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How APIs are enabling businesses to maximise the potential of the cloud

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Here is an interesting post on API from Guardian

The application programming interfaces (API) economy has arrived and is booming thanks to the role it plays in cloud computing. But what are APIs and why do they matter for businesses today? Put simply, APIs facilitate communication between applications. Previously, APIs fuelled the growth of consumer-oriented applications such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. For example, Twitter's popularity is largely because users can interact with the network through multiple channels and devices, made possible by APIs. But these interfaces are no longer the preserve of the consumer world. As a result of trends such as bring your own device (BYOD), employees, partners and customers alike want to connect to corporate services and data. Moreover, they expect to do this via the cloud and a host of mobile applications.

Defining APIs
Lets explore APIs a little more. In a business context, they can be thought of as Lego blocks, sitting at an organisation's boundary or edge. They can be used for enabling applications for both external users and employees. A recent survey conducted by Axway, in a webinar hosted in conjunction with Forrester, revealed that half of the global enterprises polled are already using or planning to deploy enterprise APIs, and almost a quarter of these are using them to connect internal applications to cloud services.

Driving revenue in the cloud
In an increasingly online world, more organisations are using the cloud to execute business transactions and create new revenue channels. For example, the Starbuck's iPhone application uses Google Maps to locate nearby coffeehouses, communicate with Starbuck's point-of-sales system to place orders and transact with the Blackhawk Network to buy and refill Starbucks gift cards. The communication between these companies is what is known as an application mash-up and is all down to the APIs in place. Not only do they support this type of integration, but a good set of APIs ensures this process is seamless and efficient. For complete and original post see here

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