What Is an Open API & Why Have One?

It’s not always possible to know the technology behind how software programs work.

However, many of the software programs you use daily rely on open API technology. Why? In short, it’s because it simplifies integrating multiple software programs. An open API is a valuable type of technology for developers. It provides standards for how software programs communicate with each other. With an open API, developers must write less code to make different software programs work together seamlessly. That’s a great benefit because it gives them more time to build unique, functional software applications.

The software industry is highly competitive. You don’t need to be a developer to understand the basics of an open API, how it works, and how it brings value to your business. As with any technology, there are risks and benefits. It also helps to have a familiarity with the security and maintenance of open APIs.

What Is an Open API?

Exactly what is an open API? Let’s break the term apart a little bit.

API is an acronym that stands for application programming interface, and it’s an important part of technology for software developers. It’s also commonly referred to as a public API or open-source technology; however, open-source technology and an open API are different. The interface component of an API is a system that allows two or more software programs to interact and understand each other without communication problems. You could think of it as an intermediary that helps one software program share information with another. Types of API integrations include payment APIs, in-app chat APIs, survey APIs, etc.

So, how is an open API different from an API? A closed API refers to technology that can only be used by the developer or the company that created it. An open API is different because any developer can access it without consequences. Developers can access an open API freely via the Internet. The value of an open API is that it gives universal access to software programs for companies. This is especially true for businesses that are looking to integrate the software tools they use every day. Developers use an open API to gain access to certain software program features that would be difficult to access without taking the time to develop a large amount of code.

How Do Open APIs Work?

To better understand how open APIs works in a practical sense, let’s take a look at how a sales call center might use an open API to deliver a better customer experience. 

Sales call centers streamline the sales process and shorten the sales cycle to close sales faster and generate greater revenue. As an example of how an open API creates efficiency in a sales call center, let’s take a look at some of the steps that could be set up for a sales workflow.

API Sales Workflow

1. A call center agent or marketer uses automation to send an ad to a large number of prospects within the CRM to gauge their interest in a product.
2. Customers will reply that they’re interested or not.
3. The CRM automatically creates a ticket and logs each prospect’s response.
4. Sales agents working in a call center will get a digital alert telling them that a client is interested.
5. The call agent clicks on the customer name in their CRM system and pulls up the account.
6. Open APIs technology allows the call agent to also access a cloud-based phone system without having to exit the CRM system to make a call.
7. Using a headset, the sales agent uses the click-to-dial or power dialing feature within the phone system to automatically dial the prospect or customer.
8. If the prospect isn’t interested right away, the call agent can create a follow-up activity to contact the prospect again at the appropriate time and get an automated alert when it’s time to call them again, so they don’t miss an opportunity for a sale.
9. If a sales agent makes a sale, they can use another software app to send out a link via chat, text, or email to the customer to pay for the product.
10. Once the transaction is complete, the system automatically triggers a survey that gets sent to the customers and generates a report on their level of satisfaction.

Software integrations work equally as well for customer service and customer support call centers. In this type of workflow, you’d have several software programs communicating with each other to facilitate every step of the sales process and follow-up.

The Benefits of an Open API

The internet gives us access to lots of data. With open APIs, software programs are able to capture data and make it meaningful. As an example of the benefits of an open API, a McKinsey report tells how one bank created a library of standard APIs for its software developers to use, as needed, to address the company’s desire to access data. As a result, they decreased their product development IT costs by 41% and their innovation led to an increase in new releases by 12-fold.

Here are some of the many valuable benefits of an open API:

• Low cost
• Easy to implement
• Allows for greater functionality
• Cloud-based, can use anywhere a user has access to the internet
• Easily set up virtual call centers, remote teams, or distributed teams
• Use with any device anywhere in the world
• Enhances productivity and performance for sales, service, or support
• Truly integrated workflows
• Adjusts workflows to enhance the customer experience
• Gives visibility to specific activities, such as those that happen inside a call center

Companies that develop their own apps can use an open API so that other companies can also use them. This type of arrangement offers a win-win situation for both companies. The developing company generates revenue from other companies that use their app, and the company using the app gets greater efficiency, which generates revenue for them as well.

How to Maintain an Open API

Maintaining an open API demands a certain level of governance. Swagger recognizes the growth of open APIs for companies that are built internally and by third parties. Also, Swagger emphasizes the importance of consistency in using an open API which will prevent problems with duplicate code, take up coupling between components, lack of reliability, and too many services.

