API-First Integration
Designing automations to interact with systems through stable APIs instead of screens or exports.
API-first integration means building automations that call official interfaces rather than scraping screens or relying on CSV exports. It prioritizes stable endpoints, clear contracts, and predictable auth so changes to a UI do not break workflows.
In business operations, it is used to sync CRM records, push invoices to ERPs, update tickets, and pull analytics from core systems. APIs let you create idempotent writes, retries, and backoffs without human clicks.
It fits into workflows as the primary connective tissue between systems, often managed through an orchestration layer. The result is lower breakage, faster changes, and clearer audit trails; manual exports become the exception, not the norm.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why choose API-first over UI-based automation?
APIs are stable, versioned, and documented. They survive UI changes, support auth and rate limits, and make retries and audits straightforward.
What makes an API integration reliable?
Idempotent endpoints, clear error codes, pagination, retries with backoff, and rate-limit handling. Add health checks and alerting on failure patterns.
How do I handle auth securely?
Use scoped API keys or OAuth tokens stored in a secrets manager. Rotate credentials, avoid hardcoding, and log access for audits.
What if the system lacks an API?
Check for webhooks or bulk import/export endpoints. If UI automation is unavoidable, isolate it, add monitoring, and push the vendor for API support.
How do I version integrations?
Pin API versions, test upgrades in staging, and roll out gradually. Track breaking changes from vendors and keep a rollback path.
What KPIs matter for integrations?
Success rate, latency, throughput, error categories, and data freshness. Monitor retries and throttle behavior to prevent downstream impact.
How do I keep data consistent across systems?
Use idempotent writes, correlation IDs, and reconciliation jobs. Prefer webhooks for near-real-time updates; backfill gaps on failure.
How should I document an integration?
Capture endpoints used, payload schemas, auth scopes, retry/backoff rules, and known limits. Include runbooks for incident response.
Can I mix vendor SDKs and raw API calls?
Yes. Use SDKs for speed when stable, but drop to raw HTTP for edge cases or to avoid heavy dependencies. Keep a thin abstraction so swapping is easy.
Agentic AI
An AI approach where models autonomously plan next steps, choose tools, and iterate toward an objective within guardrails.
Agentic Workflow
A sequence where an AI agent plans, executes tool calls, evaluates results, and loops until success criteria are met.
Agent Handoff
A pattern where one AI agent passes context and state to another specialized agent to keep multi-step automation modular.
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