Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) are currently attracting considerable attention in the business world. Their ability to offer secure yet flexible links between data stores and applications makes them powerful tools that can underpin new services and ways of working.

However, while organisations are busy evaluating the potential of APIs, they must be careful their focus doesn’t shift away from finding ways to best serve their customers.

While they are certainly powerful tools, APIs must be seen as just one component in a broader digital strategy. This strategy must clearly define what the organisation wants to achieve, how it is going to get there, and what this means for its customers.

The strategy might be to develop a new suite of customer services that will appeal to a new market segment or demographic. Perhaps it will involve the creation of a streamlined supply chain, or an initiative that improves working relationships with partners. Each needs to be carefully mapped out before any work at the API level even begins.

The technology / strategy mix
In any successful digital strategy, it is important to fully understand what it is that needs to be built before the appropriate underlying technologies are selected, and this is the case with APIs. Choosing a technology first and then trying to match it to a business strategy is likely to result in delays and cost overruns.

Industry experience shows that, when it comes to implementing a new digital strategy, technology really only forms around 30 percent of the total picture. The rest is made up of mindset and planning.

It is also very important for this mindset to be communicated from the very top of the organisation. When everyone can see that senior management is on board, they are likely to become more involved. This, in turn, will speed the preparation and deployment processes, thus leading to a more effective eventual outcome.

Management also needs to make it clear that, as the digital strategy is rolled out, it’s OK to make mistakes. In fact, having a fail-fast culture in place can pay long-term dividends.

This approach can be likened to the Agile strategy that is popular among software development teams. The teams deploy code, see how it performs, and then regularly perform revisions and updates.

The same can happen when a new digital strategy is being undertaken.  New ideas can be constantly trialled. Those that work can be retained, while those that don’t can be quickly replaced with new ones. In this way, the strategy becomes much more effective as it includes fresh ideas that perhaps might not even have been in the mix when work began.

The ongoing role of APIs
Once the digital strategy has been established and communicated, attention can then turn to selecting the most appropriate tools.

Part of this process will involve creating suitable APIs that allow the components forming the platform to effectively support the overall strategy. APIs allow linkages to be made that, in turn, give the flexibility for components to be altered over time. As the strategy progresses, elements can be removed or replaced without needing to rearchitect the entire supporting infrastructure.

Digital strategies are not a destination, but an ongoing journey. By using APIs to ensure flexibility, the organisation will be best placed to reap the most business benefits along the way.

Using the flexibility provided by APIs, organisations will be able to evolve their digital strategies as business and market conditions change over time. The advantages sought at the start of the project will be realised.

ABOUT COLMAN McCAFFERY//

Colman McCaffery is Axway’s Sales & Operations VP and Country Manager for the A/NZ region based in Melbourne.