With 65% of companies accelerating their digital transformation in 2021, the desire to find an API portal solution that lets businesses monetize their APIs is on the rise. Whether you're just starting out or have years of experience behind you, choosing between a DIY dev portal or a pre-built API portal is challenging. If you're curious about the AWS API Portal and wonder what you can do with it? This post will give you a comprehensive overview of the AWS API Portal, including an explanation of what it is and how to use it. What is AWS API Portal? The AWS API Portal, or Serverless Developer Portal, is a cloud-based web application nested within Amazon's API Gateway service that makes it easy for developers to create, publish, maintain, and monitor APIs. This self-service portal lets developers explore and create applications using your Amazon API Gateway managed APIs or non-API Gateway managed APIs (OpenAPIs). This regularly updated (via AWS Serverless Application Repository) portal features out-of-the-box functionality and a customizable, React-written front-end. The Serverless Developer Portal provides: A site where consumers can browse and test out your published APIs Documentation on all the available resources API keys for registered users Basic API monitoring capabilities Why Use Serverless Portal Architecture? With serverless architecture, you don't have to worry about managing servers and provisioning them—the cloud provider does. This approach has many benefits, including reduced cost of ownership for IT teams and improved flexibility because it's easy to scale on-demand depending upon the needs within an organization. Amazon API Gateway, Amazon Cognito User Pools, AWS Lambda, Amazon DynamoDB, and Amazon S3 are all incorporated into the developer portal application, making it a complex, modular system designed for specific purposes. Each of these modular systems is divided into microservices. Here are the specific microservices offered in the serverless dev portal: Login/Registration: Amazon Cognito and Lambda features handle identity management, while Amazon Cognito User Pool lets users register and log in. AWS Cloud: The front-end React app handles all requests and uses Amazon S3 to store static content before communicating with the back-end via AWS API Gateway. Catalog Update: S3 buckets and Lambda functions are used to update the API catalog when files are added or removed from the S3 storage bucket. API Key Creation: API Key Creation Services manage API key creations and deletions. They store all updates in DynamoDB tables and notify AWS API Gateway about any modifications. Deployment Options Now that you understand how the AWS API portal is structured, you should know that no matter how you choose to deploy your portal, it requires some configuration before use—even if you choose their out-of-the-box option. These deployment options are important as they will dictate how applications will be built with your APIs, how you'll expose your APIs to consumers, and the amount of maintenance you'll need. There are three ways to deploy the AWS API portal: AWS Serverless Application Repository (SAR) This out-of-the-box option is easy to deploy and use. For this option, you need to launch the API Gateway Serverless Developer Portal AWS CloudFormation stack before entering parameters into the Lambda console. AWS provides detailed documentation on how to deploy using this method. Some benefits of using AWS SAR include: Simple application management: With pre-built applications, you can deploy your serverless application with just a few clicks. You no longer need to clone and build the source code before uploading it onto AWS. Accelerate workflows: Use the power of serverless applications to your advantage and reduce duplication. Create and publish apps once, then store them for use by teams as well as broader communities who also need these services. AWS Serverless Application Model (SAM) If you're looking to make any customizations to templates or deploy the AWS portal through your existing infrastructure, you'll need to use the SAM CLI deployment guide. Configuring your serverless developer portal using SAM can be lengthy. You'll need to make sure you have the most recent versions of AWS CLI and AWS SAM CLI before you begin. Some benefits of using AWS SAM include: Single stack configuration: One of the best features of using AWS SAM is the ability to easily configure and operate on a single stack. You can even share configuration (such as memory or timeouts) between resources, making deploying all related components together in one versioned entity extremely convenient. Integrated development tools: Use the complete suite of AWS tools to discover new applications (AWS SAR), test (AWS Cloud9 IDE), and build a deployment pipeline. Development Scripts Even though AWS doesn't specifically mention this deployment model, you do have the ability to make modifications to the developer portal assets or design advanced specifications yourself. This option requires advanced configurations and installing several tools you'll need to deploy successfully. For detailed instructions, refer to this development guide. The main benefit of this deployment model is that you'll be able to make some improvements to the AWS API Portal; however, you'll have to build it to your specifications, which means you'll be responsible for maintaining it. What Are the Benefits of AWS API Portal? Serverless developer portals offer a number of features that make it easy for API providers and consumers to utilize. API providers can: Publish APIs to AWS Marketplace Monitor API usage Build their own AWS Developer Portal or use the Serverless Developer Portal to add functionality to their site API consumers can: Discover APIs See API resources and documentation Register for API keys immediately What You Can't Do With AWS API Portal While the AWS API Portal lets you create a dev site that integrates AWS's full suite of tools, there are some things it simply can't or struggles to do. 1. Multiple Usage Plans When you use AWS API Gateway to create usage plans for your product offerings, you'll find some rather inconvenient limitations. Any API published to the developer portal is subscribable, even if they aren't visible to the customer. Valid API keys can access every API in a usage plan, even if the key is only for a single API within that plan. Clients can exceed their quotas within a usage plan. You'll need to implement additional methods to prevent this. The AWS API Gateway does not differentiate between API keys with the same value, even if they have different names. For more information, AWS has more details about creating usage plans. However, if you plan on creating multiple usage plans, you'd be better off considering another option like a pre-built API portal. 2. Easy SSO Integration While AWS did build in the ability to add SSO, it requires additional applications and complex configurations to set up. Here are some problems with its implementation: SSO credentials must have permissions to access AWS resources; otherwise, this function will not work. To grant SSO permissions for certain accounts, you'll need to add additional restrictions to IAMFullAccess policies. AWS SSO is not integrated into Okta, Ping, or IAM (without advanced configuration). For more information about AWS SSO, you'll have to filter through numerous resources. If you're looking for complete access controls, you'll need a solution, like Apiboost, that has those features ready to use out of the box. 3. Built-In CI/CD AWS does have the ability to create your own CI/CD pipelines. However, like the other issues already mentioned, this requires advanced configurations, access to additional AWS resources, and is left to the individual business to determine the system and rules. To set up CI/CD pipelines, AWS recommends that you have at least intermediate experience with AWS and all its resources. Advanced IAM permissions are needed and will be given to any user in the assigned group. The cost to run CI/CD pipelines varies depending on how many AWS services you integrate into it and how you configure them. AWS has various documentation for building an AWS CI/CD pipeline, but building it will be difficult if you're not familiar with all of AWS's services. Even though AWS offers a wide range of tools that make it easy to create and publish APIs to a Serverless Developer Portal, you may find yourself asking: Is it enough? Are you able to do everything you need with it? Will this help me get ROI from my digital transformation or cloud-based services? The answer might be simpler than you think. The AWS API Portal is nothing more than a developer portal, meaning it won't provide the flexibility and functionality that an API portal gives you. Developer Portal vs. API Portal Portals designed to serve developers (almost exclusively), such as the AWS API Portal, provide access to APIs and their management. However, as citizen development has gained popularity, a new focus has emerged on user interface (UI) features and ease of use. API portals are designed with this audience in mind, they give access to giving basic information as well as more advanced options that aren't provided by your typical developer website or app store listing, such as: Additional documentation for API products Self-service administrative environment The ability for innovation and collaboration for internal and external teams within the portal Working with a portal specialist such as Achieve, who understands the complexities and best practices behind truly automated systems, is a better choice. Your Next Steps… Whether you want to build your own API portal using AWS Serverless Developer Portal or use a pre-built one, you'll need to assess your business resources. If you opt for the AWS DIY option, do you have: The experience to build in advanced access controls? The resources needed to perform continuous maintenance? The knowledge to understand the complexities involved in true automation? If you find this option daunting, you're not alone. Why not use a product that has true enterprise capabilities, like Apiboost. Apiboost has everything you need to leverage the power of API portals: Built-in SSO and CI/CD: Apiboost makes it easy to connect with the most common SSO and CI/CD solutions. This way, you can automate your documentation management or user identity features through the portal. Admin dashboards: With Apiboost, you can manage your site with an intuitive admin area and dashboards to keep you informed. It is equipped with multiple roles customized for controlling secure documentation, community activity logs, as well as reports that will help grow adoption rates. Product optimization: The Product Optimizer is a revolutionary tool for API managers to make the most of their product success. Empower your team with analytics and take action on any insights and ensure that every program achieves its full potential. Collaborate with ease: Working in teams just got easier with Apiboost. Whether you want groups innovating or using the platform for partners and customers to work together, this solution can help your company achieve success. Having created over 100 API portals with advanced integrations and a deep understanding of best practices to build true automation, Achieve helps you build an API ecosystem that seamlessly connects with other technologies. Apiboost, our premier portal solution, is a proven API portal platform that is used worldwide by large enterprises. Want to learn more? Schedule a demo.

