Today, organizations have changed their modes of operations and streamlined them with new innovative solutions that make business operations more effective. This has been fueled by the growth in technology and big data that allow them (organizations) to tap into different markets with customized solutions that fit the needs of those markets. Without this, organizations are likely to run out of business or find it difficult to reach their targets.
However, the process of digitizing their operations was initially not easy for some industries. For example, the financial industry had been dominated by traditional technological solutions that were quite difficult to change. This has so far changed, and they have now employed modern solutions that meet the changing demands of their customers.
This has been made easy by the use of APIs and collaborations. Applications Programming Interfaces (APIs) are a set of rules that dictate the exchange of data and communication between different applications. They are the connecting blocks that dictate the sending of requests and receiving of responses. With APIs, organizations are able to build a new system within a short period of time, by simply looking at an API and customizing it to meet their requirements.
Furthermore, different teams in an organization are able to work together, each working on a different aspect of an innovative solution, and deliver software that the organization needs within a short period of time.
APIs Changed the Process of Building Software
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A few years ago, organizations needed to hire a developer when building a new system who would plan their API and build the system from scratch. The developer would manage the code and make sure that they have added new code to the source when the organization needed new functionalities.
However, the arrival of web services changed this and brought about some decoupling of the entire process. The Web Service Description Language introduced a new way to use a web service when exposing a new object. For example, developers were now able to access an object represented by XML instead of accessing different programming languages.
Then APIs came that allowed communication that depended on the logic of the business instead of relying on the object code. For instance, in the taxi industry before the use of APIs, a request could be “Get Taxi ID”, relying on the object code. However, with APIs, this request could be “Give me all my Taxis”. This is basically the same request, but it is now viewed from a business logic.
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APIs changed the process of building software and are now among the most valuable assets in any business that is serious with innovation and collaboration.
Addressing the Challenge
The most common challenge for all organizations today is making sure that they have addressed the changing demands of their customers using technology. This is where collaboration with technology partners comes into play.
Most of these technology firms were started with APIs and an architecture leaning towards web services. These two innovations (APIs and the architecture) are able to continuously deliver solutions. This makes it possible for organizations to concurrently build and deploy innovative solutions. These solutions can also be reversed easily when the need arises.
Innovation with Collaboration
Identifying the areas that require new innovative solutions in a business requires that the business seeks the help of multiple expertise and disciplines in the organization. Having different teams working on their own without communication and collaboration between teams is a hindrance that businesses should avoid.
Smart businesses are now reaping benefits after employing a cross-functional and diverse culture that encourages collaboration. This has also been made easier by modern development collaboration tools powered by APIs.
Conclusion
APIs have completely changed how businesses operate. Organizations are relying on them to build new software and solutions that address the needs of their customers. Due to the collaborative nature of APIs, organizations are able to have different teams work in parallel, collaboratively, to release a new solution within a short time and when required. This shows that APIs are the key to collaboration in organizations.
