Those business models that leverage integration technologies such as an application programming interface (APIs) and master data management (MDM) should be aware of what trends these tools are moving toward. Specifically, we are going to detail below the evolution, both in the short and long term, that the APIs are going to experience in the coming years.
Key API Trends
The key trends in APIs are as follows:
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Openness
The APIs will integrate the Openness trend, one of the keys of the fintech sector for the coming months along with authentication and B2C interfaces, blockchain, Web 4.0 or ‘Social to everything media’. The term Openness combines open source and open innovation. The latter is useful for responding to the need for collaboration between different business organizations that wish to compete in a short and medium term market by sharing distribution or territorial implementation, as well as a common market. On the other hand, open source allows to accelerate innovation processes and significantly improve the efficiency of apps and software that developers can modify and evolve.
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Integration in the form of ‘self-service
The ‘self-service’ mode of the APIs will provide the necessary and immediate integration for the enterprise organization and its various administrators, as well as for suppliers, partners, customers, and any of the agents that are part of the environment.
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Hybridization
IT departments are increasingly forced to look for alternatives to the cloud. This is because the adoption of cloud architectures is a highly complex task and because of the innovation required to launch new digital applications. The hybrid cloud will be the solution sought. The model characterized by developing an approach aimed at public and private cloud options will evolve towards control and flexibility.
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The figure of the API Product Manager
The figure of the professional API Product Manager is in an increasing boom due to the growing need to manage functions such as the refinement of marketing strategy and monetization, articulation of Business Value, improvement of experience and value in the use of the API, monitoring of KPIs or progress in the Roadmap. All this not only reveals the importance of microservices and APIs in any business strategy, but APIs are much more than a standard for integrations or technological development, they are products and business models in themselves.
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Swagger standard will grow in importance and makes RAML forget
Forecasts for the near future suggest that APIs will return to the Swagger standard, or at least will be the most widely used by them. It seems that the manufacturers will support the Open API initiative and will provide Swagger with the support to make it the most used model, to the detriment of RAML (RESTful API modeling language), on which a progressive decrease in use is expected.
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Link between IoT and Mobile Device Management (MDM)
The relationship will become ever closer between the Internet of Things and the MDM, as the latter will use the information on the customer’s purchase preferences and, in this way, contribute decisively to the generation of the ‘customer-360’ concept, in which their needs are known in detail. The development and settlement of Mobile Device Management clients will go through the synchronization and improvement of each client’s master record, which will provide information from sensors implemented in devices.
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API design comes to the fore
Generating APIs with great design will be one of the most clearly defined goals for manufacturers in 2019, along with the usual features of ease of use and scalability. In recent years, the API First mentality was important, but not essential. However, something is changing. Now the API developers are also its users, which means that this tool must be designed with them in mind. Having a graphical user interface at height will become more and more important.
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APIOps
APIOps achieves the automation of any defined process of API design, development, integration, security or management. This is nothing less than an updated DevOps to the API economy. And the coming years will see how the APIOps movement is more and more present and offers better solutions. APIOps, in development and API operations, encompasses the same culture and movement as DevOps. They will make great strides in building, designing, testing and releasing reliable APIs more frequently. With the rise of DevOps, you can build the most efficient, environments in which to test, build and release software quickly and reliably.
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