ben brown

December 5, 2022

Business

5 Things to Consider for Businesses Implementing an API

ben brown

December 5, 2022

Business

Every business is chasing after innovation. Technology has been able to overwhelmingly respond to this demand through consistent observation of what works.

An application programming interface (API) allows websites to perform in ways never before possible. This will make APIs sound like a must-have, but there are a few things to consider before implementing one.

What happens when a website doesn’t have an API?

Not every website needs an API, however, the fact that some may simply not require one doesn’t mean it’s necessarily optional for everyone. Without an API, the application will be limited in terms of how it processes and manages data. This can be summed up by saying that every web service is an API, but not every API is a web service. Confused yet? Let’s break this down into when to build and when not to build:

When you should build an API:

Your website has a lot of data that needs to load quickly and run without the need for refreshing.
If you want your partners or customers to have complete or limited access to your data.
You have the same data that you want users to be able to access in various ways or places.
Angular or React is the front-end framework you’re interested in.
You have a vision for a desktop or mobile app.

An API is never something that should be implemented on impulse. To get the most out of implementing a system like this, you need to evaluate the goals of your business.

When you might not need an API:

You don’t have any intentions of growing or changing your application (it may be a temporary platform).

You need something as simple as a landing page or blog spot.
You’re unaware of the technical aspects that go into API development.
You’re not interested in moving your application to mobile or desktop.

The most fundamental characteristic for anyone looking at API development is understanding the implications that come with giving your users access to your data. If your website involves sharing sensitive data, you’ll likely want your users to have to sign in to access it. This is the same approach that should be taken when it comes to APIs.

Nobody should be able to publicly access it if you’ve built it for specific users. This is where API keys come in handy. In the case you want your users to be able to access data with ease, you can use them to keep track of who’s using what and keep anyone who may be a threat to the API locked out.

There is a lot to consider when building your API. With that being said, let’s go over the top 5 thing to keep in mind:

1) Scalability

When it comes to the performance of APIs, scalability is its ability to cater to however big or small your user base is. For example, whether you have 20 users tonight or 20,000 users tomorrow morning, its performance will be consistent. If you’ve implemented a solid API with a reputable developer, it’ll cost you less when the system is scaled down.

2) Rate Limiting

To prevent instances like DoS attacks, web scraping, or anything that can crash your network, you’ll want to use rate limiting. What this does is control how many requests are processed at a time (eg. limiting rapid logins of the same account).

The view of a moniter through the lens of a pair of glasses.

3) Authentication

Think about who you want accessing your API. It can be open to the public or limited to clients, employees, etc. Any form of limit regarding how your API is used or how much it's used will require measures for authentication.

4) Documentation

When a developer needs access to your API, they’re going to need guidelines for how they can use it. These guidelines should highlight what kind of requests are permitted, the type and format of data that can be inputted, and how the API will respond.

5) Logging

When users receive an error message from your API, you’ll want to know why. Logging is useful in this case since it can track requests and responses. In addition, logging will allow you to get a sense of the frequency and duration that your API is in use.

Why APIs?

When it comes to API development, every application is going to have its unique requirements. This is because data is constantly flowing in and out of the servers. Essentially, this is why APIs were created; there needs to be a safe harbor for organizations to keep information secure and regimented under a single platform.

The Takeaway

APIs have been extremely useful for businesses looking to give third-party access to their data. It is not essential that every business has an API (at the moment), but it will be useful in some cases, especially for software-based businesses. If you think you may be in need of API technology, you should always make sure you go to experts in the technology who can guide you along your journey.

Written By Ben Brown

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ISU Corp is an award-winning software development company, with over 17 years of experience in multiple industries, providing cost-effective custom software development, technology management, and IT outsourcing.

Our unique owners’ mindset reduces development costs and fast-tracks timelines. We help craft the specifications of your project based on your company's needs, to produce the best ROI. Find out why startups, all the way to fortune 500 companies like General Electric, Heinz, and many others have trusted us with their projects. Contact us here.

ben brown

December 2, 2022

Business

Why Digitizing Self-Service Will Help Your Business

ben brown

December 2, 2022

Business

How much time do you have to spare in a day? Likely not a lot, which means that every minute you do spend is on something productive for your business or your well-being. Now let’s consider this: how much of a time saver is it to have tools like self-service banking, self-check-in options, or electronic contract signings?

Your average customer doesn’t want to take the time to come see your brick-and-mortar location. The standards of today's consumer market have an emphasis on the individual through digital strategizing. This means that the changes needed in companies are primarily motivated by the ease of access and have to be people-oriented.

The majority of businesses today understand the importance of providing a variety of solutions for issues their customers may run into, yet many lack execution of this on all fronts. Take for instance the fact that 75% of people today want live chat for customer service. Yet not even a third of businesses offer it. What does that say about the level of companies' market intelligence today?

The fact is that self-service can be however big or small you need it to be for the unique service you offer. Creations like ATMs, movie ticket machines, or airport self-check-ins, all were created as an answer to the demand for the convenience of self-service. This goes to show that the principle lives on and offline, but as we know, online is the key to scalability.

As a starting point to meet these expectations, companies should have implemented on their website a 24/7 accessible self-service portal. This should allow users to communicate with the platform by, for example, being able to input, access, and have personal data secured in the portal. For instance, insurance contracts can be electronically signed with the user's saved signature in the portal.

Self-service is increasingly becoming mainstream, pushing the need for representatives out. Brands that utilize this will be adding value for their customers that the company couldn’t get from anything else. There’s a lot that can be done with digitizing self-service, but most businesses simply need to know where to start to make it viable.