As more businesses adopt digital transformation strategies and productize their APIs, the demand for API management solutions has grown roughly 33% in the past five years. Two of the most common API management solutions are Amazon API Gateway and Google Cloud Product (GCP) Apigee API Management. They both provide essential services for distributing APIs, but their approaches differ significantly from each other. Let's look at how these differences for you to make an informed decision. What is Amazon API Gateway? Amazon API Gateway is a cloud-based web service that makes it easy for developers to create, publish, maintain, monitor, and secure APIs at any scale. This gateway handles all of the tasks involved in accepting and processing hundreds of thousands of concurrent API calls. Amazon API Gateway lets you easily manage APIs that allow applications to access your backend services. Use this tool for creating RESTful APIs or WebSocket APIs with real-time updates that enable communication between applications. Features and Functionality Amazon API Gateway provides many features and functions, such as: Security: Keep your API safe from malicious attacks by utilizing several security features, such as SSL/TLS encryption, OAuth 2.0, and native OIDC. Ensure only authorized and authenticated users have access to your API by using AWS Identity Access Management (IAM) and Amazon Cognito. Traffic management: Use features like rate limiting to prevent your API from being overwhelmed by too many requests. Amazon CloudWatch: View performance metrics and information on API calls from a dashboard, giving you clear visibility over your services. Versioning: Manage different API versions independently to effectively develop new features and update existing ones. Pros and Cons The main advantages of using Amazon API Gateway are: Scalability: Amazon API Gateway lets you seamlessly scale to handle millions of requests per day. Easily add or remove capacity as needed, ensuring you only pay for the resources you use. Flexibility: Amazon API Gateway supports various protocols, including HTTP, HTTPS, WebSockets, and TCP. It also supports multiple integration types, such as Lambda functions, HTTP proxies, and AWS Step Functions. Support: With dedicated support teams, your issues are sure to be resolved in a timely manner. The main disadvantages of using Amazon API Gateway are: User interface issues: It's often difficult for multiple users to manage and configure endpoints. Cost: Amazon is a pay-as-you-go service so If you have a lot of traffic or a complex application, Amazon API Gateway can be expensive. The price is based on the number of requests and the amount of data processed. Minimalistic developer portal: While Amazon API Gateway now has a developer portal, it lacks advanced features and is difficult to setup. What is Apigee? Google's Apigee is a true API management solution for building and scaling your API programs with full life cycle capabilities, giving developers the freedom to create innovative solutions. This lightweight gateway provides multiple services, such as an integrated developer portal and analytics tools, which are used to drive API consumption and access actionable insights about assets in circulation. Apigee also makes it easy to monetize your APIs and maximize the value of your digital assets while ensuring the integrity of your data. With an easy-to-use platform that provides you with all the features you need to get started, it's no wonder why Gartner named Apigee as an industry leader. Features and Functionality Apigee offers a number of features and functionalities to help you manage your API operations. These include: API Monetization: Apigee supports various API packaging options that let you monetize your digital assets, unlocking new revenue streams for your business. AI-Powered Analytics: Use real-time monitoring capabilities to give you visibility into how your API is being used, so you can optimize performance and troubleshoot issues. Developer portal: A solid starting point that makes it easy to manage API documentation, community forums, and other resources for developers. For organizations looking to for more flexibility and greater access control, Apigee also provides an open-source portal they call Kickstarter. Multi-layer security: Apigee provides many features to help you secure your API, including OAuth 2.0 support, Cloud Armor, and CMEK. Scale: Apigee's scalable architecture can handle millions of API requests per day. API-first integration: This unified platform takes advantage of cloud-native architecture principles to help enterprises build their operations and accelerate developer velocity to deliver new features faster than ever before. Pros and Cons Apigee has its own set of pros and cons that should be considered before implementing it as part of your API strategy. The main advantages of using Apigee are: Flexible deployment options: Businesses have the flexibility to choose between different ways to deploy their API ecosystem. ApigeeX is a fully integrated GCP cloud product. Apigee Edge is an on-premises product for companies with high volume or those that have not yet realized the benefits of the cloud. Apigee ODPK is an exclusively on-premise product of the classic Apigee platform. Aipgee Hybrid is a Google managed core management platform with on-premise components to reduce latency. Robust feature set: As an end-to-end solution, Apigee provides everything you need to build, secure, scale, and manage your APIs. This includes an intuitive interface for building APIs, robust security features, scalability options, detailed analytics, etc. Flexible pricing: Apigee offers a variety of pricing plans to meet the needs of organizations of all sizes. There are free plans for new developers who are just getting started, paid plans for enterprises that need more features and support, and a pay-per-use plan (coming soon). Alternative dev portal solutions: The Drupal Kickstart distribution is perfect for the DIY crowd. Organizations that are looking for more advanced features and access control turn to Apiboost, offered in both a SaaS and On-Prem model. The main disadvantages of using Apigee are: Increased expense for high volumes: Apigee's pricing is quite reasonable for a medium-sized enterprise, but high volume users find the cloud version prohibitively expensive. Complexity: The Apigee platform can be complex, particularly for those not familiar with API management tools. There is a steep learning curve associated with using the platform, and it can take some time to master all of its features and functions. Deep knowledge required for customization: While Apigee does offer a wide range of features, the required knowledge needed for customizations and a limited dev portal may not meet specific organizational needs. This is a problem for organizations that are looking to expand their API program to their partners or new markets. Which Solution Should You Use? There are a number of factors to consider when deciding whether to use Apigee or Amazon API Gateway. Here are some key considerations: Functionality: Both platforms offer a variety of features and capabilities. However, Apigee is a full API management product that provides more out-of-the-box functionality. Amazon API Gateway, on the other hand, is simply an API gateway that relays requests and supports integration with other AWS services. Flexibility: Apigee provides a robust set of tools to facilitate separating your external API exposure from your internal APIs promoting an API First approach to digital transformation. In contrast, Amazon API Gateway can’t match Apigee in terms of flexibility since it’s not an end-to-end API management platform. Ease of use: This is a subjective criterion, but in general, Apigee is considered to be easier to use than Amazon API Gateway. This is due in part to its user-friendly interface and comprehensive documentation. Cost: Both platforms can be expensive, but Apigee generally costs more than Amazon API Gateway. This is because Apigee is a commercial product, whereas you only pay as you go with Amazon API Gateway. Performance: Both platforms offer good performance, but Apigee tends to be slightly faster and more scalable than Amazon API Gateway. However, with its limited dev portal solution, Amazon API Gateway prohibits the use of an outside-in approach to offer a full management product. Ultimately, the decision of which platform to use will come down to a number of factors unique to each project. The best way to determine which is best suited for your specific use case is to consult with an expert who can assess your needs and make a recommendation. Enhance Your API Management with API Portals API gateways provide you with some basic API management capabilities; however, with the rise of citizen development and API productization, you need to be able to make your APIs accessible to developers and non-technical users alike. To do this, you'll need to deploy an API portal that provides you with an API ecosystem that helps you drastically boost your API adoption rate and accelerates your digital transformation. Achieve Internet is the expert when it comes to building and managing your API portals. Having built 100+ developer portals for our clients, we created Apiboost, a cloud-based API portal solution that eliminates the need to build your proprietary platform from the ground up. Ready to boost your API management strategy? Reach out to a specialist.

Only 27% of banks were projected to implement a digital transformation strategy in 2021, even though 85% of decision-makers planned to pursue it. As competitors continue to provide digitized individual services, financial institutions feel the pressure to adapt quickly or risk getting left behind. With 81% of customers’ demanding more flexibility in their journey and access to on-demand services, like mobile banking and convenient application features, some of the largest banks have started offering their own automated options to cut down on costs and increase profits. Even though digital transformation offers the opportunity to remain competitive, 46% of banking executives are still unsure how to embrace different aspects of the process. What is Digital Banking Transformation? Digital banking transformation is a process of digitalizing customer services, improving processes, and streamlining operations. "Going Digital" is an essential step for banks to take when trying to stay competitive with fintechs and other financial institutions. To accomplish this, many banking institutions adopt a digital transformation strategy—a comprehensive, actionable plan to help you transform your tools, processes, and company culture to prepare you for the future. These strategies use a holistic approach to integrate new technologies into all aspects of their business. That means transforming everything, from customer experience platforms and apps to mortgage lending processes. In the past, several banks have attempted to use smaller digital initiatives to improve online services. However, this is like putting a bandaid on a leaking pipe. These small changes simply aren’t enough and leave many risks unaddressed, like regulatory compliance. Here are the challenges that an effective digital banking transformation strategy addresses: Lack of understanding by leadership: How do you help key stakeholders understand the process and get them to buy in? IT resource management: What are you doing to provide support for your IT team during this process? Do you need to partner with a third party? Hindered innovation: How are your company’s culture and beliefs restricting your ability to innovate? Non-compliance with regulatory standards: How long will your institution be able to remain compliant without going digital? Increased cybersecurity risks: What actions will you take to protect your client’s data from exposure and fraud? Benefits of Digital Transformation in Banking Digital banking transformation is an excellent opportunity for financial service providers to modernize and improve their services. Here are some of our favorites: 1. Transforming the Customer Journey The future of a customer's journey is a cohesive and personalized experience. This means you'll need to incorporate a digital transformation strategy that integrates all your systems into one central platform so that your customers are served better by responsive technology. To accomplish this, banks have to utilize APIs to support customer-centric digital initiatives becayse even though financial institutions are not technology companies, they need to be very technologically savvy to stay competitive in today’s digital economy. To accomplish true digital transformation, they need a robust partner ecosystem that helps them consolidate their digital assets, create high-quality customer experiences, and encourage innovation with the help of API-first architecture and advanced API portals. Taking the customer journey to the next level will save money in the long run, improve customer satisfaction, and help teams work together more efficiently. 2. Additional Revenue Streams The focus of today's banking system is no longer solely on providing a private platform for online transactions, but rather on exposing APIs that allow customers to accomplish their needs outside the proprietary portals provided by banks in recent years. APIs have made it possible for banks to cultivate additional revenue streams by partnering up with innovative fintech businesses that can use their existing digital infrastructure - mainly through an API portal - to build targeted and innovative financial products. Zello, Stripe, PayPal, Allstate, Payoneer… These are just a few examples of companies that create new products with the help of integrations with third-party APIs. This trend isn’t showing any signs of going away, so banks that invest in digital transformation will get even more opportunities to integrate their APIs into the value chains of other businesses in the not-so-distant future. By opening up their API products, banks can remain competitive and preserve customer loyalty while providing third parties with an easy way to connect to and leverage their ecosystem. 3. Flexibility and Adaptability Financial institutions that want to stay competitive in this digital era need a thorough transformation. The shift from traditional banking methods has been rapid and dramatic, with sophisticated technologies at the forefront of change. Digital transformation allows your institution to equip itself with the latest technology to scale these efforts gradually over time. Companies that don't evolve will need to provide updated services that traditional in-person interactions cannot deliver to their customers. 4. Improving Security and Compliance An armed guard at the bank's door and the vault's inside aren't enough to protect your digital assets. By putting automated security measures in place and implementing digital protections against data leaks, unauthorized breaches, and other cybersecurity risks, you're improving security for your customers. APIs are the primary attack vector in 2022, so automating your API security testing is crucial to keeping your enterprise safe. The 6 Building Blocks of an Effective Digital Banking Transformation Strategy When planning your own bank's journey toward digital transformation, you must understand and adopt the following building blocks to mitigate its risks. 1. Start With a Customer-Centric Approach Most banks will find this approach to be the first stop on the road, as it mainly focuses on creating workflows that are more appealing to customers. Thinking about the customer first and the end-user experience is key to retaining the customers you currently serve and attracting new customers from competitors. When your customers have a great experience, they're likely to stay longer, come to you for all of their financial needs, and share their great experiences with friends and family. Outside-In approach: The outside-in approach is a strategy that focuses on the client. This framework aims to understand what they need and want before designing an optimal experience for when they interact with your APIs. This creates satisfied consumers who will come back time after time. Mobile banking: Today's banks are renowned for their reliance on the web and mobile updates. They no longer focus on branch delivery; instead, they provide users with simple access through these channels while maintaining speed to meet the needs of their clients as quickly as possible. Voice technology: The banking industry embraces voice recognition technology and assistants like Amazon's Alexa or Google Home. Today several banks offer similar services through their existing customer service lines, allowing customers to do everything on the go. For example, asking Siri what your credit card balance is or to send money to someone is already being implemented around the world. While this approach is your starting point, there is still much left within these organizations that need improvement after implementing these measures. 2. Reinforce API-First Architecture Leveraging proven SaaS technologies and focusing on building an API-first architecture will allow you to take advantage of the latest technologies and shift when needed. APIs are designed to be accessed through client applications, so they must work well and communicate with each other in one seamless process. By building APIs that serve all applications, API-first strategies enable organizations to develop and maintain applications more efficiently. API portals: To help your company get the most out of your API assets, deploy an API portal that turns a collection of APIs into a partner ecosystem accessible to developers and non-technical business units alike. This will make it easier for API consumers to find what they need when working on projects related to developing applications that use or consume your API products. API management platforms: With the help of an API management platform, your company is able to centralize control over its integrations while ensuring high standards for performance and security. Citizen development: The number of citizen developers is expected to be four times that of IT professionals by 2023. APIs and rapidly evolving technology make it easier for citizen developers to participate in the fintech industry. Open banking: Open banking connects banks to third-party financial service providers through APIs, making it easy to exchange financial data and collaborate. The use of APIs also means faster data exchange. For example, if you're using Zelle to send and receive money, one transaction can run through dozens of APIs in seconds. 3. Embrace Emerging Technologies Emerging technology is required to digitally transform an organization into a future-ready business. It allows banks and credit unions to customize services for customers on-demand without relying so heavily upon legacy systems that may not be compatible with the latest standards. The challenge here isn't just about implementing new software but also ensuring its adoption by all levels within your company—from top executives to ground-level employees who interact directly with clients every day. Blockchain technology: Blockchain has been used by banks to give people power over their data. The financial services industry benefits from this new tech because of its ability for smart contracts and simplification of loan applications. Utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI): The use of automation and AI in banking saves money and improves the standardization of services. This allows humans to be used for more important tasks while machines take over simple requests like checking account balances or making deposits. Robotic Process Automation (RPA): RPA is a great way to streamline your business operations with minimal risks. From customer service to fraud identification, software robots let you automate processes and cut down on costs while maintaining high accuracy. 4. Prioritize Data and Analytics Bank and credit union information has traditionally been housed in silos, making it challenging to integrate the data into one cohesive picture of your customers and what they want from the bank. Big data technology is key to meeting critical banking requirements in the areas of: Customer segmentation Personalized product offerings Compliance reporting Fraud detection When used consistently across all aspects (from leadership roles down to team members' day-to-day workflows), data becomes even more powerful because people start employing its findings in ways they didn't previously know how to do alone. Machine learning: Data analytics can improve how banks analyze and evaluate their data. The introduction of machine learning into these processes has improved security, reduced human resource costs, and helped understand consumers' habits outside their credit scores. Enhanced cybersecurity: These days, it's not enough to just have a firewall. You need an intrusion detection system (IDS) and real-time monitoring of all network traffic—both inbound and outbound from your business operations. 5. Expand Your Worker's Skillsets The skills needed to embark on a digital transformation journey don't exist in sufficient numbers at most financial institutions, which makes talent management and employee reskilling particularly important. Remember, it's not just about acquiring certain technologies but changing mindsets too! Foster Innovation: Digital teams are the future of innovation as they have a mix between IT and field expertise. Combining these elements will allow an agile organization to produce tangible innovations ready for the client's use. Inclusivity: Ensuring that your digital banking transformation includes all departments of your company is crucial. Get input from other sectors like IT and marketing to see their thoughts on different digital strategies pertaining to their department. 6. Encourage Buy-In Culture Any successful digital transformation requires buy-in from those at the top and those at other levels of management who have been doing things differently for decades now. You'll need buy-in from: Employees Partners C-suite Clients When everyone's on board with the change, it is much easier to make progress. You need to foster a culture that supports a comprehensive and collaborative effort for all of these "going digital" initiatives to have any chance at success. Boost Your Digital Banking Transformation Want to take your digital banking transformation to the next level? Achieve's team of digital transformation consultants is ready to help you build a digital banking transformation plan to accelerate your growth in the digital age. Our all-in-one API portal solution Apiboost is designed to take your digital banking services to another level. Contact our team to learn more about how we're able to help with your digital banking transformation.

