Learn how MuleSoft API-led connectivity can help you connect and bring about data, applications, and systems across your organization.

Introduction

From the previous blog on MuleSoft, we understand that it is a great solution for integration and digital transformation. MuleSoft provides an approach to a more efficient, low-cost, and secure system: a layer of APIs. This allows organizations to spend less time on IT projects and more time on core business. However, a powerful tool can become useless if it is not used correctly.

Furthermore, the constant development of our modern business requires each business to be more composable, agile, and automated to be able to keep up and thrive. The question now is how to organize the layer of APIs that is implemented.

In today's blog, we will tackle one of the core features of MuleSoft and one of the most important that will help us answer the question above: API-led connectivity.

Read more: Unlock Seamless Integration with MuleSoft.

1. Point-to-point integration: the traditional way of connecting data.

As the name suggests, point-to-point connection is a tightly coupled integration between two or more endpoints – which is the simplest and the most commonly used integration option. Various platforms are easily connected through adaptors, which are available on the market but most of these still require some level of customization. Some organizations choose to develop their own "adaptors". Because of such a customization-focus approach, i.e. it is tailored to a specific connection between two specific endpoints, these adaptors cannot be reused anywhere else or by any other applications and, therefore, remain point-to-point.

It is fairly easy to develop new adaptors which make point-to-point an attractive integration option for many companies, and it is even more suitable more a small one with just a handful of applications and no growth plans. However, in most cases, the number of connections is not constant but keeps increasing as time goes on and the price for such an ever-increasing number of one-to-one connections is too high. The adaptors soon become unmanageable, unstable, and very costly to keep them functional. Any adaptor developed to solve a specific project's purpose can unlikely be reused. Moreover, the effort required to look after the different adaptors, which are based on different technologies, is enormous.

Additionally, companies that utilize this approach often run into a major problem when they try to enhance or change their existing applications. Any system upgrade or replacement demands a considerable amount of modification in its adaptors. Consequently, the organization might eventually be left with an integration "mess" that is no longer fit for modernization, innovation, and further growth.

Traditional point-to-point integration

Source: Salesforce

2. API-led connectivity for the win

Now that we have seen point-to-point integration and its advantages and limitations, we can conclude that many companies will eventually seek a different approach to building their integration. The question now is: What is the solution that can satisfy both the needed simplicity and scalability? Enters API-led connectivity.

What is API-led connectivity? As MuleSoft describes it: "API-led connectivity is a methodical way to connect data to applications through reusable and purposeful APIs within an organization's ecosystem. These APIs are developed to play a specific role: unlocking data from systems, composing data into processes, or delivering an experience."

A very simple way to explain API-led connectivity is by using Lego – the famous toy that everyone knows. For example, we can imagine a shopping application as a Lego house. To build a Lego house, we need blocks – which come in different sizes and colors – representing different features that need to be added to our application: a red 4x4 block represents the capability to add an item to the cart, a blue 3x4 represents the payment feature, etc. Logically, we can build a different Lego house using a block with the same characteristics as the one we used for the shopping application.

Building blocks are the most fundamental unit of the composable enterprise and it's the APIs that convert a piece of software into a building block by enabling governance, manageability, visibility, security, monetization, intelligence, and discovery. API-led connectivity goes beyond the REST APIs to enable universal connectivity.

3.Why is API-led connectivity important?

API-led connectivity is crucial in creating an agile business for an organization. It allows an organization to tap into the innovation done by other players in their ecosystem.

Illustrating API-led connectivity

Source: Salesforce

As the picture above suggests, along with the analogy of a Lego house, we can easily see how API-led connectivity enables agility and scalability. A retail business can leverage capabilities (shipping, payments, marketing, infrastructure, social media, geolocation, etc.) made by other organizations in addition to their capabilities to thrive and advance to success.

Flexibility in connecting both the internal and external building blocks to achieve a business's goals is the key to driving business agility. Therefore, whenever there is a new initiative, instead of developing a specific component/adaptor, API-led connectivity allows reusing, reconnecting, and orchestrating the building blocks.

This makes API-led connectivity a crucial integration strategy for any organization. As the number of connections increases within the organization along with the enormous amount of data circling, the complexity of the technology and business landscape will continue to increase. API-led connectivity is future-proof and enables scalable connectivity.

Conclusion

API-led connectivity is a modern approach to integration that enables organizations to connect data, applications, and devices faster and more efficiently. By using well-defined APIs as reusable building blocks, API-led connectivity promotes modularity, reusability, and agility across the entire enterprise. Whether you need to create a seamless customer experience, optimize a business process, or unlock new revenue streams, MuleSoft's API-led connectivity can help you achieve your goals faster and easier.

Regarding this first part, we have gone through some basic concepts of the old way of integration, followed by the definition of API-led connectivity which will allow us to make comparisons later. In the next part, we will look at some of the most common ways API-led connectivity is applied in a typical business.