates a business strategy that involves sharing its applications and data with other businesses will develop and offer a public API.

Public APIs typically involve moderate authentication and authorization. An enterprise also may seek to monetize the API by imposing a per-call cost to utilize the public API.

A partner API, only available to specifically selected and authorized outside developers or API consumers, is a means to facilitate business-to-business activities. For example, if a business wants to selectively share its customer data with outside CRM firms, a partner API can connect the internal customer data system with those external parties—no other API use is permitted. Partners have clear rights and licenses to access such APIs. For this reason, partner APIs generally incorporate stronger authentication, authorization and security mechanisms. Enterprises also typically do not monetize such APIs directly; partners are paid for their services rather than through API use.

An internal (or private) API is intended only for use within the enterprise to connect systems and data within the business. For example, an internal API may connect an organization’s payroll and HR systems.

Internal APIs traditionally present weak security and authentication—or none at all—because the APIs are intended for internal use, and such security levels are assumed to be in place through other policies. This is changing, however, as greater threat awareness and regulatory compliance demands increasingly influence an organization’s API strategy.

Composite APIs generally combine two or more APIs to craft a sequence of related or interdependent operations. Composite APIs can be beneficial to address complex or tightly-related API behaviours, and can sometimes improve speed and performance over individual APIs.

APIs exchange commands and data, and this requires clear protocols and architectures—the rules, structures and constraints that govern an API’s operation. Today, there are three categories of API protocols or architectures: REST, RPC and SOAP. These may be dubbed “formats,” each with unique characteristics and trade-offs and employed for different purposes.

The representational state transfer architecture is perhaps the most popular approach to building APIs. REST relies on client/server approach that separates front and back ends of the API, and provides considerable flexibility in development and implementation. REST is “stateless,” which means the API stores no data or status between requests. REST supports caching, which stores responses for slow or non-time-sensitive APIs. REST APIs, usually termed “RESTful APIs,” also can communicate directly or operate through intermediate systems such as API gateways and load balancers.

RPC: The remote procedural call (RPC) protocol is a simple means to send multiple parameters and receive results. RPC APIs invoke executable actions , while REST APIs mainly exchange data or resources such as documents. RPC can employ two different languages, JSON and XML, for coding; these APIs are dubbed JSON-RPC and XML-RPC, respectively.

SOAP: The simple object access protocol (SOAP) is a messaging standard defined by the World Wide Web Consortium and broadly used to create web APIs, usually with XML. SOAP supports a wide range of communication protocols found across the internet, such as HTTP, SMTP and TCP. SOAP is also extensible and style-independent, which allows developers to write SOAP APIs in varied ways and easily add features and functionality. The SOAP approach defines how the SOAP message is processed, the features and modules included, the communication protocol(s) supported and the construction of SOAP messages.

Compared with the flexibility of REST, SOAP is a highly structured, tightly controlled and clearly defined standard. For example, SOAP messages may contain up to four components, including an envelope, header, body and fault (error handling).

The choice of an API format can have a profound and long-lasting impact on the success and adoption of an API. Organizations must select the most appropriate format based on the complexity of the information that must be exchanged, the level of security needed around that information and the speed or performance required from those exchanges.

APIs bring a new level of modularity to applications. APIs allow developers to leverage the expertise of other applications. When an organization develops an application, they no longer need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to things like authentication, communication, payment processing, and maps.

Instead developers can leverage the seamless plug in capabilities and functionality of APIs. APIs allow applications and system components to communicate with each other on internal networks as well as over the Internet.

They’ve become integral to enterprise efforts to make internal applications and services accessible over the Internet to business customers, partners, suppliers, and other third parties. Asking if APIs are secure is like asking if web applications are secure. So, the easy answer is it completely depends on the implementation and life cycle management.

APIs can be secure, but due to the quantity and complexity of APIs, it’s easy to have security gaps. Like many other facets of cybersecurity, the API defenders must get defense right every time, while an attacker only needs one weakness for a successful compromise.

An organization can have dozens, hundreds, and even thousands of APIs connecting internal applications to each other and the outside world. APIs can provide a direct gateway from the outside to an organization’s critical data and applications if they aren’t properly secured.

The problem is API adoption tends to exceed the rate at which organizations can secure and manage them. Over the years, an organization may have done a lot of work adding firewalls, segmentation, vulnerability management programs, and more, but if an organization has insecure APIs, then an attacker could evade many typical security measures. An insecure API exposed to the internet could lead to a serious compromise.

Understanding why you need an API is important. They’re the key to the future of business. They help businesses with a variety of tasks — from streamlining their backend to providing their customers with an easier way to interact with them. A lot of companies these days have APIs they offer to third-party developers. These developers can use the company’s API to integrate it with other applications and services — or even create their own application based on it. APIs allow businesses to access their data by making it public. This way, they can use other people’s programs and analyse their data in order to get insights or create new solutions. They also leverage experience and expertise in API design and backend technology to deliver the best value for your organization.

Sharing data with other firms through API creates synergy between your company and others, which you wouldn’t have if you were keeping all your data for yourself.

APIs are helpful because they allow you to make your data public so that anyone can use your company’s software or analyze the data in order to get insights or develop solutions that would not have been possible without the API.

By using an API, you can avoid creating a system of redundancies while also creating a variety of opportunities for different users who want to work with your company’s services.

Many businesses need a lot of data in order to make decisions. But not every company has the time or resource to collect data. That’s where APIs can help. An API allows you to collect data without expending time or effort. This is especially true if the API is designed for a specific type of data. For instance, if you’re trying to collect information about customers, then an API that collects customer information would be beneficial for your business. In addition, APIs can be used when it is necessary to process and analyze large amounts of data that are too complex for humans alone to comprehend.

An API is a set of routines, protocols, and tools that programmers use when they build an application to communicate with other applications in the network. APIs can provide a variety of functions and services and can be used by anyone. API management allows for enterprise-wide management of access, security, and release processes for APIs across various channels, including digital properties or third-party developers. It provides the framework to store, manage, and use data easily.

APIs allow resources to make their systems available through third-party apps and websites. For example, if you have an API for your e-commerce business, you could give access to other developers who want to build shopping cart plugins for your company’s website. This would be beneficial because it would allow these other developers to provide additional value through new features that you don’t offer, such as payment processing or drop shipping. It helps provide an easier and more secure way to connect to your organization’s data without having to write code. APIs have been around for a while and have been used in different ways, so there are many reasons why you need an API. Overall, it makes it easier to do business by improving connection and collaboration between teams and functions within a company. You can even do something fun with it, for example, you can automate the delivery of rewards and incentives to employees and customers using a simple gift card API. APIs allow different departments to work together to make a product or service successful.

The writer is MD and CEO of Community Bank. He can be contacted at [email protected]