API or API ?
What's the matter ?
After all, API or WebAPI is invariantly a set of technologies based on HTTP, JSON, REST and Swagger. It permits to upload and/or download information in a JSON format. Of course all this stuff is absolutely standardized making it all painless to connect the IT components.
So up to now API seems more like old existing technologies being revamped as for the 21th century...
Another IT tool for the IT ?
WebAPI is very convient to be used as plumbing pipes to connect to any EAI hub and add more noodles to that well-filled plate. Or in a more glorious path it can be used to build lego pieces of software (also called microservices) to clean/modernize the IT territory. In a strategy to remove as many noodles as possible from the plate.
Feeling some hunger ?
Any other shinier path to use WebAPI ?
WebAPI can be used to monetize the value that is already present inside the enterprise. It can also be new value that is possible to build taking on the opprotunities offered by the WebAPI standard stack. IT technology that can bring more business ? Sounds interesting, isn't it?
Opening the enterprise information to increase business
We said WebAPI is good at connecting IT components? Let's convert this facility into strategy of opening the enterprise to the world !
Don't restrain the strategy of opening the enterprise
It is possible to increase the business by selling the services already operated by the enterprise. The geographical extended area, the external businesses footprint, etc... can be used as new business accelerators. This opens for partnership strategy to increase business and revenue. In this vision, bridging the distant ITs is not a problem using the WebAPI stack.
It is possible to increase the business by producing new data valuable for external businesses. It can be any kind of analytics, profiling, etc... This opens for a provider/consumer strategy to increase business and revenue. Again, in this vision, bridging the distant ITs is not a problem using the WebAPI stack.
The data is at the center of the business
More than just pumbling, the WebAPI can manipulate business-centric data.
And that data needs to be under control. In the aspects of structuring, quality, reusability, etc...
So, API or API ?
API of course :-)
José Torres