APIs are everywhere. Hence, the term “apification” has been coined to refer to this phenomenon in which the use of APIs is at the center of business strategies. Thanks to them, it is easier to make the leap to implement or incorporate certain technologies. In addition, it creates synergies between the developers of the APIs and the companies that make use of them. This is how a technological ecosystem of collaboration between clients, suppliers and partners is generated .
But let’s go in parts. Apification comes from API . And API is the acronym for Application Programming Interface , which is usually translated as Application Programming Interface. APIs are a kind of intermediaries or connections between different pieces of software. Thanks to the APIs it is possible to connect these pieces or modules in a simpler way and saving time, effort and resources for those who use them.
APIs have been around in computing and technology for a long time. But if we have been talking about apification not long ago, it is because the great explosion in popularity of APIs has arisen with relatively recent technologies such as Big Data or data science , artificial intelligence or edge computing . Technologies that are so necessary that have incorporated professional profiles that have not always known or been able to deal with the complexity of the software . And who find in the APIs a shortcut to meet their needs more effectively. Or that simply require quick and efficient solutions .
Edge Computing 5G APIs
The reason for the success of the apification
The appification or habitual and generated use of APIs has its reason for being. It is not a whim. We live in a context in which digital has spread to all professional sectors and areas of our lives and our society . Applications, online services and a multitude of digital data exchanges in the form of communications, purchases or financial management abound everywhere. Also, everything is connected. And, for all this to work, APIs have become great allies, since they facilitate the integration of services, technologies and applications that are incompatible with each other. Or difficult to connect with traditional methods.
As Amazon explains on its page dedicated to online solutions, “APIs are mechanisms that allow two software components to communicate with each other through a set of definitions and protocols. For example, the meteorology institute’s software system contains daily weather data . The weather app on your phone “talks” to this system through the APIs and shows you the daily weather updates on your phone.”
As the experts explain, APIs by themselves do not generate value. The key to apification is in the use that is made of them to obtain data and process it . The result is that processes are optimized, the development of services or applications is simplified and even new ideas and utilities arise to squeeze what these APIs give of themselves.
The creation of APIs in itself and their implementation in different businesses or companies generate an ecosystem of intermediaries, professional profiles and business opportunities that, far from worsening the previous dynamics, improve processes and grow ideas that were previously impossible to apply because of the limitations today saved with the APIs themselves.
Edge Computing 5G Apification
Source: Brand Factory Telefónica
APIs, 5G and the networks of the future
APIs are all about communications, especially in a digital context where everything flows through the Internet . Hence the importance that APIs give to telecommunications networks. Thanks to technologies such as 5G or edge computing , the connections between devices go beyond the mere sending of data. Hence the emergence of trends such as NaaS-type services , an acronym for Network as a Service .
That’s where the network APIs come in. In the words of Telefónica , ” network APIs represent a change in the way network resources are consumed , so that network capabilities can be incorporated into applications (of the operators themselves or of third parties) in a programmatic way, favoring a much more agile environment for innovation and co-creation of services”.
The takeoff of Edge Computing through the recent 5G networks, for example, depends largely on the use of APIs. Apification is a must in this realm as it requires fast connections and immediate responses . A well-oiled digital gear that is easy to get up and running with the right APIs. Both locally and in the cloud itself or public or private network . While 5G responds to wireless connections with low latency and high speed , the APIs ensure that the components communicate with each other by sending data, processing it, transforming it into actions or orders for other applications or devices, etc.
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