Technology is now progressing faster than we could imagine in the past. As a matter of fact, things that seemed downright impossible yesterday are now a reality. With the emergence of the Internet of Things – more commonly known as IoT these days – all of our devices now work together to make our lives way easier.
Gartner even predicts that the base of IoT-enabled devices will reach 26 billion by the end of the decade and the market itself will touch 1.6 trillion dollars within the next five years.Have you ever wondered what makes all of this possible? While the Internet is the most obvious culprit, that answer would be too simple. Well, this interconnectivity is enabled by Application Programming Interfaces, or as most people call them, APIs.
How do APIs Empower the IoT?
As we said in the opening paragraph, IoT has revolutionized the way we live – from our offices to our living rooms. By enabling everyday objects like ACs, TVs, and Fridges to connect to the Internet, we now don’t have to waste time with mundane tasks and worry about things like leaving the stove on. But the technology needs to progress further and large corporations are now working even harder on developing APIs that will keep things going forward. Some people are even building apps on top of already existing API – this is called the
API-first design approach – to speed things up.Let’s take a look at a couple of things the development of APIs can do for the world of IoT…
· Giving More Security to the Network
Security is a major concern for a huge number of modern consumers. In order to improve the security, IoT vendors need to make their devices directly accessible over the net. However, with the help of APIs, the access to the network should be restricted to the owner.
· Integration Across Different Systems
IoT-capable devices use a number of platforms, sensors, and gateways to function. In order to make sure that every component is updated and integrated properly is to use APIs that ensure a smooth cross-system integration process.
· Further Developing the IoT
At the moment, IoT APIs have their limitations, and the biggest challenge for enterprises is to keep up with the market. Some APIs are not well planned out. But with more and more people using the aforementioned API-first approach, it seems like things are about to change quickly.
Final Thoughts
By focusing on iterative development – the process of braking down large projects into small pieces – the developers have the ability to speed up API development. With continuous monitoring, testing, and mocking, the developers also ensure that their projects are bug-free at all times. That means, with the continuous development of the technology, our interconnected world will continue to run smoothly for years to come.
We hope you enjoyed our article and that you found it helpful. If by any chance you have some questions, feel free to leave them in the comment section below and we’ll get back at you as soon as possible.
