External Integrations Services
Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) have become indispensable to modern app development, as software developers increasingly rely on them to extend product functionality via third-party services. This approach is almost always faster and easier than developing new functionality from scratch.
In the last few years, we have integrated various external payment systems, email correspondence, data exchange, image processing, accounting data transfer, elasticsearch, logistics module and many others.
API is a software intermediary which combines two applications. It enables your application to communicate with other applications without the need to know how they are implemented. APIs can be used to pull in data sources, manage complex tasks, or add features that are not in your application from other applications. The most commonly used forms of APIs are web APIs and web services.
API integration is the method by which two or more applications connect to each other through their APIs. It makes use of APIs to enable communication between two or more applications. API integrations power many high-performance business processes that keep data in sync, improve productivity, and boost revenues.
Some common types of API integrations include:
- Social logins
- User accounts
- CRM systems
- Payments
- Tracking
- Chatbots
By having a seamless API integration platform, businesses can leverage the functionality of existing applications with other applications and systems. Moreover, APIs allow businesses to automate their systems and constantly share data. Many organizations provide APIs to their customers and business partners for seamless communication between teams. On top of that, APIs enable businesses to integrate existing applications into their systems for effectively managing their lead routing.
There are four major types of APIs:
1. Open APIs (Public APIs)
2. Partner APIs
3. Internal APIs (Private APIs)
4. Composite APIs
API integration is a process that should be performed with careful consideration. If not done well, it may result in poor application performance as well as a bad user experience.
- Review all API documentation carefully
- Select reliable, well-tested APIs
- Audit your APIs for security vulnerabilities
- Ensure that your APIs can scale with your business
- Implementing an API integration strategy
Maintenance and upgrades
Once the integration is done, it is not all over. You need to assign members of the IT team or a developer to handle the integration maintenance and upgrading. Otherwise, any changes made to the functionality of the system can mess up the entire process of data access and manipulation. Additionally, your customers may also make requests for modifications and custom improvements.
If you need to automate your project with external integrations or build one, we will be happy to discuss it with us.