By now, there’s a good chance that you already know what APIs (Application Programming Interface) are and why your business needs them. API integration has been transforming our technological landscape and shaping up the digital economy for quite some time now. We all know and love them for how great they are–all that stuff about cutting costs, increasing efficiency, accessibility, and convenience.

But there’s always a catch with good things and APIs are no different. There are a couple of key issues that every API-integrated network will face and can cause huge problems for your business if left unresolved. The good news is that they all have pretty simple solutions.

The global pandemic has forced us to rethink and find a different approach to what we perceive to be normal. All of a sudden, the daily activities which we almost took for granted in our lives seem to be barred leaving us searching for an alternative method. As businesses and organisations across the world cope and find ways to carry out its usual activities, the term “new normal” is becoming extensively prevalent. New normal is essentially the situation we are in right now. We are maintaining social distancing, wearing masks, using sanitizers, all of which are attributes of the new normal. Most businesses opted for different means of virtual communication and work from home has become the new standard. With the pandemic in effect, we are realizing that the scopes of jobs are not limited to the office space or a fixed 9 to 5 disposition. Rather it is possible to uphold similar productivity given we utilize the technological advancement at our disposal. 

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve been watching the manifold effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The whole planet is rather shell-shocked, unsure of how to proceed in this brave new world. Many businesses are scrambling to get back on their feet as the pandemic has changed everything about regular life. Regular plans and policies have been thrown out of the window, and for many people, every aspect of life has changed.

How Has the Pandemic Affected Everyone?

The coronavirus pandemic has made the world outside look almost unrecognizable. Social distancing means that everyone is staying indoors as much as possible and people are keeping a distance of 6 feet from each other. Masks and gloves have become a part of daily outfits.

Almost every sector of life has either stopped or has been altered. Travel bans are in effect, many firms have employees working from home, Zoom classes are in full swing, and entertainment has been limited to Netflix and other online sources. Groceries, including everyday necessities, need to be delivered since a trip to the corner store has its risks. 

How Can Data Integration Help?

If you’ve kept up so far, you might have noticed that almost all the aspects of our lives are now carried out digitally. All our transactions are being done online, work meetings, classes, social interactions are all carried out through the internet.

However, that’s not all. Stats regarding coronavirus, updates in treatment, death tolls, and all kinds of COVID-19 information are being collected and shared online. Data is more than numbers on a page–right now data is our lifeline.

Gathering data and transmitting it is one of the biggest bets we have against surviving the coronavirus. Whether it’s the WHO, CDC, or the COVID Tracking Project, data is how we can win this battle against a nefarious virus.

Integration also helps make life easier for those living under lockdown conditions. It gives them access to medical information, as well as resources needed for their health, safety, and well-being.

Furthermore, experts can use the data that has been gathered so far and extrapolate it to predict what can be coming up next. We can use the information we currently have to plan our moves for the future. This will allow the world to minimize casualties and take the necessary precautions when moving forward.

How You Can Make the Most Out of Data Integration

Here a 101 of how we should integrate data to collect information that is accurate and accessible.

• Find sources of data that support your key metrics. To do this you must first find the key metrics that are relevant in whatever field you specialize in. After you figure out what kind of data you want to use, find authentic sources that give you correct/reliable data.
• Link your data to a cloud-based platform. Once you’ve gathered enough data, you need to connect it to a cloud-based intelligence platform. This will let you consolidate and visualize your data, allowing you to turn your data into insights. Platforms like Mulesoft aim towards API-led design and data integration, making your data accessible and meaningful.
• Make self-service and connectivity your priority. Siloed data is redundant because it is inaccessible and meaningless on its own. This is why there is so much emphasis on accessibility. If you run a business, everyone should have access to valuable data; this includes employees, management, investors, and even customers when necessary.
• Review and re-examine your data collection. The thing about data is that it never stays still. New information is constantly emerging to alter your data or to add fresh insights. Once your data is connected and integrated, you can analyze and visualize it from many different angles.

There are countless APIs and platforms you can use to keep track of the COVID crisis. Statistics are changing as scientists learn more and more about this enigmatic virus. Harnessing all this data into one cohesive whole can seem like a formidable task, but it is very possible thanks to platforms like Mulesoft. 

