Turning strategy into reality means putting APIs first

Turning strategy into reality
means putting APIs first
IS YOUR DIGITAL BUSINESS STRATEGY READY FOR PRIME TIME?
A recent Forrester Research, Inc. report1 found that while almost 74% of today’s business executives say their company has a digital
strategy, “only 19% of executives believe their firms have the right technology to properly execute on the digital strategy.”
To avoid a bolt-on approach that only solves isolated problems, or one-off apps that lack the agile and responsive capabilities customers
and partners demand, you need a digital business strategy that puts APIs first.
To determine if your strategy is ready for prime time, see how many boxes you can check below.
My digital business strategy uses API technologies to:
Meet customer expectations and boost profits with innovative new offerings
Monetize existing data, products and services
Digital engagement and
enablement are essential for
sustainability and growth
Increase brand awareness and change how customers and partners use your products
Empower business lines to develop applications and go-to-market strategy without relying on
IT resources
Provide centralized access to a catalog of services exposed as APIs
APIs give you the opportunity
to create new revenue streams
through partners and digital
channels
Give developers access to documentation and artifacts (e.g. SDKs) so they can easily consume
exposed services
Reduce project implementation costs and application/product delivery timelines by
eliminating multiple “one-off” integration projects
Overcome legacy architecture limitations that hinder execution and adoption of new
products/technology
APIs can give your architecture
the speed and agility to keep
pace with business objectives
and digital innovation
Provide visibility and control across all IT and business services being consumed inside and
outside your organization
Allow legacy or core applications to be accessed in a new way, such as mobile
Integrate legacy systems with contemporary software products
Relieve the pressure to find engineering expertise for antiquated technology platforms
1 The State of Digital Business 2014, Forrester Research, Inc., May 7, 2014
An API-oriented architecture
can extend the life and utility
of existing IT services and
business applications
Consider application and user needs first by embracing a “top-down” versus “bottom-up”
approach to service exposure
Offer API developers a suite of standard and reusable policy rules that can be easily applied to
each new service as it’s deployed
A key theme for contemporary
enterprise architecture is to
introduce microservices that
represent specific needs of a
given application
Enable IT to offer core services as reusable components that multiple groups can easily
integrate into their projects and products
Reduce the temptation for business lines and individuals to circumvent IT procedure in order
to achieve better results and efficiency
Provide more flexibility, choice and enablement to your employees
Reduce security and compliance risk by bringing cloud and SaaS apps under IT’s control
Offer a unified and consistent way (such as Single Sign-on) for employees or customers to
access all business services
Centrally manage access and privileges across on-premise and cloud applications
Create clear audit trails showing how and where sensitive data is being accessed
Enable field forces to complete tasks remotely
Give customers and partners the mobile experience they expect
Leveraging web APIs can enable
you to embrace cloud and
SaaS applications, increasing
productivity while reducing IT
cost and dependency
Robust enterprise API
management will allow you
to fully and securely integrate
cloud services and build a true
hybrid enterprise
APIs enable you to engage with
customers and employees via
mobile apps
Eliminate expensive or bespoke application integration and development platforms
Scale your existing security infrastructure to support millions of “things” connected to
the Internet
Create a service layer that defines lightweight integration patterns commonly used across the
Internet of Things (IoT)
Web APIs support connected
devices and autonomous
machines that require access to
core IT services and back-end
business applications
Support new authentication and authorization patterns as required for connected devices
How did you do? If you checked…
At least 20 out of 27 boxes: Congratulations! Your digital strategy puts APIs first and you’re ready for prime time.
More than 15 boxes: You’re getting close. Look for additional opportunities to bolster your digital strategy with APIs.
10 boxes or less: You still have work to do but you’ve taken the first step.
To learn more about creating an API-first strategy for a successful digital business transformation, visit www.axway.com/api-first.
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