According to a report from MuleSoft, the average enterprise now runs 957 applications, with only 27% of those applications connected to one another. That's what's driving 36% of IT teams' time to build and test custom integrations between systems that should have spoken to each other in the first place. API integration services are designed to fill in that gap the enterprise has already tried to bridge between its applications, databases and third-party platforms with the aim of ensuring that data can flow between them without being duplicated, exported or re-entered. More systems mean more gaps and more pressure on the IT teams caught in handling everything, and as the dependence of businesses on the number of SaaS tools grows, the demand for API integration services USA-wide has increased.
This article will discuss what API integration solutions include, the most common API patterns a US business will face, how to choose a provider, and the pitfalls that on any integration project can become a liability rather than an asset.
Key Takeaways
- On average, managed enterprises have 957 applications, with just 27% of them connected, consuming 36% of IT teams' time on manual integration tasks.
- API integration services are not just about the integration of two systems; they encompass various aspects such as system architecture design, creation of custom connectors, authentication and security measures, testing, and maintaining the integration as the systems evolve.
- Depending on the size and complexity of the business, some common architectures include point-to-point, hub-and-spoke, iPaaS-based, API gateway, and event-driven integration.
- Data integration is top on the list of most IT leaders as one of the primary challenges in getting AI right with 82% saying it is a necessary precondition, not one that's often overlooked.
What do API integration services include?
API integration services are end-to-end work of making sure that a business's applications, databases, and external platforms exchange data automatically, correctly, and securely; they're not a single connector built once and forgotten. A business which sees integration as a single-off effort is left with fragile and un-documented links that are likely to fail if the API offered by a vendor changes, the very time they need more of a maintenance item instead of a support call.
The typical phases in a complete API integration services engagement include
- the mapping of all the systems that will need to share data with one another and why,
- the design of the architecture that will be used to integrate these systems,
- the development and testing of the actual integrations,
- the authentication of the systems.
- the upkeep of integrations as the underlying systems evolves.
Leaving any one of these steps typically is the reason that integration is not robust enough. All five are not line items but rather one engagement with Chirpn's API & Integrations service; it'simportant since a connector not supported by a maintenance plan becomes someone's unplanned fire drill within a year.
Why Do U.S. Businesses Specifically Need API Integration Services Right Now?
API integration services are no longer an optional convenience for U.S. businesses; they're a necessary part of AI adoption, as the disconnect between the number of systems in use and connected ones has become a significant barrier. 86% of IT leaders believe that AI agents add more complexity to implementation than value when the systems are not integrated first; equally, 82% feel data integration is one of their greatest challenges to implement AI effectively. This translates to a company looking to stack AI functionality forecasting, automations, agent workflows on top of siloed systems are fighting the system.
In addition to being ready for AI, certain recurring issues compel US businesses to seek out specific, dedicated integration services over short-term band-aids:
Data residency and compliance requirements. In the US, regulated sectors such as healthcare, finance, and others require integrations that manage authentication, encryption, and audit trails properly, rather than adding them after they have been identified during an audit. What is API integration and why it is important to cover why this technical foundation is more important than it appears.
Legacy systems that were not designed to be linked to anything. The integration of work that is required in many mid-market and enterprise businesses has to create the translation layer before data can get moved at all, as many of those core systems predated modern API standards completely.
The cost of manual workaround(s). Each spreadsheet export, manual re-entry step, or scheduled batch job that is created due to two systems "not talking to each other" is a point of failure and the source of these very same data quality issues that are the result of reporting and AI projects downstream.
The API Integration Architecture Patterns
There are basically five different architectural patterns that most API integration solutions adopt, and it's more important to know what they are when choosing a particular vendor than any of its claims of speed or flexibility.
The right API integration development approach depends on how many systems are involved, how often they change and if the data needs to be transferred in real time or in batches
Point-to-point = A connection between two particular systems. Best for a few stable modifications which change infrequently.
Hub-and-spoke - Multisystem are connected through a central hub to transfer data. Best for a medium-sized company that is adding systems gradually over time.
iPaaS-based - A cloud platform hosts integration logic and connectors centrally. Best for companies that require rapid scaling of integrations without extensive custom development.
API gateway - All your API traffic is controlled, secured and monitored by a managed layer. Best for organizations that share APIs with partners or with external developers.
Event-driven - Real time or events-based reaction of systems, not scheduled syncs. Best for businesses requiring real-time data flow, such as inventory or fraud detection.
Matching the pattern to actual complexity as opposed to the one that a vendor sells by default is one of the best indicators of whether a provider evaluated the business or simply offered a standard package.
How to choose an API Integration Company?
The best sign of a good API integration company is if they take security and maintenance seriously and not as an afterthought when the API is already up and running. The initial offering should include authentication measures such as OAuth 2.0 and field-level encryption for sensitive data, as well as any error-handling and versioning practices that are clearly defined.
Whether you review a specialist API development company or one that provides a digital services firm offering API development services among them.
