Articles
5/25/2021
10 minutes

API Management Integration: Subsystems Working as One

Written by
Copado Team
Table of contents

Originally published by New Context.

Have you ever sat and just stared at the clouds as they slowly traversed the skyline? It can be a spectacular show, as sometimes the clouds seem to take on the form or shape of familiar things, from unicorns to…rows of endless servers?

We jest, but cloud computing, which includes accessibility to an almost endless number of servers and computing resources over the web, is rapidly becoming the de facto backbone of the internet for enterprises and service organizations. And these services are made available through applications that may be resident on your systems, the user’s device, or a third party location—all of which may be using different API management tools. Let’s first define API management integration and take a look at various levels of service. Then we can explore how to determine the best integration solutions based on your current operations and future needs. 

API Management Integration - Copado

What is API Management Integration?

Whether or not the management of APIs is important for cloud computing today is moot. Not only is it important, but if you do not employ API management best practices, your business could suffer from operational delays due to double data entry, data silos preventing users from accessing valuable information, and general inefficiency. To prevent these usability killers, it is essential that you utilize the best API management tools—and there is no shortage of options from which to make your selection. 

The ability to seamlessly provide and access services and data with users and other businesses requires API integration. However, this is not to be confused with API management integration, as they are not explicitly the same thing. Definitions may be helpful here to highlight this point:

  • API integration is the connection of software that exists at various locations through associated APIs.
  • API management integration is a more complex API integration solution, as it provides for building and making APIs accessible, ensuring compatibility by version control, security, and support.

API integration is one of the capabilities that falls under API management. However, there are various levels of integration that should be integral in choosing your API management tool. Let’s take a look at the available options. 

What are the Different Levels of Integration Service?

The importance of API integration necessitates that you carefully consider what level of integration is best for your enterprise or organization. Unfortunately, this means trying to untangle the meaning of a few of those “as a service” acronyms. Don’t worry—this slight torture now may allow you to avoid much more severe pain later. Again, clarity is best achieved with a few definitions:

  • Software-as-a-Service or SaaS is the common licensing model where software is made available on a subscription basis. The primary benefit is relief from the costs—infrastructure and staff—of maintaining local resources while still providing you with control.
  • Platform-as-a-Service or PaaS is similar to SaaS, but provides more flexibility as you can continue to leverage legacy applications and build and develop your own applications utilizing the platform’s resources (e.g. network).
  • Integration-as-a-Service or IaaS is the lowest level of integration service and it requires that you furnish the infrastructure and possess in-house expertise.

It is worth noting that IaaS is a part of PaaS, which in turn is a part of SaaS. The integration of most API management tools can be described as belonging to one of the above service types. For some enterprises and organizations a more robust solution may be needed, such as an iPaaS:

  • Integration-Platform-as-a-Service or iPaaS is a collective of capabilities including the development, administration, and flow control for applications, services, and processes in the cloud, at your location, or across several entities. API management, which includes integration, is included within these capabilities.

As evidenced by the list above, there are several options for API integration. The key is choosing the one that best suits your particular needs.

How to Optimize Your API Integration

The ability to integrate APIs from various sources is mandatory for taking advantage of cloud computing. And the level of service you choose affects your ability to continue to capitalize on previously developed legacy applications and how easily you can scale up and grow your services. When choosing an API management integration solution, having a defined set of criteria, such as the one below, can be a great asset.  

Attributes for Choosing the Best API Management Integration Solution

  • Am I able to use legacy applications?
  • Does this option integrate well with current cloud service(s)?
  • Is this solution scalable?
  • Is this solution and/or provider stable (i.e. will it be around 5, 10, 20 years from now)?
  • Do I need to add local resources?
  • Do I have or need to acquire staff and expertise?
  • Does this solution meet my security requirements?
  • Does this solution fulfill regulatory compliance obligations?

