The power of APIs for a seamless user experience

Multinational companies face a specific challenge in creating a seamless user experience, as they often operate in a cluttered systems environment. “We need to move everything onto one platform,” is the solution you often hear. I believe it doesn’t need to be that complicated.

Let’s start positive: multinational companies get the challenge to create a seamless user experience, so they know the direction they should be heading in. “Our platforms need to communicate with each other,” is the right mindset. However, we often find that companies arrive at a solution that is neither the simplest nor the most cost-effective.

Overcomplicating

Some consulting companies or platform providers will come in and immediately tell you that you should move your infrastructure to the Cloud, CMS, or CRM solution X. Migrating everything onto one platform is not only a massive investment over several years, but it also provides no guarantees of the desired outcome. And that’s without even considering the loss of opportunity over time and the internal costs, which are usually not calculated.

Communication through APIs

So what’s the answer? When we talk about platforms communicating with each other, we mean that all platforms involved need to be informed whenever something changes on one of the other platforms. That’s basically what it’s about. When you frame a challenge like this, APIs (application programming interfaces) presents a powerful and logical solution. Put simply, APIs allow two applications to talk to each other, no matter how technically different they are.

APIs not only benefit small to midsize companies, but are also very cost-efficient and you don’t need to be a tech wizard to reap their benefits. They even power everything from Amazon’s cloud business, Google ads, and Facebook likes. Any business with a website or mobile app already has a lot of what’s needed to offer APIs.

Instant added value

Thanks to APIs, we can deliver value to your customers at every step of their digital journey, without the need for big transformational programs and huge budgets. The key is to define the seamless customer experience you want to achieve, as well as defining the information sources that will allow you to get there. APIs will do the rest of the work.

At Portera, we orchestrate cloud infrastructures for many multinational companies, bringing various cloud and on-site environments together to create an optimized customer experience.

Get in touch with me! Let’s discover how I can provide you with the right levers to accomplish change and transformation at your company.