In this competitive environment, your business needs to be agile and flexible. That's why retail businesses with a digital-first philosophy are winning versus competitors who can't keep up with the changing landscape of customer demands. How are they adapting to these rapid changes? By harnessing the power of digital transformation. Gartner reported that 91% of businesses are embarking on some form of digital initiative. But what is digital transformation in the retail industry? Digital transformation stresses the need for organizations to utilize emerging technology and trends to improve productivity and provide customers more value than ever before. This means that retailers need to think critically and create new ways for customers to experience their brands from the inside out with technology at every turn. Retail Digital Transformation Benefits The benefits of digital transformation in retail are virtually endless, and it's easy to see why retailers would want to embark on this journey. Here are a few benefits to expect when you start implementing changes: 1. Enhanced customer experience In the digital age, customer experiences are becoming more interactive and personal. Companies realize more and more interactions take place on devices rather than face-to-face, and they take advantage of these new methods. Personalization: The era of personalized experiences is here. Brands know that they can't get a foot in the door without collecting data on buyers. Thanks to digital tools designed for this very purpose, it's easier than ever before to provide shoppers with an immersive shopping experience tailored just right. Omnichannel retail: To keep up with shoppers' demands, many retailers have implemented a unified ecommerce strategy that combines web and mobile into one interface. This allows you to manage all your different systems from just one place, providing a seamless experience for customers. 2. Use data-driven insights Data-driven insights enable marketing strategies to provide more relevant, personalized, and agile content that resonates with your audience more than ever before. Understand buyer preferences: Data analytics is important in the retail industry because it helps you understand your customer's preferences. The more information retained, the better and more personalized their experience will become. Enhance marketing campaigns: Collecting the right buyer data informs your marketing campaigns on what customers value most in a business. This information will help you apply different tactics to generate more sales. 3. Streamline operations Operational efficiency is a top priority for retailers in this digital age. With so many channels and opportunities out there, it's vital that operations remain efficient to provide an excellent customer experience across all platforms. Use of cloud technologies: Corporations are taking a proactive stance to stay competitive and adopt new technologies like cloud computing. This allows them to improve their operations to better serve customers with what is needed at any given time. Optimize customer service: Digital transformation allows your business to increase efficiency by cutting down the amount of work needed in-person or over email while still providing quality solutions that meet all expectations. 4. Increase adaptability Businesses can now increase their agility with this new technology and improve time to market while adopting continuous improvement strategies like deployment cycles. Improve resource management: Digital transformation is all about bringing together information and resources in one place so that you can use them more efficiently. It's not just software but also databases with your business intelligence tools—making it easier to make decisions based on what matters most. Inventory transparency: Digital transformation allows retailers to collect and collate data from all stages of production. This shows trends, patterns, resource usage, and waste or bottlenecks in a digestible form that can be used for decision-making by the company's management team. Technologies Used in Digital Transformation New technologies are introduced every year, requiring retailers to stay abreast of the trends to avoid missing out on any market opportunities they may present. Forward-thinking companies need to keep up with the times and modernize their branding. There are several ways that you can do this. 1. Application Programming Interface (API) APIs are the lifeblood of many companies, apps, and services. In fact, Google Cloud reported 52% of retailers said APIs allowed partners to leverage digital assets at scale, helping them accelerate innovation. By connecting different parts of their company with data, APIs allow retailers to create innovative product or service experiences for customers. Implementing an API program is a great way to power business-critical applications and front-end experiences. Here’s how retailers are using this technology. API Portals: API portals are like app stores for APIs. They enable companies to consolidate all of their API assets in one place to promote innovation and make it easier to collaborate with third parties. Mobile applications: Mobile apps are a great way to connect with customers efficiently. They allow people to check on products, read reviews, and contact your support team if necessary. Outside-In approach: The outside-in approach is a strategy that starts with identifying your target consumers and then getting to know their needs. This allows developers to design an optimal experience between the consumer and a company by providing content through a particular API. Also, it prevents organizations for falling into the trap of undergoing digital transformation just for the sake of “going digital.” Citizen development: Gartner predicts that citizen developers (business units involved in the process of building IT products using low-code or no-code tools) will outnumber professional IT specialists by four to one. Organizations that want to stay ahead of the curve should provide the infrastructure needed for non-technical people to innovate. To ensure success, you need the right tools that will help manage your growth and provide scalability when needed. Achieve's Apiboost-powered API portals allow your business to gain control over and collect insights into your APIs. No matter where you are in your API journey, they offer guidance at every stage—from discovery to building an API developer portal. 2. Augmented Reality One of the most popular trends in retail right now is augmented reality, or AR. It's a technology that lets customers view products from different perspectives and get practical insight into how they would look at their home or on their person before making a purchase decision. Here's how retailers are already embracing this technology. Visualization/virtual tours: IKEA uses AR technology in their application that lets customers visualize a piece of furniture in their space. Color matching: Cosmetic companies like Charlotte Tilbury use in-store displays to show how color variations look on their customers. AR fitting rooms: Timberland included AR mirrors in their stores, allowing customers to virtually try on clothes as they look at their reflections. AR Try-on: Warby Parker, an eyeglass brand, has an app that lets customers see how different styles and frames look on their faces in real-time. 3. Artificial Intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is an important new way to deliver the attentive 24/7 service that shoppers now expect. With AI, retailers can save time and money on customer support while giving their customers what they really want: fast answers when needed. You've probably come across examples of AI in your own shopping experiences. Chatbots: The reliability and consistency of chatbots make them a popular tool for businesses looking to communicate with customers. They can be used in many ways, including helping seal conversions or creating new sales opportunities by providing assistance when needed most. Automated checkouts: Amazon Go uses a combination of sensors, video monitors, and computers to track their customers’ shopping and charges their accounts once they leave with the items. Smart shelves: The fashion brand H&M uses AI algorithms to analyze receipts, returns, and current stock to evaluate purchases and determine where to allocate its supply. 4. Machine Learning/Predictive Analytics Machine learning has grown exponentially in recent years and is now used by retailers to understand customer behavior better. It predicts what customers will want in the future based on their past purchases or history with your brand. With machine-learning data science, you can identify shopping patterns that may not have been visible before. It does this by collecting data from one or more sources and feeding this into a model that helps forecast future outcomes. Ecommerce retailers have utilized this technology for: Personalized suggestions: Netflix uses its learning algorithm to suggest original movies and TV shows based on your viewing history. Facial recognition: Walmart uses this technology to analyze the levels of frustration a customer experiences and triggers a customer service member to assist them if this level passes a certain threshold. Still have questions about how the top ecommerce retailers are managing their APIs and digital transformation? Contact an API specialist today.

Malicious API attacks rose 681% in 2021 even with security measures in place and are predicted to become the primary attack vector in 2022. You'll need to tighten your API management to boost your security posture. API throttling and rate-limiting are two important concepts for managing APIs. But what exactly is the difference between them? And why does it matter? What is Rate Limiting? Rate limiting is a technique used to control the number of requests a user can make to an API over a given period of time. It's usually used to prevent abuse or misuse of the API. There are two ways to limit the amount of traffic your website gets: use existing rate limiting features in web servers or build your own for more security and control over traffic. Example of Rate Limiting Mulesoft's rate limiting policy starts with the basics needed for any rate limit. You'll need to determine the number of requests, specify the time period allowed per request, and what unit of time it will be measured in. What is API Throttling? API throttling is a technique used to control the amount of traffic that an API can handle and is typically used in conjunction with rate limiting. It's used to prevent overloading the server or network the API is hosted on. For this technique, servers enforce throttling policies on the client. By limiting the number of requests that a user can make, you ensure that the API is responsive and available for all users. Example of API Throttling Amazon Web Services (AWS) uses throttling techniques across many of its APIs. In fact, it uses two different methods to throttle requests to HTTP APIs. They allow account-level throttling per region (the default setting) or route-level throttling. This is what a custom route-level throttling would look like using AWS CLI: Why Does This Difference Matter? So, what's the difference between these two techniques? And why does it matter? We've put together this quick chart to note the major differences between the two. API throttling and rate-limiting are both critical techniques for managing APIs. Which one you use depends on your particular needs and requirements. Understanding the difference between them is essential to ensure that you're using the right technique for your API. While many businesses use these features through their gateway, they often lack a cohesive dashboard that lets them manage them with ease. API portals fix this problem by providing functionality to product owners who aren't constantly on management platforms. Why Do Businesses Implement Rate Limiting? Businesses have a variety of reasons to impose rate limits on their APIs. The most common reasons include: They don't want to overwhelm their systems. The goal of any system is to provide high-quality service for all clients, but this can't happen if a single client floods the server with requests. This would drive down traffic and affect other customers' experience as well. They don't want to breach SLAs. Systems and networks must be able to handle a certain amount of traffic without breaking down. To do this, system owners control their client's rates, so they stay within expected bounds for service-level agreements (SLA). System owners want to control their operating expenses. This is especially true if an API consumes large amounts of resources or it's linked with another 'paid' service, like cloud storage services do in some cases (think Dropbox). Why Do Businesses Implement API Throttling? When implementing throttling, it's essential to strike a balance between protecting your API and ensuring that it remains accessible to all users. Different goals can lead organizations in deciding what type and how much they should throttle their APIs, including: Security: It's useful in preventing malicious overloads or DoS attacks on a system with limited bandwidth. Performance and Scalability: Throttling helps prevent system performance degradation by limiting excess usage, allowing you to define the requests per second. Monetization: With API throttling, your business can control the amount of data sent and received through its monetized APIs. If you throttle too aggressively, you may find that legitimate users cannot use your API. On the other hand, if you don't throttle at all, you risk having your API abused or misused. The best way to determine the right amount of throttling for your API is to experiment and monitor the usage of your API. Start with a low limit, and then gradually increase it as needed. Pay attention to how your API is used, and look for any signs of abuse or misuse. Get Unprecedented Flexibility With API Portals API Portals are key to providing you with unprecedented levels of flexibility when it comes to rate limiting and throttling. They also allow granular access control, so you don't have to worry about blocking out your users. Apiboost is an API portal solution designed for scaling your APIs and increasing your time-to-market. Since Apiboost supports SSO and CI/CD capabilities, you can start automation immediately. Learn more about API portals by reaching out to one of our API specialists.

