The ABCs of API Consumption

If you’ve created an open platform for your customers, then you likely already understand the many benefits your customers gain with an open API. Ultimately, they will be empowered with access to actionable data so that they can innovate and develop solutions that are unique to their business needs. And in the today’s business eco-system, actionable data drives strategy.

Actionable data can help determine process inefficiencies, customer service satisfaction levels, flaws within an e-commerce web page, and beyond. What’s more, a business can distill insight and propel change with actionable data.

Companies like Salesforce, JIRA, NetSuite, Slack, Workfront, among many others, offer a platform to better support the business needs of their customers. How they developed a successful Application Program Interface (API) likely went beyond making the API available.

Once your API is ready and available, you’ve already won half the battle. What’s next? You want to get your API in front of developers so that they can put it to work. Therefore, it is an absolute must that you have an API consumption strategy to complement your API launch.

The ABCs of API Consumption

Use the points below as a checklist to help create a strong API customer experience. Here’s a look at the “ABCs of API Consumption:”

• A is for “accessibility” and the user-friendly design of your API


• B is for the ever-crucial “benchmark performance” that will help you measure and determine key performance indicators for your API


• C is for “consumption” and will help you analyze data and trends that can help you better understand if your API is being used to its maximum potential

A. Accessibility

Is your API easily accessible by your API users?

Whether your API consumer base is made up of internal developers, external partner developers, or external public users, they are your most important stakeholders. They want an API that is easy to access, easy to use, and easy to connect with. If you can keep your design simple and accessible, you’ll see more and more developers using your API.

B. Benchmark Performance

Can you measure the performance of your API?

Consumer feedback is one of the best indications of a solid performing API. However, there are a few other key performance indicators (KPIs) to note. Four important KPIs to track include the following:

• Number of API calls – This will help you measure the overall customer engagement level of your API ecosystem.
• TTFHW (Time to first hello to the world) – This will help you determine how easy or how difficult it is to integrate with your API.
• Number of developer accounts – This will help you track the rate of API adoption. Any change in trend—whether adoption is on the way up or it’s made a sharp downward turn—will help you track your API performance.
• Health monitoring - Basic monitoring for the health of your API will ensure that you know how available your system is, and it will provide you with the data you need to measure your API’s response time.

C. Consumption

Is your API being consumed at its maximum potential?

If you’ve designed an accessible, user-friendly API, and you’ve benchmarked and tracked your API’s KPIs, then you will have the data you need to know if your API is being consumed at its maximum potential.

Increase API Consumption with an Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS)

An integration platform as a service (iPaaS) can offer a centralized, scalable, and secure way to integrate applications and data, within less time compared to other methods of integration.

Kenetix is Globalscape’s rapid integration platform, designed to quickly create complex integrations and connect microservices and APIs that power mobile apps, customer experiences, Internet of Things, and project workflows. With Kenetix, connecting to applications can span the course of a few minutes, or even a couple weeks for more complex integrations.

Platform integration with Kenetix is quick, easy, and efficient. Ready to enhance the consumption of your API? Kenetix enables easy, low-code integrations for a simplified process of integration, saving end-users time with a fast integration experience. With Kenetix, end users will spend less time on integration, and in turn will have more time for more complex or innovative projects. Additionally, there is less reliance on IT for strategic guidance and oversight.