In addition to security, there are three questions that differentiate a real integration partner from a vendor who will create one connector and vanish:
Does the provider record the integration, or does it simply construct it?
Undocumented integration is a liability as soon as the original engineer must ask specifically about the documentation and handing off integrations.
Does the provider have experience with your specific systems – not integration in general?
Experience connecting a CRM to a marketing system doesn't necessarily transfer to custom API integration work involving legacy ERP systems and cloud-based platforms. Request examples corresponding to your particular technology stack.
Does the provider provide continuous maintenance or consider the project to be completed at launch time?
APIs do not change based on your integration vendor project schedule; they change when the vendor who owns the API sees fit. A provider without a maintenance plan is putting you a connection that is already on the decline at the moment it ships.
Common Pitfalls That Turn an Integration Project into a Liability
Seeing integration as a one-off IT ticket rather than a capability.
Once a connector is created, and no longer used for a while, it fails silently, which can only be noticed if the reporting downstream fails to calculate as expected. This is the reason for software integration services, as it takes place in reality, continuously and is not easy to underestimate from the outside.
Selecting the lowest cost point-to-point solution rather than the correct architecture.
As the business expands, it continues to connect one point to another, one system to another, and so on, spiraling into a web of loose, untidy, nonstandard connections that nobody remembers how to join.
Not doing security review due to the integration “just moves data internally”.
A breach does not care where sensitive data is transferred from or to, and internal-only integrations are still vulnerable to security breaches as they require suitable authentication and encryption mechanisms.
Assuming an integration is complete when data begins to pass through it in testing.
Testing is positive – it is working right now, with the volume of data, and the API versions on both sides, not whether it will continue to work as both evolve.
How API Integration Services Support Specific Business Functions
API integration work is not a standalone endeavor; it is a means to an end to enable a particular business function to operate more effectively. Application integration services and system integration services address different issues, depending on how close to the business they are, and the appropriate architecture pattern may depend on the function they are required for.
Marketing and sales integration. When a CRM is integrated with marketing automation, billing and support applications, there is no delay in the status change from lead to each subsequent application or team, which can be the single most common reason for finger-pointing between sales and marketing teams.
Finance and ERP synchronization. Without integration, order management, inventory and accounting systems are left to reconcile the numbers at the month end, but not until the end of the month when numbers are static, instead of when they are current; and as transactions increase, so too does that manual process.
Human resources and systems for managing the workforce. If the HCM platform doesn't communicate with payroll, benefits administration and identity management platforms, it is the same proliferation of manual re-entry risks that cause payroll mistakes and compliance issues, especially as a company introduces new tools more quickly than it integrates them.
Customers support information and product usage information. When support platforms don't have visibility of product usage, agents have to ask questions that the business should already know the answer to, which inevitably compromises the experience the integration was designed to enhance.
More important than the sheer number of integrations that a provider has shipped, is their ability to map the right architecture to the real use case being addressed: each of these is a different business label with different architecture, so a provider who knows how to map the right architecture to the right business label will be a better bet to be successful at the project than one who is shooting the same integration template for all use cases. For each of these functions, business case for API integration can be explored in more detail.
Why Chirpn
Chirpn's API & Integrations service is not only based on the five phases of integration listed above, but it also takes a different perspective from integration as a one-off project that ends at the go live. Chirpn takes a business from an integration evaluation to a production-ready integration layer, powered by AI, and spanning CRM, ERP and HCM systems and platforms, leaving the business system AI ready, and not just connected. That distinction is important for business system integration work specifically: most AI initiatives come to a grinding halt for exactly this reason because the integration layer below them is not designed to support them.
Read this article that covers the strategic aspects in greater detail, if you are considering the business case for API integration or if you want to know where API integration is going next. When you are sure about a particular project to integrate, discuss your systems' needs with Chirpn.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do API integration services involve?
Full API integration services include mapping the integration required for which systems, designing an architecture that fits the business and its compliance requirements, creating and testing the integration, authenticating and protecting the integration, and maintaining it as the business and its systems evolve over time. If a provider provides just the build step and no other steps, then it provides a partial service.
Why are API integration services vital to businesses in the US?
As AI becomes more prevalent in the business world, integration services are becoming vital for a growing number of companies to stay connected. Data integration is one of the most common pain points for IT leaders when it comes to effectively implementing AI. In addition to AI preparedness, integration services also account for compliance prerequisites, and legacy systems that are unable to natively combine with current platforms, and the operational risk of manual data workarounds.
What are some of the qualities of a good API integration company?
Find a provider who shares authentication, encryption, documentation, and continued maintenance as a service that considers the core of the engagement, and not an option. Request case studies of projects with similar systems as yours; general integration experience may not translate to your project.
How long does a business API integration project take?
The timelines are heavily based on the number of systems involved, whether a translation layer needs to be created before the compliance requirements, and the strictness of the compliance requirements. An API integration with a small scope between two well understood APIs in the modern era will go a lot quicker than an API integration with legacy infrastructure or regulated data. Established timeframes given without fully inspecting your facilities are not guaranteed.
