How APIS can improve your productivity
It’s important to remember they aren’t an out-of-the-box solution, but can make a key difference in a cloud environment, unlocking the capabilities you need to compete, recommends OneAdvanced.
Greater efficiency can be the key to unlocking higher productivity in your organisation, giving you an advantage in your sector. Integrating different systems can allow you to reduce duplicated processes and make your workflows more efficient. APIs can provide you with the tools to build those systems effectively, allowing you to create the integrations that are right for your organisation. However, it’s important to remember that APIs aren’t an out-of-the-box solution, so it’s important to understand what you want from them – and how to make the most of them.
What is an API?
An API is a set of protocols that allow different software solutions to communicate with one another. It can provide access to backend capabilities without exposing the underlying code. This makes them key to building integrations. By enabling developers to expose data and functionality in a controlled manner, APIs can make new operations possible in existing software.
This is becoming more important in an increasingly SaaS- and cloud-driven environment. These kinds of modern solutions don’t allow for database and code access, but APIs allow developers to build systems that support the same kind of functionality. This also ensures that the integrations built by users have appropriate security and work efficiently.
An API can be key to making the most of backend capabilities in a way that’s tailored to a user or organisation’s needs. A good API will come with the best possible documentation, guides and supporting materials, which allow your development team to build integrations that are the right fit. There is, however, a catch, as APIs don’t make all these capabilities possible on their own.
The power of integrations
The most important thing to remember about APIs is they are not out-of-the-box solutions. They are a tool to build the solution you need. Integrations are the key to achieving your workflow goals, making it easy to flow between different platforms and applications in a way that ensures maximum efficiency. A quality integration allows you to use greater functionality and harmonise your data across different parts of your workstream.
One of the most significant advantages of integrations – especially those developed in-house – is the way they can be tailored to an organisation or user’s specific needs. There are many cases across the world of work where a specific capability is vital to a particular function but wasn’t anticipated by software suppliers. Integrations step in to use the backend capabilities of APIs to provide seamless interoperability.
APIs are critical to making this possible. If you want to build your own integrations to support workflows, it’s vital to have the capabilities of an API to make it all possible.
The power of data
Data is becoming ever more key to success across the world of work. Having clear visibility of insights and information can allow you to make the right decisions and to avoid mistakes. A secure and efficient way to access backend systems for data integrations can make a huge difference.
APIs are key to simplifying data access, which makes all that possible. Through modern cloud-based systems, we have reduced the inefficiencies of on-premises systems, but this can limit direct access to database services. An API can reduce this barrier, helping you to build a system that meets your data needs.
A recent report found that over 70% of workers use more than six applications a day, with a third using more than 11. This causes significant inefficiencies, caused by duplicated activities and poorly streamlined data processes. By using an efficient integration, powered by a quality API, you can give your team the power to streamline their work and focus on the work that matters — rather than repetitive data entry.
This is what makes it worth assessing the value of APIs — and whether the tools you use have the capabilities you need. Simplifying integrations can unlock greater efficiency, which in turn unlocks productivity. It’s worth remembering, however, that APIs and integrations aren’t the only way to achieve that.
A platform-based system, with integrated services by design, can be your ticket to unlocking more efficient and effective workflows. You can learn more about this approach in our blog here. You can also learn more about the services we offer by getting in touch with one of our advisers.