Here are 4 ways your business can do that:

Understand the importance of self-service for your customers

It’s hard to implement something without completely understanding the need for its implementation. For this reason, you’ll want to look at your self-service product from the perspective of your end user.

Some businesses make the mistake of thinking that they already know everything about their prospects and can just implement a system. What they fail to recognize is that the self-service journey goes far beyond payment methods. You’ll want to know:

Why they’ve come to your website
What will keep them engaged online
How the process can be as clear & simple as possible

Content navigation and accessibility

A lot of businesses don’t store all relevant information under one section. Typically, the information is broken up among product manuals, silos, support sections, or the intranet.

The difficult part about this step is creating an interface that connects all these sources into an easy-to-navigate platform.

Consider UX design and how it collaborates with search

The portal you build should allow users to do 3 things: get in, get help, and get out. The design of your portal will dictate how simple it is for the user to navigate. By keeping UX design a top priority for self-service, you’ll be setting your platform up for success.

This can be as simple as having a search bar but with additional features such as text prediction or previewing answers.

Use AI to enhance your product

AI has changed the customer experience especially when it comes to issues in customer service. AI can resolve issues efficiently by analyzing customer data and using it to make predictions about what they’ll want. Sounds great, doesn't it? AI will help your platform build rapport with customers by being custom tailored to the needs of your business.

What’s next?

Self-service is a never-ending project; it will require consistent innovation. Custom software development will help you but it won’t decide to implement itself for you. If you’re going to revolutionize the experience of your platform, you’ll need to make sure you’ve got a clear vision and the right team behind you.

Written By Ben Brown

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ben brown

November 29, 2022

Business

Super Apps: What are they? How can you use them?

ben brown

November 29, 2022

Business

We talk a lot about adapting to change and how change is an inevitable factor when running a business. One of the biggest changes to ever hit businesses and the world as a whole is the integration of technology which we have to remember has not been around for that long in retrospect. People are still finding new ways to utilize technology at its maximum potential which does not come without its unique demands.

Applications are a great example when considering the changes technology makes in people's lives on a day-to-day basis. A good user experience is the focal point of any application or website which means variety in your product or service has to be a staple. When it comes to customer retention in the digital market, having a platform that is multi-function is a huge bonus. These are known as Super Apps, which essentially act as a hub for companies to interconnect various applications in one spot.

The term “Super App” was originally coined by the founder of Blackberry Mike Lazaridis. Lazaridis saw this as a way to enhance the user experience of applications and it has since become a viable option for many businesses globally.

A Few Reasons Companies Might Use a Super App Include:

Branding: When organizations have a wide variety of products and services that are delivered through one app, their credibility and recognition grow among consumers.
Access to a bigger audience: When using a Super App, the types of offers a business provides can easily be catered to a variety of consumer niches. In contrast to a singular focused application, this provides more of an opportunity to have a diverse audience.
Revenue streams: Thanks to APIs and savvy software engineering, the amount of services a business can offer is seemingly endless in a Super App. In addition, the cost of customer acquisition is next to nothing.
Increased engagement: Super Apps provide touch points and lots of them. This helps the interactive aspect of your application and will increase the duration of user visits.
Low costs: Taking one solution and using it as an umbrella to add more services are going to save companies in the long run. This is because one app is more inexpensive and easy to manage than multiple applications (which would become pits to throw money into and a headache for software developers).

Software innovation and engineering are always centered around the consumer. For brands to make a name for themselves today, they understand application programming and functionality are crucial to creating a great user experience.

How it Works:

So what kind of services would a Super App help a business deliver in one singular application? Financial services are the best place to look if you want a glimpse of Super App technology in action. A financial Super App will let users view account balances, make transactions, make investments, track/manage subscriptions, and much more. All of these functions in a Super App are now in one place as opposed to users having to go to different websites or platforms for different services.

Developing a Super App

Since a system like this is highly complex, there’s a variety of components you’ll want to ensure go into the application:

Service interaction: Since there are numerous channels of service and users bouncing from one to another, their effectiveness and operating speed have to be consistent. What this means for software developers of the Super App is that performance should be high even with spotty internet, screen transition must be seamless, and no errors should impact users from accessing multiple services at a time.

Promote data sharing: Unlike your typical mobile app, the user's data such as delivery address and ID should be easily accessible to them across all in-app services. Additionally, prior actions and sessions should carry over from service to service to have consistent performance.

Exceptional UI/UX: This is a focal point for Super App development. The visual landscape and experience of using the Super App have to be consistent regardless of how many actions it’s performing.

Security: The convenience aspect of having access to multiple services in one spot is great, but it puts Super Apps in a position of major liability since they are now in possession of sensitive information on their users.

This becomes tricky for Super Apps since there is no margin for error in this area. In comparison to traditional mobile applications, this process is far more complicated. However, this merely puts more of an emphasis on security for software developers which means it’s a good starting point to sort out logistics during the planning process.

The Market for Super Apps

The amount of internet users has grown to over 5 billion people and last year around 230 billion mobile apps were downloaded. The demand for technology that enhances the efficiency and experience of using applications is growing with these numbers and boosting revenues for companies making it work.

Think about your day-to-day; there’s likely less than a handful of apps you use regularly. How do these apps help you? How do you think they help others? Would it be easier to have all of them in one application?

Of course, Super Apps aren’t going to put TikTok, Instagram, FaceTime, and your mobile banking apps in one, but you get the idea.

The Takeaway

Super Apps still have a ways to go before they can dominate North American markets. Right now, they are dominating markets, particularly in South America and Asia where the market size for mobile service is still hundreds of billions of dollars. Soon enough, we can expect this technology to enter the western markets, and when that time comes, businesses will be preparing to dominate with it.

Written By Ben Brown

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