APIs are a critical asset for businesses as they provide access to valuable information and functionalities. They also create an opportunity for API monetization—the process of charging for access to or use of an API to create new revenue streams. But how are businesses monetizing their APIs? With Apigee! This article will discuss the key components of Apigee API monetization as well as what you need to do to set it up. What is Apigee API Monetization? The Apigee API Monetization solution provides enterprises with powerful tools to streamline their business and create new revenue sources. Apigee is a leading platform for API management, providing everything you need to monetize your APIs successfully. With Apigee, you can easily set up rate limiting, analytics, and billing, which are vital for any successful API monetization strategy. Apigee also offers a wide range of tools for marketing your APIs and analyzing how clients use them. Critical Components of API Monetization Several key components go into Apigee's API monetization. If you're new to this process, here are the essential tools you need for your monetization success. API Portals: A partner ecosystem that makes it easy for developers and non-technical partners alike to access and consume API products. API Proxies: API proxies act as intermediaries between applications and backend services, making API requests on their behalf. API Product: An API product is a collection of API proxies that you can use to deliver customized, production-ready bundles to your developer community. API Product Bundle: An API product bundle is a collection of related API product services that can be accessed through APIs by developers to build software. Rate Plan: A rate plan defines the costs of accessing APIs provided as part of a monetized API bundle between your company and your client. How to Set Up Apigee Monetization You don't want to share your API with just anyone, which is why you'll need to follow certain steps that give you full control of who has access to you API ecosystem and how they can use it. Once you've completed these steps, you will be able to share your APIs with your developer community and build your revenue stream. 1. Render API Proxies API security is an important concern for any company that processes API requests and responses. Creating a proxy between your API and applications that call it is one of the most effective ways to protect your API once you monetize it. By creating a proxy that models your API, you can easily control how it's used. You could then attach policies to transform and mediate requests based on your monetization needs. The most common policies to attach include: Security: Authentication, authorization, and other content-based security measures, for example, VerifyAPIKey, VerifyAccessToken, and OAuth 2.0. Traffic Management: The policies in this category will help you control who accesses your API proxy and how they're able to use it, for example, the Quota policy. Monetization Variables: This policy is a great way to to populate the monetization variables with usage data so that the monetization system can calculate charges/fees, for example, the DataCapture policy. Developer Subscription Checks: This policy determines if the developer has sufficient funds in their account and is a legitimate client, for example, the MonetizationLimitsChecks policy. 2. Set Up API Products Once you have set up your API proxies, it's time to create market-driven API products. These are specific groups of resources that address the needs of developers and business units in your community. API products allow you to: Control how your APIs are presented to developers Enforce consistent branding across all of your API products Make it easier for developers to find and use the APIs they need House your APIs in a single portal Apply and enforce policies at the product level for APIs within a product Simplify policy management for large numbers of APIs Remember, product registration is required for your developers to view the API product offering. To do this, you'll have to complete a few more steps. 3. Develop a Transaction Recording Policy When monetizing your API, you need a transaction recording policy specifying the details that Apigee will use to calculate charges, revenue sharing, and refunds for API usage. For example, Apigee can perform revenue sharing calculations correctly if you inform it of your pricing structure, such as what constitutes a successful transaction and the net or gross price of a transaction. The transaction recording policy enables monetization to capture all the necessary information to process payments more efficiently. 4. Create an API Package Next, you'll need to create an API package or API product bundle. This collection of API products is presented to developers as one cohesive unit and is typically associated with different monetization rates. API packages are a great way to make your API product more visible. It can help you reach new customers and increase monetization rates. For example, you have a "payment" API product and a "messaging" API product. You can bundle these products together to create a new package that provides payment messaging resources, making them more appealing to developers looking at this type of service or solution. 5. Define Your Rate Plan Once you've created a package, create one or more rate plans that will define the business model for your API. Your API rate plan should include all the relevant details to determine how and what you will charge for using your service. It also defines whether there's a premium, setup fees, or revenue sharing, amongst other options available with this type of contract. You can customize your rate plan by configuring the billing currency and frequency. Use an API key to access various APIs that will enable you to generate usage data for analysis and invoices based on this information. Apigee supports both prepaid and postpaid billing. Prepaid: With prepaid billing, app developers pay an upfront fee before the API products are used, and the per-transaction cost is deducted from their wallets. Postpaid: With postpaid billing, the app developers are billed after using your API products. 6. Integrate an API Portal Once your packages are created, rated, and registered, app developers will need to associate their apps with the API packages they'll want access to through subscriptions. There are two ways to accomplish this. Developer portals: Developer portals are platforms used almost exclusively by developers to access and use APIs. API portals: An API portal is an enhanced version of a typical devportal that provides a host of critical features needed to get the most out of your API ecosystem, including granular access control, API localization, and API productization tools. Once the API consumer subscribes, they get an API key that they put into their code to unlock access to resources in your product. 4 Tips to Get the Most out of Your API Monetization Efforts 1. Upgrade to API Portals With the rise of citizen development and advanced API capabilities, many companies replace traditional developer portals with API portals. With robust tools designed specifically for non-developers as well as experienced developers looking toward next-generation technologies, API portals have everything any company could need to drastically increase API adoption. API portals let businesses: Create tailored API products with ease Solidify API assets in one place Reduce multiple APIs with the same function Increase collaboration between teams Track and monitor key API usage metrics The best part about API portals is that they save you time and money because they eliminate the need to build out internal and external portals. Instead, they utilize advanced access control that allow you to segment users into teams or groups. 2. Productize Your APIs As we discussed earlier, the idea of API productization is quite intriguing as the key to unlocking many new opportunities for your business. It's an approach that's gaining momentum as companies realize how it helps them reach more customers, create innovative products with ease, and increase their efficiency. APIs provide accessible resources and methods for applications, but the data has no intrinsic value if there is no product-market fit. On the other hand, API products offer clear solutions and use cases for other companies. There are two main ways to productize your APIs: Complete package: Partners or consumers get unlimited access to the API resources with this package. Targeted plan: Instead of providing one large "plan," where customers can use all your resources at once, bundle them together in smaller packages that offer more granular levels of usage. It's important to offer multiple packages, so your API product is more appealing and competitive. 3. Determine Your API Monetization Model To make the most of your APIs, you must understand how different monetization models work and determine which ones are right for your API products/services. Below are five of the most common models API products use for monetization. Freemium/Tiered: This model lets organizations offer basic API functions for free (with some restrictions such as time-bound trials or the number of allowed calls) and enables clients to purchase more access through different tiers. Bulk Cost: This model entails API consumers paying only for the product they use (commonly known as a Pay-As-You-Go system). Subscription: In this model, clients or partners pay per the terms of their chosen plan (monthly or annually) instead of paying for each API call and receive access to all available endpoints during that period regardless of whether they use them continuously or not. Partner: This model provides select partners with access to APIs for them to be able to work on behalf of an organization. Unit costing: This model bridges the gap between cost and revenue by determining how much it would cost for a company to charge their customers and what those charges per unit are. 4. Cultivate and Incentivize Citizen Development With the rise of new platforms that allow for low-code or no-code solutions, citizen developers can create API products on behalf of an organization without having technical skills in IT development. Citizen developers are a new generation that does not wait for technology to be developed but rather develops it themselves. This has major implications on how we approach software development and will redefine what our expectations from it should look like moving forward. Businesses that cultivate citizen developers are able to: Build customer-centric APIs and API products Reduce the costs associated with innovation Encourage collaboration between business leaders and IT teams Increase the value of API assets The need for a robust ecosystem to incentivize citizen developers to innovate has never been more critical. This is where an API portal's user-friendly tools and features come into play. Embrace citizen developers and API portals and watch your API revenue streams soar. Meet Your Apigee API Monetization Partner API portals are essential to any company looking at monetizing their APIs. However, building one from scratch can be difficult and expensive. Instead of spending significant human and financial resources to do it alone, use Apiboost— a SaaS solution where all the required features needed to successfully build an API portal already exist. If you are ready to learn more about our innovative solutions or are looking for assistance with other digital transformation initiatives, reach out to our specialists.