Asking the above questions should form the foundation of your selection process for an API management integration service. Depending on your organization’s cloud architecture, size, and future projections an API management tool may suffice or you may require a more comprehensive solution such as iPaaS. In either case, the complexity of identifying and protecting against cloud security vulnerabilities as well as optimizing your cloud presence may make it advantageous for you to seek and utilize expert digital transformation consulting. 

 

Contact us to learn how Copado can help you optimize business value.

CONTACT US

Book a demo

About The Author

#1 DevOps Platform for Salesforce

We Build Unstoppable Teams By Equipping DevOps Professionals With The Platform, Tools And Training They Need To Make Release Days Obsolete. Work Smarter, Not Longer.

Making DevOps Easier and Faster with AI
Chapter 5: Automated Testing
Reimagining Salesforce Development with Copado's AI-Powered Platform
Planning User Acceptance Testing (UAT): Tips and Tricks for a Smooth and Enjoyable UAT
What is DevOps for Business Applications
Copado Integrates Powerful AI Solutions into Its Community as It Surpasses the 100,000 Member Milestone
Testing End-to-End Salesforce Flows: Web and Mobile Applications
How to get non-technical users onboard with Salesforce UAT testing
DevOps Excellence within Salesforce Ecosystem
Best Practices for AI in Salesforce Testing
6 testing metrics that’ll speed up your Salesforce release velocity (and how to track them)
Chapter 4: Manual Testing Overview
AI Driven Testing for Salesforce
AI-powered Planning for Salesforce Development
Chapter 3: Testing Fun-damentals
Salesforce Deployment: Avoid Common Pitfalls with AI-Powered Release Management
Exploring DevOps for Different Types of Salesforce Clouds
Copado Launches Suite of AI Agents to Transform Business Application Delivery
What’s Special About Testing Salesforce? - Chapter 2
Why Test Salesforce? - Chapter 1
Continuous Integration for Salesforce Development
Comparing Top AI Testing Tools for Salesforce
Avoid Deployment Conflicts with Copado’s Selective Commit Feature: A New Way to Handle Overlapping Changes
From Learner to Leader: Journey to Copado Champion of the Year
Enhancing Salesforce Security with AppOmni and Copado Integration: Insights, Uses and Best Practices
The Future of Salesforce DevOps: Leveraging AI for Efficient Conflict Management
A Guide to Using AI for Salesforce Development Issues
How to Sync Salesforce Environments with Back Promotions
Copado and Wipro Team Up to Transform Salesforce DevOps
DevOps Needs for Operations in China: Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud
What is Salesforce Deployment Automation? How to Use Salesforce Automation Tools
Maximizing Copado's Cooperation with Essential Salesforce Instruments
Future Trends in Salesforce DevOps: What Architects Need to Know
From Chaos to Clarity: Managing Salesforce Environment Merges and Consolidations
Enhancing Customer Service with CopadoGPT Technology
What is Efficient Low Code Deployment?
Copado Launches Test Copilot to Deliver AI-powered Rapid Test Creation
Cloud-Native Testing Automation: A Comprehensive Guide
A Guide to Effective Change Management in Salesforce for DevOps Teams
Building a Scalable Governance Framework for Sustainable Value
Copado Launches Copado Explorer to Simplify and Streamline Testing on Salesforce
Exploring Top Cloud Automation Testing Tools
Master Salesforce DevOps with Copado Robotic Testing
Exploratory Testing vs. Automated Testing: Finding the Right Balance
A Guide to Salesforce Source Control
A Guide to DevOps Branching Strategies
Family Time vs. Mobile App Release Days: Can Test Automation Help Us Have Both?
How to Resolve Salesforce Merge Conflicts: A Guide
Copado Expands Beta Access to CopadoGPT for All Customers, Revolutionizing SaaS DevOps with AI
Is Mobile Test Automation Unnecessarily Hard? A Guide to Simplify Mobile Test Automation
