An Application Programming Interface (or API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other and transfer data. API is a well-established technology and APIs are literally everywhere, for example in applications using weather (AccuWeather API), maps (Google Maps API) or payment services (Stripe) just to name a few.
But why are so many organisations still so easily spooked when it comes to APIs? As an innovator and IT expert, I’m a strong advocate of employing APIs to pave the way for further digital transformation. In an effort to convince you that you and your company can also benefit from embracing APIs, I would first like to do a little myth busting.
Myth Fact
| APIs are only for tech giants.
|
API technology is very simple. You don’t need large IT teams to implement it. Just one data analyst and one back-end developer will suffice. |
| Digital transformation is costly.
|
The benefits of automatic data entry massively outweigh the implementation costs. |
| Sending customer data over the Internet is not secure.
|
APIs are encrypted. You will use special keys to access the data. Transfer over the internet takes just seconds which makes it difficult to intercept. |
| APIs will access our internal database. | You don’t have to share your data. You can opt to just receive data from your API provider. |
Data-intensive companies can make use of APIs, for instance, to:
- Obtain customer and financial data from data sources such as governmental bodies, company registries, data vendors and credit ranking companies
- Transfer data between internal systems
- Inject data into documents, workflow systems, and reports
- Exchange data between partners
The benefits of APIs are numerous and include:
- Fast performance, real-time data exchange
- Smart process automation, huge efficiency gains
- Error proofing, no more mistakes when copy/pasting data
- Ease of implementation and maintenance
- Data security
API Case Study
To prove my point, I would like to discuss a case study to illustrate how a large international bank has been able to reap the benefits of working with external APIs.
Case Study Blacksmith KYC and ING Bank: Customer Due Diligence (CDD) in 1 minute.
The problem:
- Increase of regulatory CDD requirements
- Increased time of CDD processing
- High employee turnover: KYC Analyst spent most of the time copy pasting information from websites and various documents
The solution:
With Blacksmith KYC’s API ING can connect to external data sources to prefill the Customer Due Diligence file in less than one minute using internal and trusted third-party data sources based on ING’s own policy rules. Analysts are thus able to perform enhanced investigations at lower cost. Documents have a fixed structure and are easy to audit.
The result:
- 50% effort reduction in total CDD process
- 15% increase in files First Time Right processing
- Significant reduction in client outreach
- Employee satisfaction score of 4.5 (out of 5) stars
Digital transformation with APIs benefits all roles in any given organisation:
Back Office
|
Operating Officer
|
Chief Executive Officer
|
If you’re still not convinced that APIs are the way forward in your digital transformation process, please reach out to me and I will be more than happy to show you how your organisation can benefit from API technology.
