API integration tools streamline business operations, providing the software to build, test and deploy APIs. These solutions enable the data exchange and functionality sharing between apps that are located on premises and the cloud, and between clouds. These tools help developers connect various systems by defining, managing, and orchestrating API calls, and include a visual designer and runtime instance tracking to simplify this process. API integration software provides a centralized layer for securing and monitoring app to app communication, and also incorporates governance capabilities. The management and automation provided by API integration tools can decrease development time and promote standardization. 

API Integration Tools Use Cases

Many API integration solutions are designed to address different use cases, including the following examples of common implementations: 

• • Integrate payment gateways to improve efficiency: APIs connect payment gateways (such as PayPal or Stripe) to ecommerce platforms to ensure smooth and secure payment processing for online transactions. By linking payment gateways to relevant systems, businesses can handle payments, refunds, and subscription renewals efficiently.
  • Connect Commerce systems for accurate processing: API Integration Tools streamline workflows encompassing order processing, inventory management, and customer service. An API integrates a shopping cart platform with the inventory management system, so that the inventory system is automatically updated at each sale to reflect real-time stock levels. An API also exposes the sale to the customer service department so that they have up to date information regarding any customer issues that might arise.  
  • Various B2B services 
  • Mobile apps backend services 
  • Standards and regulations: meeting compliance requirements for various industries, such as financial requirements for open banking 

Considerations in selecting the best API integration software

Choosing a solution that streamlines business operations and enables the data exchange and sharing functionality between apps depends to a degree on the organization’s use cases. Some factors to consider include:

• Number and type of applications and APIs to integrate and the richness of the connector set 
• Budget and licensing model (some of the options include pay per connector, pay per message, or a perpetual license which is usually for on premises implementations) 
• Technical expertise of the teams 

Recommended API integration tools for 2024

Of the many API integration platforms on the market, here are a few respected solutions. 

MuleSoft 

Mulesoft’s Anypoint enterprise platform for application, data, and API integration comprises tools and frameworks with a runtime application. Mulesoft handles the complete life cycle from design through deployment and monitoring. This low code/no code platform integrates with multiple on premises and cloud platforms, and services. MuleSoft provides multiple connectors and enables the creation of custom connectors. 

IBM API Connect

IBM API Connect is a scalable, secure API platform that provides full lifecycle API management, offering API creation, management, governance, and monetization  including the creation, management, and security of APIs. The platform is also available as-a-Service on AWS, fully managed and highly scalable. API development expertise is required.

iPaaS Solutions 

Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) cloud-based solutions connect applications and data in the cloud and on-premises, integrating systems such as CRMs, ERPs and on site data sources. iPaaS solutions use a holistic approach, encompassing data integration, application integration and workflow automation in addition to API integration, offering centralized management of these integrations. Additional features can include data mapping, transformation, message queuing, event-driven architecture, and more.

Dive into the essentials of iPaaS, download now.

Workato

Workato’s cloud-native platform offers integration and automation at scale, with an AI-powered no-code platform, featuring over 1200 pre-built connectors and ready-to-use accelerators. This user-friendly platform offers a high level of customization so that even business operators without coding experience can simply create complex integrations. Workato supports various applications including cloud-based and on-premise applications.

Boomi 

Boomi integration and automation platform provides many pre-built application connectors that support API management, API design, and API development. Boomi’s API Proxy configures and exposes real-time integrations via APIs and third-party services for business processes, and supports the full lifecycle of APIs in any environment. Boomi’s iPaaS capabilities include cloud-native integration development and management that can be deployed anywhere, and event driven architecture. 

SnapLogic

SnapLogic is a cloud integration platform that provides full lifecycle API management. It supports real-time and batch integration processes, and has a number of prebuilt, modifiable connectors, and also incorporates AI-powered workflows. Snaplogic manages application integration, data integration, and data engineering on a single, scalable platform. The platform enables the configuration and management of data and application integrations and automation. 

Data Hub Platforms

GigaSpaces Smart DIH is an off the shelf solution that implements a digital integration hub architecture. The Hub consolidates data in near real-time from diverse backend systems, into a highly performant data layer that delivers data APIs to consuming applications and services. With a persistent data tier that allows API management  tools to implement stateful scenarios, it offers event-driven design and sophisticated API and data integration capabilities. The Hub extends the API integration tool from decoupling at the protocol level to decoupling at the data level in this joint architecture, thus eliminating back-end systems availability & performance constraints. Smart DIH is designed to support real-time and transactional workloads, and utilizes in memory computing to deliver real time data services. 

Digital Hubs complement API integration software by ensuring ultra-fast performance, and eliminating the spaghetti architecture that arises due to multiple point to point connections found in most API Management and iPaaS solutions. Hubs such as Smart DIH decouple iPaaS solutions from their systems of record, serving fresh, accurate data to iPaaS-based workloads from a real-time, event-driven replica of the data. This provides robust, in-memory, highly available data access services, so that request-based integrations to the backend systems of records are no longer required.