From Silos to Streamlined Development: Tarun’s Tale of DevOps Success
Simplified Scaling: 10 Ways to Grow Your Salesforce Development Practice
What is Salesforce Incident Management?
What Is Automated Salesforce Testing? Choosing the Right Automation Tool for Salesforce
Copado Appoints Seasoned Sales Executive Bob Grewal to Chief Revenue Officer
Business Benefits of DevOps: A Guide
Copado Brings Generative AI to Its DevOps Platform to Improve Software Development for Enterprise SaaS
Celebrating 10 Years of Copado: A Decade of DevOps Evolution and Growth
Copado Celebrates 10 Years of DevOps for Enterprise SaaS Solutions
5 Reasons Why Copado = Less Divorces for Developers
What is DevOps? Build a Successful DevOps Ecosystem with Copado’s Best Practices
Scaling App Development While Meeting Security Standards
5 Data Deploy Features You Don’t Want to Miss
Top 5 Reasons I Choose Copado for Salesforce Development
How to Elevate Customer Experiences with Automated Testing
Getting Started With Value Stream Maps
Copado and nCino Partner to Provide Proven DevOps Tools for Financial Institutions
Unlocking Success with Copado: Mission-Critical Tools for Developers
How Automated Testing Enables DevOps Efficiency
How to Keep Salesforce Sandboxes in Sync
How to Switch from Manual to Automated Testing with Robotic Testing
Best Practices to Prevent Merge Conflicts with Copado 1 Platform
Software Bugs: The Three Causes of Programming Errors
How Does Copado Solve Release Readiness Roadblocks?
Why I Choose Copado Robotic Testing for my Test Automation
How to schedule a Function and Job Template in DevOps: A Step-by-Step Guide
Delivering Quality nCino Experiences with Automated Deployments and Testing
Best Practices Matter for Accelerated Salesforce Release Management
Maximize Your Code Quality, Security and performance with Copado Salesforce Code Analyzer
Upgrade Your Test Automation Game: The Benefits of Switching from Selenium to a More Advanced Platform
Three Takeaways From Copa Community Day
Cloud Native Applications: 5 Characteristics to Look for in the Right Tools
Using Salesforce nCino Architecture for Best Testing Results
How To Develop A Salesforce Testing Strategy For Your Enterprise
What Is Multi Cloud: Key Use Cases and Benefits for Enterprise Settings
5 Steps to Building a Salesforce Center of Excellence for Government Agencies
Salesforce UI testing: Benefits to Staying on Top of Updates
Benefits of UI Test Automation and Why You Should Care
Types of Salesforce Testing and When To Use Them
Copado + DataColada: Enabling CI/CD for Developers Across APAC
What is Salesforce API Testing and It Why Should Be Automated
Machine Learning Models: Adapting Data Patterns With Copado For AI Test Automation
Automated Testing Benefits: The Case For As Little Manual Testing As Possible
Beyond Selenium: Low Code Testing To Maximize Speed and Quality
UI Testing Best Practices: From Implementation to Automation
How Agile Test Automation Helps You Develop Better and Faster
Salesforce Test Cases: Knowing When to Test
DevOps Quality Assurance: Major Pitfalls and Challenges
11 Characteristics of Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) That Set Them Apart
7 Key Compliance Regulations Relating to Data Storage
Go back to resources
There is no previous posts
Go back to resources
There is no next posts

Explore more about

Security & Governance
Articles
December 6, 2024
Making DevOps Easier and Faster with AI
Articles
November 19, 2024
Chapter 5: Automated Testing
Articles
November 18, 2024
Reimagining Salesforce Development with Copado's AI-Powered Platform
Articles
November 8, 2024
Planning User Acceptance Testing (UAT): Tips and Tricks for a Smooth and Enjoyable UAT

Activate AI — Accelerate DevOps

Release Faster, Eliminate Risk, and Enjoy Your Work.
Try Copado Devops.

Resources

Level up your Salesforce DevOps skills with our resource library.

Upcoming Events & Webinars

Learn More

E-Books and Whitepapers

Learn More

Support and Documentation

Learn More

Demo Library

Learn More