When you operate an active API platform there are many different things occurring at any given moment. Modern approaches to API management emerged in 2006 to help us make sense of what is happening across our API platforms. APIs are all about understanding how our digital assets are being used, and developing an awareness of what web, mobile, network, and device applications are up to. In the API economy, can you articulate what your most significant API events that are occurring on a daily basis?
API events might be as simple as a new contact being added, or it could be as detailed as a sequence of multiple record insertions, updates, and views of data, equating to a specific type of transaction. Event-driven architecture is all about being able to not just being able to define and respond to any types of events, but also be able to define, subscribe, and tune into the most meaningful events. Most importantly, it is about being able to do this in a high volume, distributed environment, being operated across many teams, and delivering services to a diverse API ecosystem.
API management is essential to understanding how all applications and systems are putting our digital resources to work. Webhooks is the 101 of event-driven architecture for API providers, and where you begin with being able to tune into specific API events that are occurring in a way that API consumers can also subscribe and tune into. Streaming, publish and subscribe, and leveraging TCP solutions like Kafka are the 201, 301, and 401 levels of event-driven architecture that the more mature platforms are employing to help them understand what events are occurring in a way that anyone can tune into.
Are you in tune with your API events that are occurring via your platform? Are you able to articulate what the most meaningful and significant API events that are occurring via your platform, across your company, organization, institution, or government agency? Operating APIs has become the default mode of operation for any company doing business online, and event-driven architecture is how the savvy API providers are evolving their infrastructure so that they can tune into what is happening. Allowing them to articulate what the most significant API events that are occurring that benefit their operations, and help them achieve their goals behind doing APIs in the first place.
