How to Use APIs to Gain a Competitive Edge

In this post we will Tell you the ways to use API To Full use in your Business and Learn to get Edge in your Business using API. While the Internet has allowed even the micro companies to get a share of the market dominated by huge corporations, it seems like there’s no way for small organizations to compete with the big dogs. After all, companies like Apple, Uber, and Alibaba have all changed the way services and goods are manufactured, shared, and even distributed.

How the Big Players Control the Market

So how are these companies dominating the market? Better yet – what do they have in common? Well, according to a recent GAFAnomics study, all of these companies share one common feature – they are structured as networks.

They all connect individual users, organizations, and data to one another.

Just look at Google. The company connects small bits of data through its indexation engine, connects the users to specific information through its search engine, and connects businesses and individuals alike through Gmail.

What’s more, the same report we mentioned above claims that these network-structured companies have certain “superpowers” that give them a huge competitive advantage. The “superpowers” include:

• Magnetic – They have the ability to detected, animate, and attract small units of value
• Infinite – By using scalable services and software they are able to achieve zero cost delivery
• Real-time – Real-time feedback allows them to improve the value of their products instantly
• Intimate – By leveraging user data, they’re able to personalize the experience of each customer

If you want to compete with these companies in the new economy, you should try to create a network yourself. Luckily, APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) offer a good way for organizations of all sizes to establish the connections they need to compete in today’s market.

How Can an API Help Your Business

Unicorns, such as Airbnb and Uber were able to grow so fast mainly because they all used APIs. At first, all of them used existing APIs to connect to different infrastructures and benefit from them. You see, by connecting to an existing network allow a new company to enter different markets, conceive services, and distribute them.

After some time, these companies started creating and offering their own APIs, thus structuring themselves as infrastructures and making easy for other companies to connect to them. That increased their usage, visibility, and expanded their networks.

And now, let’s see just how exactly APIs can help your business…

·         Researching Consumer Behavior

Every time users interact with a platform, a perfectly designed API will absorb actionable data. For instance, Uber’s API allows the company to know where their consumers are before they even contact a driver. Furthermore, it allows Uber to know where their users live, work, and socialize. The API works so good that the company had to deal with questions concerning the privacy of their users a couple of years ago.

·         Attracting Advertisers

Based on data social media data from companies like Twitter and Facebook, apps can predict a lot about their users. Pandora, for example, can now predict political affiliations based on users’ taste in music. The company uses that information to customize some of its ads. That means that these predictive powers can give you a huge advantage in attracting advertisers.

·         Expanding the Scope of Your Platform

Once again, let’s talk about Uber. The company uses the data it collects in its taxi services to participate in the food delivery industry. In addition, the API allows other companies to use some of Uber’s features. Needless to say, if you want to speed up the adaptation of your API, you need to provide the right documentation. By using a modern API documentation generator you’ll ensure that developers around the world can use your API without any problems.

The Bottom Line on APIs

If you plan on using APIs to expand your business, you have to consider how your users will react to you sharing their data with other companies. On one hand, you can get permission from them to use it. On the other hand, you can simply provide aggregate data to 3^rd-parties.

As you can see, with so many companies using APIs to gain a competitive edge, it’s hard denying the power of APIs. By incorporating them into your business strategies, you’ll be able to obtain all of those “superpowers” we mentioned before and grow your business faster than your competitors.