Digital transformation is a process that helps organizations increase efficiency and effectiveness while adapting to the ever-changing digital landscape. The process of going digital has never been easy, and it's become even more complicated in recent years. Companies need to think about what they are trying to accomplish versus “going digital.” To stay competitive with startups and other companies that have already started this transformation process early on, companies need to embrace an outside-in approach and API portals as part of their digital transformation strategy. Is it a daunting process? It can be. But with the right roadmap, it's a much smoother journey. What Is a Digital Transformation Roadmap? A digital transformation roadmap is a tailored guide that offers step-by-step instructions on how to achieve your organizational goals using digital technology. It will likely change over time as the landscape changes and new technologies emerge, but it should provide a general framework for approaching digital transformation. Before you create your roadmap, you’ll need to ask questions like: How would your partners and clients benefit from this investment? What’s the competition already doing? What does true digital transformation look like when we’re finished? Remember, true digital transformation involves updating the way your entire company works with technology—not just upgrading its IT department. This process changes how the whole business operates and adds value for customers in all aspects of their business lives, from production methods to customer service solutions. The Outside-In Approach One of the most important aspects of designing an API is focusing on what people will use it for and how they want to interact. Every company needs to look at digital transformation as a priority because you're being left behind. And even if you’re just getting started, you can quickly catch up with the competition by taking the outside-in approach. The outside-in approach starts by identifying your target consumers, then getting acquainted with their needs so you can build a great experience around them. This consumer-oriented approach asks questions like: In what way would the API be useful to the client? Are there any ways I can help the consumer locate the API more easily? How can I make it easy for consumers to build apps using my API? For example, you spend two to three years migrating your internal systems to the cloud. You'll use trending words like Kubernetes and Microservices, but then what? Gartner suggests taking a look at the market, and talking to your partners, clients, and even competitors. Are you planning to expand your business through digital offerings or simply trying to save IT overhead by eliminating your data center? If it's the former, you should start with your API portal. Identify who wants or needs access to your data and determine how your business will grow through partnering with application developers or partners who are begging for real-time access. As you develop your digital transformation roadmap, using the needs and pain points of your user base as the North Star guiding your strategy is how some of the world’s largest organizations disrupt their markets and stay ahead of the competition. Now that you know the essentials, let's move from theory to practice. How to Create a Digital Transformation Roadmap While there are many factors to consider when creating a digital transformation roadmap, we recommend considering these key elements. 1. Assess the Current State To successfully navigate the ever-changing digital landscape, a business must be willing and able to adapt to new technologies and trends. As such, a critical part of any organization's digital transformation roadmap should be an assessment of its current state. This involves evaluating both existing systems and infrastructure as well as the broader business goals and operational needs of the organization. Approaches vary according to an organization's industry, size, and complexity, but all of them tend to involve evaluating key performance indicators like ROI or employee satisfaction. These findings help to inform future priorities and processes as the business works to become more agile and responsive in its digital transformation efforts. These frameworks will help you identify what needs to be done for your organization to achieve its digital transformation goals. SWOT: A strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis is an exercise that lets you identify both internal and external factors that may impact your digital transformation efforts. PESTEL: A political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal (PESTEL) analysis aids with your understanding of the macro-environmental factors that impact your business as you seek to digitize. BGC Matrix: The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) matrix is a tool commonly used by businesses to assess their portfolio of products or services. When applied to digital transformation efforts, it helps prioritize initiatives based on their potential impact. SOAR: A strengths, opportunities, aspirations, and results (SOAR) approach lets you understand the positive internal factors that will drive your digital transformation efforts. 2. Develop a Digital Transformation Strategy Whether your organization is embarking on a major transformation or simply looking for ways to catch up with current trends, you'll need to develop a transformation strategy to achieve your goals. Goals and Objectives It is crucial for organizations seeking to achieve digital transformation to set clear goals and objectives. This helps ensure that everyone in the organization understands what needs to be done, and it provides a framework that facilitates various efforts as they are implemented. From developing new systems and processes to optimizing existing technologies, clear goals enable organizations to make focused and measured progress towards their ultimate goal of achieving digital transformation. Also, when goals are clearly defined and regularly revisited, leadership teams can more accurately evaluate progress and determine if extra support is needed. Phases By breaking down your digital transformation strategy into phases, organizations avoid many of the pitfalls associated with large-scale initiatives. Phase-based projects are more likely to stay on schedule and within budget. Additionally, it's easier to identify and fix problems that arise when you break the digital transformation project into smaller pieces. Finally, the iterative/phased approach provides a more agile way to allow organizations to gradually roll out new technologies and processes, minimizing disruptions and maximizing employee buy-in. This ensures that any transformation achieved will be aligned with business goals, resulting in an effective and efficient deployment of resources for your company's success. Tech Stack Next, it is essential to understand the existing technology infrastructure within your organization before implementing a digital transformation strategy. This means mapping out your tech stack and identifying gaps or inefficiencies that need to be addressed as part of the overall implementation process. Benefits of Tech Stack Mapping: Ensure all critical systems are effectively integrated Optimize performance Improve collaboration and communication across departments Enhance the ability to create and deliver innovative products or services Increase agility and flexibility for the business Allow for faster iteration and response to changing market Overall, mapping out your tech stack is essential when developing a robust and effective digital transformation strategy. Budget You'll also need to establish your budget. When organizations embark on digital transformation initiatives, they often overlook the importance of creating a budget. This can be a costly mistake, as digital transformation frequently involves significant investments in new technologies and processes. Without a budget to indicate where money should be allocated, organizations quickly find themselves overspending and in debt. Incorporating budgeting as part of your digital transformation strategy is a sure-fire way to ensure the most efficient use of resources. Timeline The last step is to develop a clear timeline for your digital transformation efforts. Having a clear sense of your strategic goals will allow you to more effectively align your efforts with the needs and expectations of your key stakeholders. A reliable timeline can help you avoid common pitfalls in digital transformations, such as failing to meet deadlines or making strategic changes in the middle of the process that can derail your efforts. 3. Get Executive Buy-in A digital transformation roadmap is only successful if it has executive buy-in. This means that senior leaders need to be on board with proposed changes and committed to making them happen. It will be very difficult to implement the changes necessary for a successful transformation without this support. Furthermore, executive buy-in is important for maintaining momentum during the transformation process. Senior leaders provide guidance and support when challenges arise, and their endorsement of the roadmap ensures that all employees are on board with the changes. Ultimately, executive buy-in is essential for guaranteeing that a digital transformation roadmap is successful. How to Secure Executive Buy-in: Show the potential benefits of digital transformation. Demonstrate how the changes will improve business efficiency and effectiveness. Explain how digital transformation helps to meet strategic goals. Highlight the potential cost savings that can be realized through a successful transformation. Make a clear case for the value of executive buy-in. Describe the risks of not embarking on a digital transformation strategy. Outline a clear plan for how the transformation will be executed. Identify the resources that will be required for the transformation. Explain how the success of the transformation will be measured. 4. Secure the Resources A digital transformation roadmap needs to include how you will secure the resources required to support it. For example, financial resources will be required to fund the purchase of new technology, as well as the costs of training employees. Additionally, human resources will be needed to design and implement the new systems, as well as to manage and operate them on an ongoing basis. The new systems will also require secure data and information, including customer data, financial data, and proprietary information. By carefully considering these needs at the outset, you can ensure that your digital transformation roadmap is achievable and sustainable. 5. Prioritize Areas of Improvement with the Highest ROI Digital transformation requires identifying the areas of improvement that will have the largest return on investment to succeed. This enables businesses to secure early wins that help drive momentum for the broader digital transformation initiative and help identify areas in which further improvements could have a significant impact on organizational performance. Some key metrics that are typically used when evaluating ROI include factors such as cost savings, efficiency gains, employee engagement, and customer satisfaction. Additionally, it is important to consider other factors that may influence the ROI projections, such as competitive pressure and business environment conditions that may impact success. 6. Implement Change Management for Key Stakeholders Every successful digital transformation initiative requires successful change management for each of its stakeholders. Employees In order for employees to adopt new technologies, processes, and workflows, it is essential to help them understand and embrace the changes that are taking place. This requires a structured approach that involves seven key steps: Setting expectations Providing education and training Communicating clearly and frequently Offering support Encouraging participation and feedback Adjusting as needed Recognizing success By following these steps thoughtfully, organizations ensure their employees are able to successfully navigate all the changes brought about by digital transformation. Partners As organizations undergo digital transformation, they should not forget about their partners in the process. These partners often play a critical role in an organization's success, and it's essential that they're kept up-to-date on changes taking place. Change management is key to ensuring that everyone is on the same page and knows what's happening, when it's happening, and how it will affect them. The C-suite Change management is an important part of any successful digital transformation process. For C-level executives and other decision-makers, this involves understanding how to effectively drive change and manage associated risks at every stage of the process. To be successful, leaders must learn how to: Build consensus and support throughout the organization Prepare employees for changes in their roles and responsibilities Adapt processes to leverage new technologies By developing these skills, executives can help guide their organizations through successful digital transformation initiatives and create a strong foundation for future growth. Clients Client-facing teams must be prepared to manage expectations and secure buy-in from key stakeholders. This requires developing new skillsets around communications and change management. It is also important to create a space where employees feel comfortable openly sharing their concerns and ideas. By taking a proactive and collaborative approach to change management, businesses can ensure that digital transformation efforts are successful in both the short and long term. 7. Analyze Feedback and Adjust Your Digital Transformation Efforts As companies increasingly digitize their operations, monitoring feedback and adjusting digital transformation strategy accordingly is essential. Companies that ignore feedback or fail to properly adjust their strategy risk falling behind the competition. Furthermore, they may find themselves unable to keep up with the ever-changing digital landscape. By analyzing feedback and making strategic adjustments, companies ensure that their digital transformation efforts are on track and aligned with their overall business goals. Additionally, they avoid common pitfalls and make the most of emerging opportunities. In short, feedback analysis is a critical component of successful digital transformation. The Next Steps… As you embark on your digital transformation journey, you're inevitably going to need an API portal to accomplish this. Achieve is here to help you at every step of this journey–without breaking a sweat or making things harder than they need to be. We're here to help, regardless of your journey's pace. Find out how we can help you on your digital transformation journey. Reach out to a specialist.

API versioning is a tricky subject to approach due in large part to the varying sentiments surrounding it. There's no doubt that versioning needs to occur, but how those changes are implemented…well, that's where the debate comes in. Even experts get it wrong sometimes, but don't worry—we've got you covered with this ultimate guide. What is API Versioning? API designers have a very symbiotic relationship with developers. The fastest way to disrupt this delicate balance is to roll out a new version. But what exactly is API versioning, and why does this create such a disturbance? API versioning is a way of differentiating points in time where the API changes in a way that requires the consumers of the API to modify their application. To put it simply, it's a way for API designers to provide new features, improve the existing functions, or fix bugs without having to develop a whole new product. You start off with v1 of your API. Once you make changes to the API that require developers to modify their applications to keep everything running, that’s when you release v2. Oftentimes, when new API versions are released, the old ones will stay active for some time, providing developers with enough time to make changes. However, if the development changes aren’t made, the old version of the API can cause breaking changes. Breaking changes occur when an alteration in one part of the software system (an obsolete API version, for example) causes other system components to fail. Not only does this leave developers pouring through hours of code to find the error, but it also causes a break in your contract. Inevitably, your APIs will eventually outgrow their original scope and need to be changed in some way, but breaking changes are the key in most versioning strategies that determine that a new version is needed. Learning how, when, and why you should version helps you build an effective versioning strategy that you can clearly communicate to developers, maintaining a healthy relationship with your users and partners. When Should You Version APIs? When making any version change to your API, be sure that you have a clear understanding of what is required for this type of update. Your clients rely on the functionality provided by previous versions and may not update their applications when you release a new version. To flip the switch with as few disruptions as possible, you need to know the three categories for versioning: major, minor, and patches. Major Version Changes Major versioning changes are ones that implement a breaking change and require mandatory adjustments for new and existing clients. In most API versioning plans, only the major version number is included in the change, as that indicates when a breaking change has occurred. Examples of this include: Field or route changes, including removals and renaming Payload changes Removing endpoints to fix HTTP design Minor/Patch Version Changes Sometimes you may be able to add patches or minor changes in your API without affecting any existing customers. Minor changes, including new features, methods, or resources, can be ignored by existing consumers who don't want to utilize them. Documentation updates such as fixing typos are typically done through a patching process. What Are the Most Common API Versioning Schemes? API management can be difficult and time-consuming, but they are the best way to transition new features and depreciate others. To handle this process, version your API using one of four strategies outlined below. URI Path This is the most commonly used (and arguably the most effective) type of API versioning. It is where you include the version in the URL path itself. For example: https://apiexample.com/api/v1/categories Pro: Easy to use and doesn't require developer tools. Caching strategies will benefit from this approach since most browsers and proxy servers will be able to cache the response without additional effort. Con: It's easy for this strategy to get out-of-date and lead to multiple versions claiming ownership over certain pieces or even entire endpoints—which could cause issues with caching on your website. Additionally, this versioning method violates one of Roy Thomas Fielding’s RESTful principles (one resource for one endpoint). Query String Parameter This approach lets you specify the API version as a query variable, which is quite effective. For example: https://apiexample.com/api/categories?v=1.1 Pro: This approach is not only easy to implement, but it also makes updating your API the simplest process possible. Additionally, you can set the newest version to the default unless another endpoint is specified. Con: Like URI Path versioning, this breaks permalinks and is not RESTful complaint. Custom Headers The idea of customer headers is that it allows developers to version APIs by including a custom header field with each release. For example: curl -H “accepts-version: v1” https://apiexample.com/api/categories Pro: This technique does not add filler to the URI. Sub-versions can easily be added as customer headers. Con: Versioning multiple resources with this technique leads to difficult configuration management. This tactic is also difficult to cache either in the browser or proxy server since they typically require custom code to look at the custom header and include it in the cache key generation. Content Negotiation Using a content negotiation approach to version individual resources instead of the entire API is a great way for API developers to keep their codebase clean, offering more granular control and reducing the overall size of the update. For example: GET https://apiexample.com/api/categories Accept: application/vnd.exmaple.api+json;version=2 Pro: Similar to custom headers, this allows you to customize specific resources, reducing URI filler. This also doesn’t break matching document metadata types that are fairly standard and pre-defined. Con: Developer tools are needed to explore all versions, and they may distort HTTP headers' purpose, resulting in difficult management for clients. Again, like the custom headers, calls made using the headers are more difficult to cache either in the browser or proxy server. How to Build a Successful API Version Strategy Versioning strategies are an essential part of API design that can ensure your users know what they're getting with each request. They also help you keep track and control updates, which is especially important for maintaining high standards for quality services. The last thing you want to do is create confusion or frustration for your API consumers. Remember, we want to keep that symbiotic relationship flourishing. So how do you build an effective API version strategy? There's really no one-size-fits-all approach as every business has differing needs and goals. However, here are a few integral steps you need to take to ensure your strategy will benefit you and the developers who use your APIs: Establish your versioning scheme and stick to it! While you might face internal pushback about which scheme works best, you need to choose one and use it consistently. This makes it easier for developers to implement changes. Communicate how you plan to transition versions. To maintain a successful versioning strategy, you need to establish your rules for implementation. How long will you let your older versions remain active? Will you let versions exist side-by-side? Thoroughly document and document some more. Provide a roadmap for your users where you set release schedules and establish how you will document new features, improvements, and/or fixes. This allows for more transparency and less confusion surrounding your versioning strategy. API Versioning Best Practices Developing an API version strategy should be something you start with. Trying to retrofit one into your API program at a later date is not ideal. As you develop your API version strategy, you should consider the following best practices: Use a clear naming convention and don't choose numbers arbitrarily. If you start with v1, don’t change that to 2.1 on your next release. Set a timeline for deprecated versions or allow side-by-side APIs. Carefully consider the number of developers using your older version, how much traffic they receive, and how long your API has been active when considering the length of time you wish to allocate for transitioning before determining a deprecation date. Have clear, detailed documentation establishing your versioning guidelines, keep them updated, and don’t assume your users will anticipate changes. When in doubt, document it! Make additions backward-compatible. This allows clients to seamlessly work with both older and newer versions of your APIs. Automate security with your APIs. You can rest easy knowing that your API is protected with automation. Not only does it protect you from intruders, but it also helps to save time and money by cutting down on unnecessary support costs associated with manual processes. Deploy an API portal. API portals are an invaluable tool when it comes to managing your API versioning efforts. They gather all of the APIs into one place, helping you easily identify which versions are currently installed on any given system and making it easier for developers to update them when new ones come out. We get it. Managing APIs is difficult enough on its own–let alone governing multiple versions. Using an API portal powered by Apiboost lets you easily keep track of your internal and external APIs and drastically streamline your versioning strategy. This means that it is easy for users to manage which version they're using when making requests—giving them peace of mind knowing there won't be any surprises down the line. If you want to learn more about how to make API versioning a breeze with API portals, reach out to one of our API specialists.

