How data driven business is fuelled by APIs: A guided approach
Every IT and business leader today seeks for data based insights which provide great competitive advantage in the industry as information on growth strategy and strategies to improve customer satisfaction and improvement in overall efficiency are direct benefits of real-time insights of data. It is one of the most powerful and valuable assets any company can have in the present day scenario.
One of the greatest obstacles towards achieving digital transformation is inability or inefficiency of the existing tools companies use to decipher useful insights from huge amounts of raw data being collected. The power to make the most of digital adoption lies in mastering data analytics and getting the right insight at the right time.
Of several ways to master the art of data management, using APIs is quite revolutionary.
Table Of Contents
Creating the right APIs
Creating right APIs is the first step of the process. With diverse data sources in place, firstly we need an API to unlock these data from different applications, databases and similar sources. A simplified process is highly preferred so we need to look out for relevant integration platforms.
The second step is to create APIs that can convert the data unlocked into functional blocks.
To power the experiences the data needs to be fed into, such as mobile and web applications, analytics or visualization platforms, the final layer of APIs need to be in place. To prepare the data for the required format, this layer of APIs will be helpful.
Data Security
With so many sources of data in the play and acknowledging the serious implications of loss of data to anybody outside the organization, securing the data and eliminating any kind of loophole or vulnerability in the system is of utmost importance. Functionalities such as mandatory policy configuration, network edge protection and tokenization etc. are important and are usually included in the integration platform. Implementation of layered security is something very useful. For instance, there has to be security on the data whether it is at rest or is in transit, then security within the API and finally security around the system within which the API is deployed.
API management
After deployment of APIs and securing them for operation, it is essential to monitor and manage them closely. Practices such as defining SLA tiers, accessing management and setting alerts are highly recommended. In the organization, giving access to relevant users and teams is important for efficient use of the APIs. So, management of the usage and accessibility requires a good API management tool. It will also ensure to keep check on any misuse of API or need for adding or modifying existing APIs as per the demands and usage in due course of time.
Data Visualization & sharing
Once all the APIs are in place and data is processed into useful insights, presenting them to the relevant people and team using the latest visualization tools adds up to the efficiency of the digital transformation journey in any given business. Data can be effectively shared across platforms and user accounts real time using cloud integration and integration tools can be used to visualize the data.
Monitoring progress
Monitoring the performance of the APIs in place is very important. There will be issues no matter how perfectly the APIs are designed, and resolution of these issues on time is very important. Greater the number of APIs in place, the more critical is the process of monitoring all of them, their integrations from a single dashboard.
To learn more about how you can adopt a digital transformation journey and make your business more profitable by using APIs, making full use of data in hand, reach us on https://metricoidtech.com/ or our social media handles.