Also, various health organizations can link all the information they have collected so far through data integration. This will help researchers come up with a cure for the virus. Moreover, all this data can give the medical community and international authorities better insight into preventing and containing future outbreaks.

Closing Thoughts

The world definitely looks like a dark and scary place. We’re all in uncharted waters, but information is the key to getting through this. Sharing data can uncover the puzzle pieces needed to unlock the cure we badly need. Right now. Data integration is indispensable for fighting this pandemic and helping the global economy recover. Find out more about APIs and Mulesoft integration right here.

One of the prime aspects or goals of a business is to ensure business continuity. In modern business models, continuity in customer service and business activities are considered to be the cornerstone of success. But as the world grapples with the devastating consequence of Covid-19, businesses are forced to rethink and reconsider the existing model of actions. 

Business organisations and business leaders often tend to overlook the importance of integration in their business prospects. Tech firms that provide business solutions often face hurdles explaining why a business should adopt a model encompassing integration strategies. The prime issue is that there are no readymade demonstrations regarding the benefits of business-wide integration. IT leaders cannot provide live demonstrations due to two key constraints – 

The coronavirus pandemic has seen a surge of lockdown all across the globe. In these trying times, people are forced to maintain social distance and most of the organisations across the globe have adopted the work from home policy. But how do you adapt to such a drastic change in daily routine? 

A study conducted on the American workforce showed that almost 46% of US companies have shifted their office workers to home. This has led to almost 40% of the office workers having to work from home due to quarantine. Many people might feel working from home should be a piece of cake but the reality is much more different. The study shows even though working from home initiatives has grown exponentially in the past decade, it is nowhere near the percentage of the total workforce. A mere 3.4% of the workforce is engaged in work from home arrangements. So it is safe to assume that the majority of the people caught in this pandemic are struggling in working from home for an extended period.

April 2020. The world had gone eerily silent. The streets were empty; popular tourist destinations and religious sites were laid bare. It was almost as though someone had switched everything off. The news stations whipped themselves into a frenzy. Words like ‘epidemic’, ‘death toll’ and ‘social distancing’ danced across headlines everywhere. Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, had the planet in its grip. The world retreated, hiding indoors and watched with bated breath.

How did we get here?

Background

The cases began in 2019, when three patients in Wuhan, China with pneumonia were detected to be infected with a novel coronavirus. By February 2020 there were 50,000 patients with the coronavirus. The virus quickly spread across China, sparking an epidemic, resulting in over 81,740 cases and more than 3300 deaths. This prompted a lockdown in many regions of the country.

However, the measures were too little too late. The virus was already beginning to spread. By January 2020, there were other confirmed cases from three other countries: Thailand, Japan and South Korea. All the cases were determined to have been exported from China.

Legacy systems are operational software that was designed and used for various business and tech-related landscape solutions. Notice how we mentioned “designed” and “used”. The reason is that legacy systems are considered to be outdated processes that are however still used in various organizational process management. And that is not good news for business operations.

The world has seen a large-scale digital transformation in recent years. While many different sectors have moved on with the times, others have lagged far behind. This is especially true when it comes to the supply and logistics sector. It is ironic how the areas that depend on and make use of data the most are unable to manage, access and distribute the data effectively.

Data complexity is a major issue in logistics and supply chain management. The sheer volume of data can be overwhelming. Whether dealing with stocks, bills, accounts or inventories, businesses often have no idea how to efficiently handle their data. This can be a major problem as data or information means everything nowadays. Instead, the data is stored up and almost impossible to access.

On the other hand, data complexity is actually a double-edged sword. The data can and should be used to the business’s advantage. Integration can change businesses and their customers can interact with each other using this data. This is where the API-led approach provides real-time, two-way connectivity, accessibility, and communication. This in turn, can revolutionize the world of logistics which depends wholly on reliable and intuitive data.

What is API-Led Connectivity?

The API-led connectivity approach defines an operating model that can help businesses systematically arrange their assets. It is an organized way of linking data with applications through multipurpose APIs. The approach allows and encourages decentralizing access to data. This can lower the dependence and workload of the IT department.