91 percent of financial institutions plan to work with FinTech providers to deliver a better customer experience and generate more revenue. PayPal, Venmo, Stripe, PayPal, Payoneer... The list of FinTech services that address the gaps left by traditional banks grows exponentially every year. With APIs turning into the linchpin of the digital economy and citizen development becoming more prevalent, organizations need a way to consolidate their API assets in one place and provide a robust ecosystem for developers and business units alike to consume API products. That's where API portals come in. In this article, we'll discuss how API portals can transform the FinTech industry and provide tips on choosing the right API portal provider for your needs. What Is an API Portal? An API portal is an ecosystem that enables developers and non-technical users alike — from the C-suite to data analysts and marketers — to access and consume APIs. By bringing API products to the general public and making them easily accessible to business units, API portals are the next evolution of traditional developer portals. API portals go beyond the standard features of developer portals, like listing available APIs, providing API documentation, and creating a place for developers to communicate, by offering them these unique features: Productization Tools – From advanced signup workflows to API product bundling, API portals allow organizations to productize their APIs with a strong market fit to increase the value of API assets. Development Tools – API portals provide try-it-now and CI/CD integration tools to to ensure updated accurate ocumentation to versioning information which is proven to boost adoption rates. Advanced Access Control (RBAC) – Eliminate the need to build multiple portals and control the view and consumption of APIs from a single portal. Plus, seamless single sign-on (SSO) integration allows organizations to have granular control over regions, divisions, departments, partners, and more. Internationalization – API portals empower organizations to penetrate international markets, providing them with all the tools to quickly adapt API products to foreign markets. A great example of an API portal is Apiboost. This comprehensive solution offers the features organizations need to build a robust API ecosystem, including API monetization capabilities, Teams & Groups for managing user privileges, and Single-Sign-On (SSO) for enhanced security. The need for API portals will only grow as APIs permeate all industries, and the organizations that adapt quickly will reap most of the benefits. Read More: The Ultimate Guide to API Portals in 2022 What Are the Benefits of API Portals for FinTech Companies? The benefits that API portals offer to financial institutions are much greater than those that are offered by the typical developer portal. 1. Meet Regulatory Compliance and Standards Requirements Financ91 percent of financial institutions plan to work with FinTech providers to deliver a better customer experience and generate more revenue. PayPal, Venmo, Stripe, PayPal, Payoneer... The list of FinTech services that address the gaps left by traditional banks grows exponentially every year. With APIs turning into the linchpin of the digital economy and citizen development becoming more prevalent, organizations need a way to consolidate their API assets in one place and provide a robust ecosystem for developers and business units alike to consume API products. That's where API portals come in. In this article, we'll discuss how API portals can transform the FinTech industry and provide tips on choosing the right API portal provider for your needs. What Is an API Portal? An API portal is an ecosystem that enables developers and non-technical users alike — from the C-suite to data analysts and marketers — to access and consume APIs. By bringing API products to the general public and making them easily accessible to business units, API portals are the next evolution of traditional developer portals. API portals go beyond the standard features of developer portals, like listing available APIs, providing API documentation, and creating a place for developers to communicate, by offering them these unique features: Productization Tools – From advanced signup workflows to API product bundling, API portals allow organizations to productize their APIs with a strong market fit to increase the value of API assets. Development Tools – API portals provide try-it-now and CI/CD integration tools to to ensure updated accurate documentation to versioning information which is proven to boost adoption rates. Advanced Access Control (RBAC) – Eliminate the need to build multiple portals and control the view and consumption of APIs from a single portal. Plus, seamless single sign-on (SSO) integration allows organizations to have granular control over regions, divisions, departments, partners, and more. Internationalization – API portals empower organizations to penetrate international markets, providing them with all the tools to quickly adapt API products to foreign markets. A great example of an API portal is Apiboost. This comprehensive solution offers the features organizations need to build a robust API ecosystem, including API monetization capabilities, Teams & Groups for managing user privileges, and Single-Sign-On (SSO) for enhanced security. The need for API portals will only grow as APIs permeate all industries, and the organizations that adapt quickly will reap most of the benefits. Read More: The Ultimate Guide to API Portals in 2022 What Are the Benefits of API Portals for FinTech Companies? The benefits that API portals offer to financial institutions are much greater than those that are offered by the typical developer portal. 1. Meet Regulatory Compliance and Standards Requirements Financial institutions, including credit unions and banks, are required by law to manage their customer data responsibly ands must adhere to government regulations such as the USA Patriot Act and various European Union directives such as PSD2 and GDPR. API portals can help meet these obligations by providing access to all sensitive data through a single secure interface, making it easier to promote organizational conformity to regulatory standards. With advanced access controls and all API assets centralized in one place, API portals make it easier for organizations to meet compliance requirements by ensuring that all documentation and access is up-to-date and accurate. 2. Increase Adoption Rates Increasingly, organizations rely on third-party APIs to enhance their applications' core functionality, from identity resolution to credit checks. That's why a transaction can go through a dozen APIs before it reaches its destination. APIs can be integrated into those long process chains, but only if they are accessible enough for developers and business units to use. The issue becomes more pressing with the rise of citizen development, the practice of creating and deploying IT solutions to involve non-IT users in the software development decision chain. The API portal bridges that gap by simplifying how APIs can be accessed and used without a steep learning curve or lengthy approval process, drastically increasing adoption rates. Read More: Bridging The Gap With API Portals 3. Safely Leverage the Power of Open Banking Open banking allows banks and other financial institutions to control the sensitive financial information that is shared with FinTech companies and other partners. FinTech startups and big banks can both benefit from open banking, as it allows banks to expand their reach, establish additional revenue streams, and personalize their banking services. Conversely, FinTech companies gain access to essential financial data to power their innovative solutions. Open banking offers numerous benefits but requires that financial institutions follow very strict compliance guidelines - again, made much easier with an API Portal handling all of the APIs within the organzation While open banking has been gaining traction over the past few years, many institutions are still falling behind, with FinTech pioneers cutting into the profits and market share of established financial institutions. If these organizations don't adapt to an API-first business model, they will keep missing out on new opportunities and find themselves left behind. This is what's driving digital transformation for most financial organizations - they fell behind the Robinhood of the world, and now they're scrambling to catch up. Since open banking entails revealing an APIs endpoints to the world, this brings with it increased API security risks that can lead to disastrous consequences if left unaddressed. 4. Maximizing the Value of the Existing Infrastructure Banks and other financial institutions have complex well-tested systems in place to keep operations running and help with tasks such as processing payments or managing user accounts. In today's application-driven marketplace, many of these FinTech groups don't have the resources to recreate these tools at scale. So it makes sense for these app-driven groups to leverage APIs to enhance their product offering and increase revenue for the larger institution. API portals open up new opportunities for FinTech firms to integrate existing assets into their solutions, bringing in additional revenue and increasing the ROI their data generates. Banks can use an API portal to gain a competitive edge by expanding the services and reaching new or changing markets. In many cases financial institutions are falling behind their competitors by not offering these services. With API portals, banks can also integrate their own branded payment card with the APIs from other companies so that users have access to a broader range of services at any time. How to Choose the Right API Portal for Your Needs Now that you know the massive value that API portals can bring to your financial organization, it’s essential to understand how to go about the process of analyzing your API portal needs and choosing the right development partner. The first step is to accurately define your audience and their needs. The following questions will help you get an accurate picture of your target user base and what they’re looking for: Who is your audience? Are your existing and potential partners already using another API - or are you expanding your capabilities to your legacy clients to avoid losing them? What’s the size of the FinTech companies you’re going to be working with? What does your audience know about your institution? Do you need to work hard to get on their radar? Do they have one developer or hundreds of specialists that are going to need API access? How did they discover your API - Google, advertising, or your outreach? What do you want your audience to know? Maybe you have a high-volume, low-margin product that drives them to your API portal. Yet, once they've connected to that initial product, you may want them to discover ten other APIs to expand your business and improve margins. Is your product low maintenance or will you need to communicate regularly with your developers to make sure they have the latest and greatest? Do you require your users to go through an approval process? Is that process manual? Think about it: your user base is here to automate, and when you put them through a ten-day phone call-driven approval process, you better hope you're the only game in town. Pro tip: don't ask your IT department to design your API portal. Remember what happened when they were in charge of your company website?Once you have clearly defined your audience and their needs, here are a few tips to help you choose the right API portal: Define your needs and requirements: What do you need an API portal for? What features are most important to you? Make a list of your needs and priorities and use them as a guide when evaluating different solutions. Prioritize user-friendliness: Since an API portal is meant to be accessible to non-technical users by design, it should be easy to navigate and understand. Know your options: Do you want to build an API portal from scratch - or is an established API platform provider your best option? Your IT team will most likely suggest building an API portal in-house since it's very tech-heavy. Yet, if you look at your competition, you will find the leaders have very sophisticated user-friendly portals that were not built by their IT group. Apiboost is one of them. Take security extremely seriously: Data breaches are destructive for any business, but in the FinTech world, a successful cyberattack has the potential to sink your entire company. Make sure your API portal solution offers advanced security measures to protect your users with specialized API security testing tools such as APIsec. Explore the availability of training and educational materials: Check whether your potential partner offers training sessions or other resources like webinars and workshops. Educational materials are critical to ensure your API portal consistently grows its user base. Ensure multi-language support: There are many benefits to choosing an API that supports multiple languages, making it easy to adapt your offerings to foreign markets. A multi-language API portal allows users from all over the globe to create applications that work in different regions. Look for solid reporting capabilities: Your API portal should provide powerful data reporting and analytics features. Tracking information like download rates, traffic levels, and other metrics can help you determine how to improve your offerings. Think about the future: As the competition evolves and your organization increases the adoption of open banking, is your portal ready to adapt to new technological challenges in the future? In this article, we've discussed the importance of API portals for FinTech companies. With APIs powering the entire digital economy, choosing an API portal provider becomes a mission-critical task. Instead of taking chances, remove the guesswork altogether by partnering with Achieve Internet. With over two decades of experience helping companies of all sizes accelerate digital transformation in one form or another, we developed Apiboost, a subscription-based API portal solution that makes it possible to deploy an API portal within just 2–4 weeks. Let us know if you have any questions or need additional information about API portals or API management by contacting us directly. obligations by providing access to all sensitive data through a single secure interface, making it easier to promote organizational conformity to regulatory standards. With advanced access controls and all API assets centralized in one place, API portals make it easier for organizations to meet compliance requirements by ensuring that all documentation and access is up-to-date and accurate. 