api business definition
But the value of tools and disciplines is. limited to the extent that the APIs they help. build and manage deliver business value. IT organizations should have their own. priorities—improving interfaces or data. encapsulations that are frequently used today. or that could be reused tomorrow. With a conferencing API, that same on-demand service can be integrated into another Web-based software application, like an instant messaging program or a Web calendar. The user can schedule a Web conference in his Web calendar program and then click a link within the same program to launch the conference. us ​ /ˈɪn·tərˌfeɪs/. › the place where two systems come together and have an effect on each other, or a connection between two computers or between a person and a computer: Amphibians live at the interface of land and sea. To simplify software, you improve its interface. An application-programming interface (API) is a set of programming instructions and standards for accessing a Web-based software application or Web tool. A software company releases its API to the public so that other software developers can design products that are powered by its service. For example, Amazon.com released its API so that Web site developers could more easily access Amazon's product information. From the earliest days. of computing, systems have had to talk to. each other in order to share information. across physical and logical boundaries and. solve for the interdependencies inherent in. many business scenarios. See all translations. uk ​ /ˈɪn.tə.feɪs/ us ​ /ˈɪn.t̬ɚ.feɪs/. › a connection between two pieces of electronic equipment, or between a person and a computer: My computer has a network interface, which allows me to get to other computers. The new version of the program comes with a much better user interface (= way of showing information to a user) than the original. Application programming interfaces (APIs) have been elevated from. a development technique to a business model driver and boardroom. consideration. An organization’s core assets can be reused, shared, and monetized through APIs that can extend the reach of existing. services or provide new revenue streams. APIs should be managed. like a product—one built on top of a potentially complex technical. footprint that includes legacy and third-party systems and data. APIs can add features, reach, and context. to new products and services, or become. products and services themselves. Amid the fervor, a reality remains: APIs. are far from new developments. In fact, they. have been around since the beginning of. structured programming. Abstraction in this sense is typically used in architecture to allow a consistent level of definition and understanding to be achieved in each area of the architecture in order to support effective communication and decision-making. With APIs, applications talk to each other without any user knowledge or intervention. When you buy movie tickets online and enter your credit card information, the movie ticket Web site uses an API to send your credit card information to a remote application that verifies whether your information is correct.
Application programming interfaces (APIs) have been elevated from a development technique to a business model driver and boardroom.