API strategy is at the core of many digital transformation roadmaps. Key to the success of these plans is the adoption of the API strategy both internally and externally through an API portal. Adoption can be across many persona types as companies reach for ROI in new revenue streams, operating efficiencies, innovation or all of the above. The ability to allow groups to work together in teams with appropriate access to what they need or are contractually obligated becomes a critical tool for speed and security. Teams is the function on a portal for the administrators and product owners to give access to APIs and Apps to specific people and manage their experience within a micro environment on an API Portal.
Teams Personas and Roles:
Most common personas/roles for the use of a teams strategy on an API Porta are the Product Owner, Team Admin, and Team Member. By adding this functionality and these roles, you can control many variations of groups of people working together on applications and precise access and documentation to the APIs that are needed. It's important to note that the Team Admin and the team members are doing all of their work on the front end of the portal and usually this is supported by authentication through single sign on. The Product Owner role is working in the administrative section of the digital solution and has access to all the products and front-end space assigned to that product line.
Examples of Groups that can leverage working in Teams.
Sample Business Cases for working in Teams:
Eco-System Revenue: Allowing customers, partners and even competitors to integrate your vital offerings into their ecosystem can introduce new revenue streams. The Finance industry is aggressively exposing their API products into other industries and emerging Fintech start-ups. Teams can help these partners and customers grow with the speed of digital transformation in global banking. Insurance is also working towards leveraging their API strategy to bridge their product sales to white label environments and non-traditional consumer audiences. I recently worked with an identity protection division that needed to leverage teams resell protection services with a national warehouse chain. They leveraged teams to allow the developers of the warehouse business to access the APIs needed to white label those services while integrating in the identity protection infrastructure.
Teams access to products.
Innovation:
Speed and access are critical for technical and product innovation strategies. Innovation may be global adoption, cross-team development, internal, external and a mix of these. Keeping your APIs available to the right people, maintaining secure governance over their availability while managing the product life cycle of the APIs can easily become a challenge via role-based access only. Allowing these varying roles to work together in teams where they only see their apps, documentation and API products available to the teams they are on is an efficient way to have many levels of access on a single API portal. For example, many enterprise companies have internal departments that need highly controlled access to their APIs (ie. human resources, security or regulated customer data) both internally and externally. Teams functionality allows the product owner of the sensitive products to assign team membership and product access. They are also able to tightly manage the credentials, product content and review innovation progress to move the application through development, staging and into production.
Analytics for Teams Applications
Efficiency:
As Covid changed how people interfaced with companies, customer service improvements, seamless vendor integrations, and internal cross-department collaboration has become critical. Whether its B2B or B2C, getting products and services ordered, prepared and delivered using automation is no longer a long-term initiative. Working in teams can increase the speed of which internal and external developers can work together to create new processes to conduct business. Vendors and customers are using customized team environments to send and capture orders, status, logistics and reports. Internal processes can also have a large impact on an organization in surprising ways. Improvements in manufacturing and logistics are top of mind, but there are other less obvious uses that are being exposed as companies move forward with their API life cycle. For example, energy companies are finding inventive ways to monitor and deploy preventative maintenance that saves millions and improve response times. Since this is often highly regulated, managing access and security via a team is efficient and can be easily monitored and logged.
Closing:
Working in teams can help your organization grow safely and effectively with all of the availability and adoption that a well-organized API Portal can provide. Achieve Internet and APIBoost have ready to market API Portals with a full-set of teams and product owner features. If you would like to reach out for a discussion about specific challenges to your industry and business we are happy to help. Contact Us today!