As an expert in API technology, Swagger developed the following list of 9 best practices for API governance:

• Centralization: Create a central point to create and enforce API policies.
• API contract: Establish a contract to ensure that APIs are reusable and consistent.
• Style Guidelines: Establish and enforce style guidelines for all APIs to ensure consistency.
• Reusability: Incorporate reusable components into designs.
• Automation: Automate the processes for API contracts, documentation, and tracking.
• Versioning: Use versioning to deprecate an old version of an API when you create a new version. Content negotiation helps to keep track of all versions of an API.
• Depracation policy: Establish a deprecation policy to guide developers and keep control of various versions of an API.
• Tracking: Keep track of where your APIs are being used, who is using them, and how they’re using them.
• API discovery: Provide the means to easily search for and discover APIs that are deployed and the tooling that’s currently being used.

The proper API governance ensures consistency across APIs and allows the components to be reused. Standards and guidelines for APIs help to form best practices for building, implementing, and buying APIs, and best practices are for everyone’s benefit.

What Risks Are Involved with an Open API?

There aren’t many risks involved with using an open API, but it’s wise to be aware of the potential risks and drawbacks of any type of software.

Perhaps the most significant drawback for open APIs is that the developer is in control of decisions about the API, which is somewhat limiting for third parties. Developers can change their terms of use or fees at any time.

Another potential problem is that an open API may contain bugs, flaws, or security issues. Such a problem reflects badly on the developer and the company providing the app. By implementing the right security measures, you can ensure that your data is well-protected.

Type of Security Needed

In recent years, API development has grown significantly, causing an increased emphasis on security. Because of the potential for exposure to sensitive data and systems, it’s beneficial to take a comprehensive approach to security and compliance. The best way to go is to take a continuous approach to API security that transcends API development and the delivery cycle and builds security measures directly into the API.

Developers need to be aware that they can expose security risks directly or indirectly and they could be responsible in either case. Having noted that, security is less of a concern for consumers.

The security measure to protect APIs include:

• API Inventorying
• Eliminate HTTP basic authentication
• API access control
• Monitoring and analytics across API silos
• API threat detection
• Auditing and incident response
• API security testing
• Use SSL and enforce TLS 1.2 (deprecate older versions of TLS)

It’s crucial to check security protocols across your entire technology infrastructure.

Open APIs, VoIP Integrations & Your Call Center

When you think of traditional call centers, you probably envision a row of call center agents, each with stacks of lists in front of them, manually dialing one call after another. They may have made a few short notes about each call and someone may or may not have followed up on prospects and customers at a later date. There was no way to keep track of who needed to be called or when without leafing through stacks of manually typed lists.

Cloud-based phone systems and VoIP integrations (which use open API technology) have transformed call center workflows, making them more productive and efficient. With APIs, the foundation to connect multiple software programs so they work together seamlessly has already been built. This technology gives you the ability to set up an entire call center from scratch or add features and integrations to your existing call center.

So, what would a tech stack that uses an open API and VoIP integrations for a call center look like?

Why Aircall

To refer back to the original example of how an open API creates efficiency within a sales call center, here’s a list of software solutions from our App Marketplace that would get the job done:

• Aircall: Cloud-based phone system automatically routes calls to the right person and sends them a desktop alert that a call is coming in. Call agents can also use click-to-dial or the power dialer to make calls in quick succession. Aircall offers a robust set of other valuable voice features for the greatest call center functionality.
• noCRM.io: Automatically logs and records calls and tracks the interactions in one place. Creates efficiency by eliminating time-intensive data entry.
• OneUp Sales: Keeps performance data, presenting it in a clear format so you have your sales system in one place. Allows you to set up automated leaderboard tracking and deal celebrations for sales milestones.
• Intercom: Switch to live chat or text as applicable.
• Voxpay: Omni-channel solution for getting secure payments remotely.
• Diduenjoy: Sends survey links automatically by SMS and records results for later review so you can evaluate them along with your call analytics in Aircall for greater call insight.

The development of open APIs has contributed significantly to innovation in the business world. The possibilities of what your call center can do with Aircall and VoIP integrations are virtually limitless. With the growth of an open API, you’ll likely have the benefit of even more new apps in the future as innovation in the world of API continues to progress. Overall, there’s very little to lose and much to gain in cost-savings and efficiency with an open API. More importantly, open APIs, VoIP integrations, and your call center pave the way to help you enhance the customer experience and set you ahead of the competition.