API Economy- Why You Should Be A Part Of It

Innovators who want to grow and build a sustainable business model are not just relying on what they can produce themselves; but on what they can add to their existing services as well- and that’s where APIs come into picture. An API, or Application Programming Interface, allows one application to access services of another through a package of code that essentially acts as a bridge between digital services. APIs are how one software talks to another.

API Economy

Product Engineering

What is the World of API Economy?

Uber has always been a classic example of the integration of API and how it contributes in creating new capabilities. Here are some components Uber uses to make it effective

Determining the geographic location of the user and the nearby drivers- Uber uses CoreLocationFramework (API for iOS) to send location events to Uber’s server. It also monitors geographical regions and movements of the device. For Android, this is done by Google’s Location API.
Calculating a practical route to the destination- While iOS used MapKit, Android used GoogleMaps API. This registers the app as a routing app and then makes directions available to both user and driver. They also integrated Google Maps for both Android and iOS.
Notifying the user when the driver arrives- Uber text messages are made possible by the popular Twilio telecommunications provider API. This provides notifications and messages of any kind.
Facilitating the payment to the driver as well as delivering the receipt via mail- Uber chose to partner with BrainTree API to accept card payments.
All these integrations helped Uber save a lot of developmental costs, as well as man-hours. What’s even more fun now is that Uber, which was developed by the integration of APIs, is itself integrated by other apps to save up their money.

Applications and services can use Uber API to:

Improve transportation of goods– UberEats API is purposed for the transportation of food and goods. This can be leveraged by many service apps that deal with providing customers food or products.
Add Geolocation tracking– Doblet used Uber API for users to find the closest charging stations around for the phone.
Reduce Developmental Time and Cost– “Alexa, please book an Uber app” is essentially booking a taxi using Amazon’s Echo without the development of an entire taxi app inside it. Just by the integration of Uber API.
Solve User Problems– TripAdvisor used Uber API to request the taxi service so that users can travel to an unknown city and can be provided a complete travel experience.

Be it retailers or banks, both are using APIs for their benefits. A bank is partnering with Fintechs to develop APIs that integrate customer’s banking information for easier access to their banking features. A retailer uses APIs to track inventories, set up multi-brand shops, or helping customers locate their shops This is the world of API Economy.

API Adoption

35%

of today’s tech leaders generated over 1/4 of their org’s revenue using APIs.

61%

of developers used more APIs in 2020 than in 2019.

71%

of developers plan to use even more in 2021 and beyond.

Why be a part of API Economy

API promises a bundle of possibilities by providing the power of extending the data-sharing structure.

A brief look at the popular APIs on the web gives us an idea of the fact that all industries have adopted the API economy and made use of the database and services available. APIs are helping the developers to digitally transform the business as well. They help in providing more data, faster development, and decreased operational time, and implementing the best features available.

Be it retailers or banks, organizations from a range of industries are using APIs for their benefits. Banks are partnering with Fintechs to develop APIs that integrate customer’s banking information for easier access to their banking features. Retailers use APIs to track inventories, set up multi-brand shops, or to help customers locate their shops.

Thanks to APIs, a feature for which you have to write millions of lines of code and spend a fortune can easily be achieved by integrating the API available, saving precious time and cost which can now be used for to scale the business.

Talk to our experts to learn more about how APIs can supercharge your business growth.

Publish: July 19, 2021

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