What Is API Integration?

API integration is mission critical today. That's because APIs have become inescapable. APIs check the weather on your smartphone. They place a reservation for a flight or hotel online. They enable you to watch a streaming service. APIs are the engine that drive the transfer of access and data.

With this communication and transference data via APIs, of course, comes the matter of API integration.

What Is API Integration?

API integration is the process of connecting applications, data sources, and systems in a seamless manner with an application programming interface (API). The API acts a messenger between endpoints. As a result, APIs allow two or more disparate technologies are able to connect to each other to perform a joint function.

Why Is API Integration Important?

API integration is important to businesses because it allows you to leverage existing application functions with other applications. For example, an API makes data available from one database to another application. This enables a single source of truth. And it's critical for building a composable enterprise. 

Integrations are a critical component in the success or failure of a composable enterprise framework. Many developers, and business leaders alike are finding that not all SaaS ecosystems provide the same level of integration capabilities when it comes connecting them via APIs, including cloud APIs.

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When you are selecting an API management platform, it is vital to make sure that it will work seamlessly with your enterprise’s framework.

An API integration platform is needed to connect your applications, both on-premises and in the cloud, as well as internally and with external partners. It also needs to work with existing and legacy data sources.

Clearly, API integration is a crucial piece to maintaining IT efficiency. When API integration design patterns are performed seamlessly, you can leverage this connectivity to:

• Innovate new products.
• Reach more end-users.
• Get the best ROI on your API management initiatives.

Modernizing and Transforming Your Supply Chain to Real-Time Omni-Channel Integrations

Business needs for seamless supply chain, omni-channel integrations, and real-time data are growing at astronomical rates. In the webinar below, you'll learn how to use APIs to power integrations and access.

What Is Required For API Integration?

API integration requires certain API behaviors. For instance, you need a platform than can transform SOAP to REST APIs. You need to be able to mediate between security policies for the endpoints you're connecting. And you need to be able to do orchestration, for instance integrating multiple services.

The Akana API platform provides seamless integration and mediation capabilities. With Akana, you can create modern, well-structured APIs from legacy assets with ease.

These capabilities include:

• SOAP to REST: Quickly and easily take existing SOAP services and generate REST/JSON APIs.
• Security Policy: Seamlessly manage the mediation between security policies.
• API Orchestration: Create APIs from scratch or by integration of multiple services with a graphical process designer.
• Transformation: Map content across object types with prescriptive (XSL-T, FreeMarker) and declarative (XML<->JSON) models.
• Scripting: Write and deploy code in Java, Javascript, Jython, or Beanshell to augment your orchestrations or policies.
• Mainframe to API: Integrate and mediate mainframe applications with Sola Mainframe.

How Does API Integration Work?

Here's how API integration works. API integration connects two or more applications using their APIs. This allows the applications to exchange data. As a result, API integration keeps your applications synced up with the latest data that your business can act on when making decisions. 

API integration works the best when your API platform fits into your existing API architecture.

How Akana Fits Into Your Existing Architecture

The Akana platform fits into the interaction layer (highlighted in red in the diagram below) to provide a complete set of capabilities needed to quickly integrate and mediate your APIs. This layer manages everything that interacts with your APIs, inside your organization and outside your organization to external partners and developers.   

By using Akana, API integration is easy. 

Get Started With Akana

Akana provides the API integration platform you need to drive business forward.

Akana:

• Connects to your apps, both on-premises and in the cloud.
• Creates new APIs quickly and easily.
• Works with existing and legacy data sources.

Plus, the Akana API platform has everything you need for your API strategy — and your digital transformation strategy. 

See for yourself what sets the Akana API platform apart. Watch our on-demand demo today. 

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