An Application Programming Interface (API) allows computer programs to communicate with one another. Every website or software application uses an API. The right API can help you serve customers more efficiently and grow your business.
But you need an API management platform for security, faster app development and easy customization, among other things. An API platform can help you create an API, publish it, maintain it, monitor it and secure it against security issues – of which there are many. Choose an API management platform based on your business needs and technical requirements, so you can handle the complexities of managing your company’s API(s).
What Is an API?
An API is different from a user interface, because it’s not meant to help a human being communicate with a computer. Instead, it helps computer applications communicate with each other. The whole point of an API is to hide the intricacies of how an application works under the hood, so to speak, leaving only the parts that programmers need to manipulate exposed. One of the most common types of APIs is web APIs, which allow websites to communicate with one another, but APIs are actually used in any situation in which two computers need to talk to each other. APIs can be custom-built, or you can use standard ones that allow for interoperability between many apps and systems.
Consider Your Business Needs
When you’re considering the purchase of an API platform, think first about your business needs. You want API management to bring you more revenue, increase profits, and score new business. You also want to increase your API security and improve your client experience.
Many API platforms can boost your API security with vulnerability tests, security automation, monitoring, and alerts. You could receive notifications when your system is at risk from API security threats. Don’t depend on outdated legacy systems that can’t provide the security functionality that a true API platform can provide.
You also need to consider the increased profits that an API management platform can bring. If you’re in an industry with a lot of regulations, like finance, an API platform can bring you the security and guaranteed regulatory compliance that will earn you customers’ trust. You’ll be able to develop and deploy apps faster, which can make your services more appealing to new customers. You’ll get a comprehensive look at how your APIs are performing, and whether that performance is helping or hindering customers. It will be easier to optimize APIs to enhance the user experience and to monetize your apps and websites. Since you may need to use multiple APIs, a management platform is just what you need to keep track of them all and keep them running smoothly and at optimum efficiency and effectiveness.
Identify Your Technical Requirements
Before you choose an API platform, you need to think about your technical requirements. You need support for standard API interface definition models, like Open API Specification or Swagger, and security support with protocols like API Keys, OAuth2, and Basic Authentication. You’ll need to be able to view statistical breakdowns of how your APIs are performing and monitor them for troubleshooting purposes. You’ll need threat protection to stave off cyber attacks. External developer portals should be supported so that you can have developers go into your APIs and expand them or upgrade them if necessary. Of course, you’ll also need to control access to your APIs, with throttling and rate-limiting abilities.
If you’re a start-up or you’re hoping to grow your business without limits, you should choose an enterprise API management platform because it’ll be scalable to your needs, no matter how immense those needs become. If you choose a solution intended for small to medium business owners, you might not be able to grow with your API in a meaningful way, and that could lead to headaches down the road when you need to upgrade to a more scalable platform.
Always make sure that the API platform you choose provides the regulatory compliance features your business needs. Compliance with normal regulatory standards like the Health Insurance Portability, Accountability Act (HIPAA), the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), or whatever regulations apply to your industry is a must. Lifecycle management features and templates should be customized to meet the needs of your industry.
The right API management platform is essential to keeping your business secure while providing customers with the online user experience they have come to expect. Make the choice carefully, so your company can grow with its APIs.