Unified APIs

What is a unified API?

A trip down memory lane… In 2007, during my third year of college, I attented a very memorable guest lecture. Although I can’t recall the main topic, a particular statement by the lecturor  stuck with me. He pointed out that the efficiency of a construction process, like building a house,  is due to its high standardization. However, in software development, the absence of such standardization often results in a time-consuming proces. Particularly when integration various software systems, this lack of standardization leads to inefficiencies.

That is precisely where the concept of a unified API comes into play. A unified API offers a standardized specification for a specific domain without being tied to any particular implementation. Imagine an industry standard for a Document Management API. Companies not prioritizing innovation in document management could implement a solution that conforms to the Unified Document Management API within their IT infrastructure. They could then seamlessly integrate with any document management system that meets this unified API stantard, whether it’s an off-the-shelf package or a SaaS vendor’s service.

Use cases

Connect to commodity software.

Whether you are connecting to commodity software installed in your data center or using a SaaS provider, a unified API can significantly accelerate your development speed.

The OAuth serves as a prominent and well-known industry standard for implementing an authorization engine. When providers comply with the OAuth specification, organizations have the flexibility to select their software provider for the authorization engine and easily integrate it into their IT infrastructure. Developers can use existing software libraries to connect with the OAuth provider, reducing the time spent on writing custom code. Additionaly, if an organization is unhappy with their current  OAuth provider, they can switch providers more smoothly.

Gradual migration of an application stack

In the dynamic world of IT, one of the key challenges is migrating an application stack without interrupting ongoing operations. This is where unified APIs play a pivotal role. Overhauling an entire software ecosystem is a daunting task, often risky and and likely to experience potential downtimes. Unified APIs facilitate this process by enabling gradual migration.

This approach allows you to incrementally replace or update components of your application stack. Thanks to unified APIs, which provide a consistent and standardized interface, integrating new components or replacing old ones becomes significantly smoother. It’s similar to replacing parts of a complex machine while it’s still operating — daunting, yet feasible with the right tools.

For instance, consider a scenario where a company aims to upgrade its customer relationship management (CRM) system. By using unified APIs, they can gradually integrate the new CRM system, module by module, without disrupting their existing workflows. This method ensures continuity and reduces the risk of data loss or system failures, which are common in more abrupt migration methods.

Abstraction layer to connect your package to different applications

Unified APIs act as an abstraction layer, a key concept in managing the complexity of software interactions. By abstracting the underlying functionalities of various applications, unified APIs provide a uniform interface for interaction, regardless of the internal working of the application

This abstraction is particularly beneficial in a heterogeneous IT environment, where different applications, possibly written in different programming languages or based on various technologies, perform the same or at least similar functionalities. In such cases, introducing an abstraction layer that can communicate with these different applications is valuable.