The Role Of APIs In Digital Transformation

Our customers frequently ask us, “What are your other customers doing with APIs?” And why are they doing it? “
Indeed, although each company has, in general, identified its own motives for the implementation of APIs, the disruptive side of this approach brings decision-makers who want to understand and grasp the possibilities associated, including those they would not have thought spontaneously.

A classic answer to this question is to share various use cases in similar industries (or not – innovation often consisting of transposing techniques applied elsewhere into a new field).

This approach works well but is by nature limited to the nomenclature of use cases already identified and by the confidential nature of some of these projects. Also, the use cases presented are not all relevant for the company given its history, culture, strategic objectives, etc.

To better answer this question, IBM has formalized a “generic framework” for exploring API opportunities which are based on two dimensions:

1 – On The One Hand, Four Generic Drivers, Applicable To All Industries:

• Speed – to speed up existing processes
• Reach – to reach new customers and new markets
• Innovation – to implement new models and “disrupt” markets
• Domains (Silos) – to manage and optimize interactions between the different business entities (geography, business departments, etc.)

2 – On The Other Hand, “Fields Of Application” In Which The Use Of APIs Seems To Us To Be The Most Relevant:

• Mobile
• Social
• Data
• Partnership
• Public
• IoT
• Other
• (audit, industrial standards, directives, etc.)

Thanks to this generic formalization and the expertise of our IBM consultants, we have identified, in an almost exhaustive manner, the opportunities specific to a given company and have therefore taken steps to address the most priority areas.

We can, at your request, organize workshops for you to help you refine your API use cases based on this formalization.

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