2. Increase Adoption Rates Increasingly, organizations rely on third-party APIs to enhance their applications' core functionality, from identity resolution to credit checks. That's why a transaction can go through a dozen APIs before it reaches its destination. APIs can be integrated into those long process chains, but only if they are accessible enough for developers and business units to use. The issue becomes more pressing with the rise of citizen development, the practice of creating and deploying IT solutions to involve non-IT users in the software development decision chain. The API portal bridges that gap by simplifying how APIs can be accessed and used without a steep learning curve or lengthy approval process, drastically increasing adoption rates. Read More: Bridging The Gap With API Portals 3. Safely Leverage the Power of Open Banking Open banking allows banks and other financial institutions to control the sensitive financial information that is shared with FinTech companies and other partners. FinTech startups and big banks can both benefit from open banking, as it allows banks to expand their reach, establish additional revenue streams, and personalize their banking services. Conversely, FinTech companies gain access to essential financial data to power their innovative solutions. Open banking offers numerous benefits but requires that financial institutions follow very strict compliance guidelines - again, made much easier with an API Portal handling all of the APIs within the organzation While open banking has been gaining traction over the past few years, many institutions are still falling behind, with FinTech pioneers cutting into the profits and market share of established financial institutions. If these organizations don't adapt to an API-first business model, they will keep missing out on new opportunities and find themselves left behind. This is what's driving digital transformation for most financial organizations - they fell behind the Robinhood of the world, and now they're scrambling to catch up. Since open banking entails revealing an APIs endpoints to the world, this brings with it increased API security risks that can lead to disastrous consequences if left unaddressed. 4. Maximizing the Value of the Existing Infrastructure Banks and other financial institutions have complex well-tested systems in place to keep operations running and help with tasks such as processing payments or managing user accounts. In today's application-driven marketplace, many of these FinTech groups don't have the resources to recreate these tools at scale. So it makes sense for these app-driven groups to leverage APIs to enhance their product offering and increase revenue for the larger institution. API portals open up new opportunities for FinTech firms to integrate existing assets into their solutions, bringing in additional revenue and increasing the ROI their data generates. Banks can use an API portal to gain a competitive edge by expanding the services and reaching new or changing markets. In many cases financial institutions are falling behind their competitors by not offering these services. With API portals, banks can also integrate their own branded payment card with the APIs from other companies so that users have access to a broader range of services at any time. How to Choose the Right API Portal for Your Needs Now that you know the massive value that API portals can bring to your financial organization, it’s essential to understand how to go about the process of analyzing your API portal needs and choosing the right development partner. The first step is to accurately define your audience and their needs. The following questions will help you get an accurate picture of your target user base and what they’re looking for: Who is your audience? Are your existing and potential partners already using another API - or are you expanding your capabilities to your legacy clients to avoid losing them? What’s the size of the FinTech companies you’re going to be working with? What does your audience know about your institution? Do you need to work hard to get on their radar? Do they have one developer or hundreds of specialists that are going to need API access? How did they discover your API - Google, advertising, or your outreach? What do you want your audience to know? Maybe you have a high-volume, low-margin product that drives them to your API portal. Yet, once they've connected to that initial product, you may want them to discover ten other APIs to expand your business and improve margins. Is your product low maintenance or will you need to communicate regularly with your developers to make sure they have the latest and greatest? Do you require your users to go through an approval process? Is that process manual? Think about it: your user base is here to automate, and when you put them through a ten-day phone call-driven approval process, you better hope you're the only game in town. Pro tip: don't ask your IT department to design your API portal. Remember what happened when they were in charge of your company website?Once you have clearly defined your audience and their needs, here are a few tips to help you choose the right API portal: Define your needs and requirements: What do you need an API portal for? What features are most important to you? Make a list of your needs and priorities and use them as a guide when evaluating different solutions. Prioritize user-friendliness: Since an API portal is meant to be accessible to non-technical users by design, it should be easy to navigate and understand. Know your options: Do you want to build an API portal from scratch - or is an established API platform provider your best option? Your IT team will most likely suggest building an API portal in-house since it's very tech-heavy. Yet, if you look at your competition, you will find the leaders have very sophisticated user-friendly portals that were not built by their IT group. Apiboost is one of them. Take security extremely seriously: Data breaches are destructive for any business, but in the FinTech world, a successful cyberattack has the potential to sink your entire company. Make sure your API portal solution offers advanced security measures to protect your users with specialized API security testing tools such as APIsec. Explore the availability of training and educational materials: Check whether your potential partner offers training sessions or other resources like webinars and workshops. Educational materials are critical to ensure your API portal consistently grows its user base. Ensure multi-language support: There are many benefits to choosing an API that supports multiple languages, making it easy to adapt your offerings to foreign markets. A multi-language API portal allows users from all over the globe to create applications that work in different regions. Look for solid reporting capabilities: Your API portal should provide powerful data reporting and analytics features. Tracking information like download rates, traffic levels, and other metrics can help you determine how to improve your offerings. Think about the future: As the competition evolves and your organization increases the adoption of open banking, is your portal ready to adapt to new technological challenges in the future? In this article, we've discussed the importance of API portals for FinTech companies. With APIs powering the entire digital economy, choosing an API portal provider becomes a mission-critical task. Instead of taking chances, remove the guesswork altogether by partnering with Achieve Internet. With over two decades of experience helping companies of all sizes accelerate digital transformation in one form or another, we developed Apiboost, a subscription-based API portal solution that makes it possible to deploy an API portal within just 2–4 weeks. Let us know if you have any questions or need additional information about API portals or API management by contacting us directly.

The Coronavirus pandemic required industries to adopt digital transformation. 70% of companies either have a digital strategy in place or are working on one, according to a survey by ZDNet. The global pandemic has changed the way companies do business worldwide, especially in the financial services industry. The boom in financial technology can largely be attributed to the need to adapt to digital transformation strategies to survive. What is Fintech? Fintech is the term used to describe the intersection of the financial services industry and technology like mobile payments, big data, digital currencies, and the cloud. The fintech industry needs to be prepared to offer products and services designed to meet the needs of its customers. Those who are flexible enough to adapt to changing market conditions will be successful in the years. Binder Dijker Otte (BDO) reports that 97% of financial service firms are transforming their business models to stay competitive in an evolving industry. What’s Driving the Fintech Digital Transformation Boom? Several factors are at play. First, the global economy is undergoing a digital transformation. An increasing number of people conduct business online, creating new business models. The banking industry now has the opportunity to develop innovative products and services that meet the needs of digital consumers. Another factor is the increase in the use of mobile technology. Mobile devices and smartphones have increased the demand for fintech solutions designed for mobile platforms. This is where fintech companies have an advantage over traditional financial institutions. They’re able to develop innovative mobile apps and other solutions that cater to the needs of modern consumers. Finally, there’s the increasing demand for fintech products and services. People are becoming more comfortable using technology to handle their finances, and they're searching for new ways to save and make money in the digital age. As a result, fintech startups have the opportunity to disrupt legacy systems. Digital Transformation is Making Fintech More Efficient As businesses transition to more digital models, they seek to streamline and optimize their processes. In today's fast-paced world, efficiency is critical to staying competitive. As fintech companies innovate using digital transformation strategies, they can expand their lending options, channel digital fintech offerings, and process data efficiently for operational efficiency. Companies that fail to embrace digital transformation will likely fall behind and cannot compete. In the end, they will lose both customers and market share. Now Trending: Fintech Industry's Digital Transformation Thanks to the advancements in technology, fintech companies can offer more innovative and convenient services to their customers. Here’s what’s trending in the fintech industry. The Rise of Mobile Payments Not long ago, very few people would have predicted the widespread use of mobile payments. Over the last few years, this payment type has become increasingly popular. During the recent pandemic, mobile payment methods snowballed. Fintech companies had to adapt ways for users to make more payments via their mobile devices due to stay-at-home orders, health and safety protocols, and more. Consumers are looking for ways to make their lives easier. Mobile payments offer a quick, easy, and efficient way to streamline and optimize fintech operations. The need for carrying cash or cards is becoming a thing of the past. Growth of Peer-to-Peer Payments In recent years, there’s been a surge in the popularity of peer-to-peer (P2P) payments. Thanks to innovative fintech companies, there are now several ways to quickly and easily send money to friends and family in the digital world. Consumers are now more comfortable than ever conducting transactions online, leading to a surge in the use of fintech apps like Venmo, PayPal, CashApp, and Zelle. By allowing people to send money directly to one another, fintech companies make it easier than ever for consumers to transact. This is proving to be a significant advantage for fintech firms, as they can steal market share from traditional financial institutions. The Expansion of Blockchain Technology Fintech is taking notice of blockchain technology's expansion, which is making an impact on the industry. This innovative technology is helping to drive digital transformation in the financial sector, making banking more efficient and secure. This has resulted in the fintech industry's rapid growth, and investors are taking note. Thanks to blockchain technology, the fintech industry is experiencing a renaissance, and there are great opportunities for investors and entrepreneurs alike. The Rise of Robo-advisors A Robo-advisor is a computer algorithm that provides financial planning and investment advice with little to no human interaction. The fintech industry is becoming increasingly reliant on digital solutions like these Robo-advisors to serve people's banking and investing needs. The Growth of Online Lending Digital transformation has led to the growth of online lending. Lenders can use digital channels to reach more consumers and offer them faster and easier loan approvals. By digitizing their processes, lenders can reduce the time to approve a loan. Borrowers can also benefit from the convenience of online borrowing, which allows them to complete the entire process without leaving their homes. The Expansion of Fintech into New Markets The fintech industry is expanding rapidly into new markets. By offering innovative online lending platforms and other digital services, fintech companies can reach more consumers and businesses than ever before. This expansion is helping to drive the fintech industry's growth, as more people are discovering the benefits of using fintech services. The Use of API Portals in Fintech By using an API Portal, fintech companies can connect to a broad range of providers, which makes it easier for them to get up and running quickly. API Portals provide a secure way for companies to access financial data and speed up the data processing for mobile banking, P2P payments, and loan processing. When it comes to security, the Fintech industry needs the best of the best. They deal with people's financial data every day. Naturally, API portals play an essential role in safeguarding that sensitive information. They provide a secure way for companies to access and store financial data and speed up data processing. Overall, API Portals are a vital part of the fintech industry's digital transformation strategy, but not all API portals are created equal. Security is Achieve Internet's top priority when working with you to develop and deploy your APIs. Achieve's experts in the latest security protocols and integrations will secure your data and reputation. Request a demo today. Bonus: The Ultimate Guide to API Portals in 2022 As you can see, digital transformation is one of the critical drivers of the fintech industry. It is changing how people interact with financial services, making it easier for startups to enter the market. Thanks to digital transformation, fintech is growing more quickly than ever before. This is good news for consumers, benefiting from increased competition and innovation. Fintech is changing the way we bank, invest, and borrow money, and it is poised to revolutionize the financial industry.

