What are APIs (Application Programming Interface), and how do we use them?

You might have heard the buzz around application programming interface (API), so what is it? This blog will help explain what an API is and how it’s the connectivity link between applications and systems.

How an API Works

APIs allow communication between systems and organizations to exchange data and messages with one another. They serve as links between applications and systems over the network. An API economy is so critical because it enables vendors to break down complex components into containers with microservices to make data more accessible and meet the needs of the company’s selling strategies.

Thereby allowing outside third parties to share their data with your applications. This bridges their applications together to send all requests. For example, when new employees start with your company, they need to submit their information for processing within payroll, and benefits and be added to the company directory. With an API integration, you can automatically create entries for these fields without making the employee submit their information multiple times.

A key advantage of API integrations is that they automatically update data to and from users, customers, vendors, partners, and any third parties servers or applications for any software component.

All APIs have endpoints where the root source is located. Delivering requests with the right endpoints will tell the server where the piece of information is stored. Endpoints pinpoint where the resources are located for the response and tell them where to go.

API Access Control and Gateway 

What’s great about APIs is that they provide a level of security – exposing only the required data vs. disclosing all your information to a server. A great example of this is public and private APIs. Private APIs are used to hold personal customer data. Public APIs allow vendors and partners to integrate their applications and software. As a result, you can integrate your information without exposing your customer’s personal information with the partner you’re integrating with.

Utilizing API Gateway such as the Peregrine Connect Management Suite (that uses Open Id and OAuth technologies) covers the authentication and access control for the APIs, ensuring they are not misused. Peregrine Connect allows you to manage and monitor the operational health of your entire integration environment resources and the applications deployed to them. It also has proactive alerting capabilities to identify root causes of any issues to correct them instantly. Additionally, Peregrine Connect provides a comprehensive analysis & dashboard view of all your organization’s environments including on-premise & cloud.

The Future of APIs

APIs offer the versatility of connectivity for all organizations, large and small, to expand their business with different partners and vendors to connect their applications and systems. Companies no longer need to rely on expensive consultants or the “Go it alone” approach with an integration platform such as Peregrine Connect. The “Go it alone” approach results in unmaintainable code and inadequate instrumentation and tools to manage your integration needs.

The future of the API economy is to incorporate more user-focused apps that can support all lines of business so organizations can maximize their business output. In an era of digital transformation, traditional automation methods make it difficult to scale with the constant changes in policies, processes, skills, and roles. The future of APIs accelerates hyperautomation with continuous integration delivery for B2B and B2C companies. It allows them to work and trade more effectively with their customers, suppliers, and business partners to automate their key business processes. The future of APIs will become autonomous without human interference. Peregrine Connect is the only solution leading the way to further expand on APIs and provide an integration platform to solve all your application and system connectivity challenges.

To learn more about leveraging connectivity throughout your organization, check out Peregrine Connect – the single platform to create true connectivity for all your applications and systems!

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