The text/Bala Kasiviswanathan
Niu Xiaoming
The full text, 1974 words
The State of the API Economy 2021 report shows that digital transformation has become a top priority for businesses in recent years, with COVID-19 and changing market conditions making it even more urgent. The pandemic has compressed the time frame for digital transformation of global companies from years to months.
This urgency is also reflected in the study of Google Cloud: ** In order to cope with the knock-on effects of COVID-19 on enterprises in 2020, nearly three-quarters of enterprises continue to invest in digital transformation. ** Two-thirds of these companies are increasing investment or completely changing their strategies to become leading digital companies.
Digital transformation depends on an enterprise’s ability to integrate its services, capabilities, and assets into reusable, modular software. Every enterprise stores valuable data in its systems, but leveraging this value depends on the ability of apis to break down data silos and make data available in different environments, including by combining it with partners and other third party valuable assets.
Even if some systems were never designed to communicate with each other, apis allow developers to easily access and combine digital assets across different systems for better overall collaboration. API is a software and the software of “dialogue” between the most basic form, if the developer’s experience can be incorporated into the design of the API, (as opposed to a custom integration project that experience not to be copied) they will become very strong, so that developers can reuse the data and the system function to the development of new applications.
The API Economics 2021 study surveyed more than 700 IT executives around the world to find out their key trends and judgments about COVID-19 and its impact on their business. As a result, five key trends for apI-driven digital transformation in 2021 have been identified:
01
Add SaaS and hybrid cloud-based API deployments
When asked about areas of future technology focus and investment, 50 percent of respondents reported an increase in SaaS office scenarios and an increase in hybrid cloud adoption, both of which apis are very important tools.
Apis serve scenarios ranging from connecting internal applications to enabling digital ecosystem strategies, so many enterprises choose to host apis using a combination of internal deployment and cloud infrastructure.
02
Through apis, competitive advantages can be analyzed and expanded
While deploying apis can help companies grow their digital businesses, measuring API performance is key to optimizing digital tool use and innovation.
The most common way respondents currently measure apis in their organizations includes metrics for API performance, metrics for traditional IT center numbers, and metrics for API consumption. But when asked how they measure the impact of an API, they say the first thing is business impact (including net promotional value (NPS) and speed to market).
Leading enterprises using API analytics can not only guide new strategies, but also align goals and results. Executive sponsors tend to support tangible goals (such as an API that attracts a lot of developer attention or accelerates the delivery of new products), so teams can use API metrics to effectively align leaders around digital strategy and justify continued platform-level funding for API projects.
03
AI and ML-driven API management are getting a lot of attention
Although the API is very simple in some aspects of security and administration, such as authentication mechanisms to control access or limit application rates when API calls exceed certain limits (such as during DDoS attacks), Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) will become important ways for enterprises to enhance their API management and security capabilities.
There is no doubt that AI – and ML-powered API security and monitoring solutions are being widely used by enterprises to help them detect and block malicious attacks. In fact, usage by Apigee customers for anomaly detection, robot protection and safety analysis increased 230 percent from September 2019 to September 2020 compared to the same period last year.
Information shows that Apigee is an API management company founded in 2004. It was listed on NASDAQ on April 25, 2015 and acquired by Google in September 2016, becoming one of the services of Google Cloud. Apigee provides products from API design, development, management, portal, gateway and other API lifecycle products.
04
The API ecosystem is the engine of innovation
The **API is the backbone of the digital business ecosystem, containing a network of partners, developers, and customers. ** These ecosystems may consist entirely of internal members (that is, developers within the organization) or may include external individuals and organizations, such as suppliers, third party suppliers, contractors, customers, developers, regulators, and competitors.
The study found that while all companies with mature apis are likely to focus on accelerating the development of new applications and the connectivity of internal applications, highly mature organizations are more likely to focus on building developer ecosystems or B2B partner ecosystems around their apis.
05
The importance of API security and governance continues to grow
By 2020, almost all industries, from retail and manufacturing to finance and hospitality, have changed the way they do business, with companies focusing much less on digital maturity in the wake of COVID-19. Customers, employees and partners are turning their attention to digital media. Even as this creates new opportunities for innovation, it also makes it harder to deal with growing security threats by giving hackers more access to sensitive data.
When designed and managed properly, apis can provide business optionality, control access to digital assets, combine old systems with new technologies, and enable developers to easily experiment, innovate, and respond to changing customer needs. But exposed apis without proper controls, safeguards, developer considerations, and visibility permissions can put corporate and customer data at risk.
The study shows that increasing investment in API security and governance remains a top consideration, enabling enterprises to better leverage and protect their digital assets.
Even as 2021 begins to address the challenges of 2020, looking ahead, companies should start thinking beyond digital transformation and strive for digital excellence in the next decade. Enterprises will need to leverage advanced cloud capabilities around security, global reach, access management, and artificial intelligence to support the growing global digital ecosystem. With well-designed and managed apis, enterprises can ensure that business ADAPTS from one interruption to the next.