Most bankers (83%) recognize the importance of digital transformation, but only 43% of bank executives are committed to transforming their existing business models. What prevents organizations from going all out? As a general rule, when the costs outweigh the benefits, a new idea or policy is unlikely to be adopted. But what if the costs of holding on to legacy banking systems are far higher than most leaders think? In this article, we highlight the obvious (and not so obvious) challenges that legacy banking systems pose to your digital transformation journey and organization in general, stifling growth, killing innovation, and hurting your bottom line. Why Are Legacy Systems Still Used? In a perfect world, banking institutions quickly adapt to the most recent technological advances, propelling their industry forward and bringing exponentially more value to the table. But this is not a perfect world. In reality, many legacy systems that operate with billions of dollars on a daily basis have been running for over 30 years. Even though legacy banking systems are outdated and no longer efficient, most banks continue to use them. There are several reasons for this: Risk aversion - It’s estimated that over $3 trillion is being processed by outdated COBOL systems based on a 60-year-old programming language. When the stakes are that high, any process disruption or technical issue during or after software modernization can lead to disastrous consequences, incentivizing banks to maintain the status quo. Customer inertia - Even though digital transformation offers a wide range of benefits, the reluctance to shop around has been an inseparable attribute of consumer banking behavior. Combined with high entry barriers for new companies, this removes competitive pressures and weakens innovation. Resistance to Change - While undergoing digital transformation entails streamlining or eliminating processes, it brings the need to learn and adapt to new workflows. Change can be uncomfortable for employees and other key stakeholders, disincentivizing innovation. The Cost of Digital Transformation - As a strategic initiative, digital transformation tremendously benefits organizations in the mid-and long term. Still, it entails substantial financial and operational upfront costs, which may detract banks from taking the leap. While all of the reasons mentioned above may be valid to a certain extent, the “if it ain't broke, don't fix it” mentality can lead to significant negative consequences that may lead to the downfall of your organization in the future. Let’s cover them in greater detail. How Legacy Systems Undermine Banking Institutions Banks must undergo a digital transformation in order to stay relevant in the ever-changing digital world. The problems associated with legacy banking systems include incompatibilities with modern third-party systems, high maintenance costs, and frequent upgrades and patches due to outdated systems and security loopholes. While this seems obvious, the problem is much more complex than most banks think. Below, we explore how legacy systems can undermine the growth of your organization, making it increasingly less competitive and effective. Slow Performance and Transaction Processing Times Legacy systems are slow and inefficient, which can be very frustrating for the customers and employees alike. If customers experience long wait times when navigating your digital ecosystem, they are likely to push through their customer inertia and start exploring other options. Bad system performance also negatively impacts workplace morale since it can directly interfere with your teams’ workflows, leading to poor employee experience and even higher turnover rates. In fact, 24% of employees considered leaving their organization due to mismatched software. The loss of productivity, revenue, and, eventually, market share are all the byproducts of inefficient banking systems. Financial institutions must invest in digital transformation to drastically improve performance across the board without sacrificing the quality of service provided to their customers to prevent that from ever happening. The Cost of Constant Patching, Maintenance, & Upgrades One of the main challenges of relying on legacy systems in banks is the high maintenance costs, putting an enormous strain on your IT infrastructure and human resources. The cost of maintaining old systems quickly adds up the longer you delay digital transformation. There are endless security patches that must be implemented to ensure that some of the most common cybersecurity vulnerabilities do not lead to data breaches, as well as constant updates to keep your software compatible with third-party solutions. The older the system is, the harder it will be for managers to find qualified candidates with the skills needed to handle your IT infrastructure. Newer employees are unfamiliar with these old systems and will have to go through a steep learning curve to get up to speed. Digital transformation can successfully open up new business opportunities, keeping expenses down while allowing banks to take advantage of the latest technologies. Poor Scalability You’re almost guaranteed to face scalability issues when working with legacy systems. Most legacy banking systems were built in the 70s and 80s and were not built to quickly handle the exponentially growing data exchanges and transactions. This challenge is compounded by the dominance of mainframes in banks’ IT landscape. Mainframes are difficult to integrate with next-generation technologies, limiting how banks can develop new solutions on top of them. Meanwhile, most legacy systems cannot automatically convert data into a machine-readable form, which is essential for machine learning operations. Although there has been some improvement in recent years, fragmented data architectures across banking legacy systems still present significant barriers to digital transformation strategies aiming to deliver better customer experiences. The resistance to change opens up potential opportunities for new competitors to enter the market with more effective solutions than traditional brick-and-mortar institutions can provide. Fragmented Data Architectures Bank systems' initial design and architecture date back to the 1970s and 1980s. By the 1990s, many banks had adopted the client-server model which further entrenched silos due to a lack of integration between front-end and back-end systems. As a result, most banks’ system landscape today comprises disparate technologies that do not integrate well with each other. Some older platforms use File Transfer Protocol (FTP) to move data from front-end servers to middleware platforms, while modern systems use web services. The dominance of mainframes in banking legacy systems has led to various challenges around integration, most notably the fragmentation of data architectures across front-end and back-end IT infrastructure. These architectures are often developed independently, leading to inconsistencies throughout the system landscape. With new technologies being introduced almost every day, this problem is exacerbated by outdated platforms that are fragmented with modern ones. This environment makes it difficult for banks to integrate their entire systems into a coherent view. The lack of an integrated approach can result in inaccuracies in customer information due to discrepancies between legacy systems and loss of customer conversion opportunities, hindering analytics and reporting capabilities that banks rely on to make strategic decisions and innovations. Although there has been some improvement in recent years, fragmented data architectures across banking legacy systems still present significant barriers to digital transformation. Ineffective Security Controls Banking legacy systems are plagued with vulnerabilities that hackers can easily exploit. As we've seen in the news, these weaknesses can lead to the theft of millions of customer records containing highly sensitive data. The financial industry has been subject to several high-profile data breaches. In 2017, tens of millions of households were affected by a security breach at Equifax, a credit reporting agency, compromising 147 million consumers. These types of large-scale data breaches can result in a devastating blow to an organization’s reputation - loss of customer trust, and a barrage of lawsuits - which combines result in millions of dollars lost. Banking legacy systems are becoming an easily exploitable weakness in the financial sector. Banks need to upgrade their legacy systems with modern security controls to stay competitive, protect customer data, and ensure overall bank security. The Inability to Meet Modern Customer Needs Perhaps the biggest challenge with legacy systems is their inability to meet the needs of modern customers. Today's consumers are mobile, social, and always on the go - and they expect their banking experience to reflect that. But legacy systems are often outdated and challenging to use on mobile devices. They also don't offer the modern features that consumers now expect. Legacy banking systems aren't just limited by modern technology - they also add an unnecessary layer of complexity to the business process. Whether it's the overly complex multi-channel experience or simply an outdated interface, banks must adapt to modern consumers or risk losing them to the competition that doubled down on innovation. Lead the Banking Industry with Achieve Digital transformation is critical for the banking industry to remain competitive and meet the needs of its customers in a digital world. There are, however, many banks struggling with legacy systems that make this process significantly more difficult. By understanding these obstacles and taking steps to overcome them, banks can make strides toward becoming more digitally-focused organizations. Our solutions can handle both REST and SOAP, allowing you to deploy an API portal long before you've transformed your entire infrastructure. Achieve Internet is here to help you accelerate your digital transformation through an end-to-end API portal solution that helps you centralize all of your APIs in one place, making them more effective, accessible, and secure. Get in touch with our team today for a free consultation.

APIs now power 57% of all web applications, reflecting how widespread APIs have become in the digital world. Monetizing API products isn't always a straightforward process as it's not always apparent for organizations how to use them to generate more revenue. That's especially true if your API product is a cog inside of a larger machine - multiple APIs from different companies often get buried inside apps and technologies developed by others. APIs have evolved from basic assets to full-fledged products capable of generating profit. The first step to monetizing an API product is familiarizing yourself with the most popular API monetization models available. You want to structure your pricing model in a way that best fits your API product and meets the needs of your API consumers. Here's a look at five of the most common monetization models for API products. Read More: Monetizing your APIs: Five Questions to Get Started 1. Freemium/Tiered Monetization One of the most prevalent models for API providers is the freemium or tiered monetization strategy. In this model, organizations offer basic API functions for free with some restrictions. These limitations can include time-bounded free trials or a certain number of allowed calls (similar to rate limiting). Alternatively, an API provider can offer a completely free option for non-enterprise users subsidized by enterprise clients. This model is based on the concept of accelerated cost for accelerated usage and works well with other monetization strategies. To make this model work, you need the ability to track the API access period, enforce rate limiting, and manage user tiers and billing. The tiered monetization model pairs well with an application gallery or showcase to incentivize citizen developers to innovate and engage with the free access. Ultimately, the free offering should not reduce the demand for the premium plan while simultaneously ensuring that the free option drives real value for those who use it. 2. Bulk Cost Model This model goes by several different names depending on how revenue is generated from the bulk cost process. Standard versions in this model include Pay-As-You-Go, where API consumers only pay for the product they used without subscribing, minimum payments, or tiers. This model also includes bundling multiple products and services offered by the organization, allowing anchor customers to engage in the API product strategy and expand the relationship with the organization. While bulk cost models are common and well-liked among consumers, businesses should note that the revenue is unpredictable at times. Examples of bulk-cost API providers include Google Maps and Amazon API Gateway. 3. Subscription Models A subscription model is a cost-capped version of the Pay-As-You-Go model and typically has an active period (for example, subscriptions may be monthly or yearly). This model allows API providers to have more predictable revenue and is usually accompanied by the ability to increase your subscription as the demand for access increases - which can be supported by ecommerce upgrades or integrated into an existing sales pipeline. Popular subscription API providers include Netflix, Shopify, Stripe, and Paystack. 4. Partner Model In this model, organizations give select partners access to their APIs - they're either existing partners or the companies that need to apply through an API portal to become one. Using the partner model, organizations typically provide access to their inventory or ordering system, so money is collected for the sale, not the use of the API. Most of these contracts are handled outside the portal, so there is no commerce within the ecosystem. 5. Unit Costing This model determines discretely defined units and their cost to charge utilization. For example, an API provider might charge per unit of use for infrastructure (e.g., the number of GB utilized, number of discrete processor cycles employed, etc. - common with solutions like AWS), but can also charge per “unit” of the process (typically called an “instance”), e.g., “5 Docker instances” or “3 users of the API". As an alternative scenario, a customer or partner can buy access to specific APIs. Examples of this model include cloud services where you purchase specific storage amounts. 6. Revenue Sharing In this model, API providers offer a monetary incentive to an API customer for sharing or selling the API product. The revenue-sharing model is best supported by a white-label marketplace or an ecosystem, showcasing applications or APIs. The merging of ecosystems and white labeling APIs leads to a new revenue source for both parties. For example, affiliates advertise an API through their content, drive traffic to the API, and receive a commission based on product sales. Additionally, Google's advertising systems integrate advertisements on a given website, and API consumers can claim a certain percentage of the revenue, but not the revenue as a whole. Popular revenue sharing API providers include Amazon Affiliate Program and Google AdSense. How Achieve Internet Can Help You Monetize Your APIs Depending on your business goals and API assets at your disposal, you may want to opt for one or multiple API monetization models listed above. If you have an application gallery, the freemium, revenue sharing, and subscription models might be the most optimal options for you. In contrast, the unit costing, bulk cost, and partner models might be a good fit when you work primarily with enterprise clients. Regardless of your API monetization model, the first step towards monetizing your APIs often involves developing an API portal since it helps make your API products accessible to developers and non-technical business units. Achieve Internet specializes in developing API portals for organizations of all sizes, helping you boost adoption rates and improve the revenue you generate from your corporate API assets. Do you want to revolutionize how you create, manage, and deploy your APIs? Reach out to our team today to discuss transforming your business through digital transformation.