Fully automated data exchange between systems – that sounds simple on paper, but for many of our customers it initially poses a challenge. This is precisely why we have focussed on user-friendliness and modularity in our in-house developed API Bridge.
What exactly is the API Bridge?
The Digital Creek API Bridge is a software solution for connecting data records between multiple application programming interfaces (APIs). Imagine a CRM system that enables the automatic insertion of data with an API.
In this case, however, the data comes from a provider who also provides an API for querying data records. So how do you connect the two? – This is exactly where our API Bridge comes into play!
It acts as a middleware solution between the two APIs so that data can be exchanged automatically between a vendor API and the CRM system.
So how does it work?
The API Bridge operates several Docker containers on a specific server. Two of these are responsible for running a queue and a user-defined queue management process in the background. This so-called daemon manages the queue and places user-defined jobs in it at certain intervals, which relate to data processing, synchronisation and/or data allocation. A typical scenario for daemon synchronisation between APIs is as follows:
What are the advantages of the API Bridge?
User friendliness:
As already mentioned, the API Bridge was developed with a focus on simple and intuitive handling. Configuration and setup should be as user-friendly as possible.
Standardisation:
Establishing a new standard is a daunting task and may even be impossible in some areas. Nevertheless, we strive to provide a configuration interface that is standardised between all APIs and supports custom headers and authentication techniques for multiple requests such as OAuth2. This configuration supports most APIs when it comes to basic data transfer purposes.
Modularity:
The API Bridge is a highly modular, API-configured module that contains the entirety of the data transfer side of the system. Individually configured modules can redefine virtually all core aspects of communication on an API basis.
Automation:
The aim of the API Bridge is to automate the transfer of data between the interfaces. This saves a lot of time and labour, as the data no longer has to be migrated manually between the systems.
Load capacity:
At its core, our API Bridge utilises Laravel, Docker and MariaDB together with several other modern technologies that ensure easy scaling and the possibility of migration to other IT environments. Thanks to Docker, the API Bridge can also be used on almost any operating system and is easy and straightforward to set up.
Data mapping and migration:
Our API Bridge has a flexible data mapping engine that enables the migration and mapping of large amounts of data between differently structured databases. It also allows you to synchronise data between different APIs and store it all in a dedicated location. The mapped data can also be used as another data source for updating another API.
As you can see, the API Bridge is a small technical marvel that is used in many IT environments and significantly simplifies work processes. We hope this short article has given you a good overview and answered any unanswered questions!
