The Ultimate Guide to Outsourcing API Development

The time finally came to accept my fate and face my fears. The garage had been filled to the brim with family beach toys, tools, sports equipment, leftover paint cans, and anything else one could imagine. It was starting to get difficult to walk through, much less see a square inch of unused wall space.

I needed a backyard shed, and I had no idea where to start. Don’t get me wrong, I’m fairly crafty. But when you’re standing up a new structure, you have to think of everything. What material should we use? How much space will we need? How far down the road should I think? Not to mention the fact that we have a million other objectives at hand — our kid’s music lessons, HOA meetings, and sports practices galore.It occurred to me that I may need to seek assistance. I may be able to build this on my own, but given my other priorities, it would be extremely difficult to fit it all in. I have the tools and know-how, but there are elements I’d have to spend more time diving into that an experienced contractor would already know.

One could look at my shed (which is now proudly standing at 14 x 10 x 9 in the back yard!) in the same way as a technology project.

Technology is swiftly changing the way businesses in the financial services industry operate. In addition to day-to-day responsibilities, companies are facing increasing pressure to modernize services to be flexible and integrated. For those in the banking and lending space, this sometimes means the addition of APIs to enable the flow of information and make applications more autonomous.

Businesses find immediate advantages with the ability to use APIs to leverage other services and products and make your product compatible, increasing the potential for exposure and adoption. In the banking industry especially, APIs are used for account opening and integrations between accounts (we shed more light on this here). 

We know that APIs are important to long-term growth and scalability, but it can be hard to fit it into your development schedule. Fortunately, like my experience with building the shed, there’s more than just one option!

Why you should consider outsourcing API development

Companies often follow strict guidelines for creating APIs, as you have to make sure the APIs are fully compatible and documented for integration partners and end users. One small change or additional parameter can mean a rework for all connected organizations, so it’s a matter that’s taken quite seriously during the needs requirements and development cycles. 

Between recruiting and training additional team members, an API development project can become a drawn-out initiative. Depending on the size of your development team, there may be other features or initiatives the team needs to focus on. 

Outsourcing can help solve this problem by leveraging a dedicated, experienced team. A team that’s fully allocated to API development can enable faster time to production and thus enable more products to be connected. And when it comes to changing or updating your APIs, a strategy is put into place for managing version control and keeping up with updates. 

 We talk about the difference between outsourcing, augmentation, and in-house development here. You may see the need, but how do you know when is the right time to outsource?

Finding the right time to outsource API development

Having the right APIs in place should act as an asset for your business, so finding the right time to embark on an API development project is often a direct function of assessing what ROI it could bring. There are a multitude of factors to consider, with both the business and development teams.

 Timing and the current workload for the in-house team usually lands at the top. You may have features already committed that you don’t want to jeopardize. The product teams often have well-defined backlogs that would be significantly disrupted with a project as large as developing APIs. 

 For some teams, it can be a matter of size or scale. A small project team may not feel adequately equipped to take on the load, and the lean team size doesn’t justify hiring and training new members. 

 If you fall into any of these categories, it may feel like it’s time to consider options for outsourcing. Next comes the question of who to call.

What to look for in an API development partner

 Your APIs are customer-facing. They’re directly associated with your brand and can reflect how you manage your products or handle sensitive data. Security and quality control are of utmost importance in API development.

To ensure your API infrastructure is built to the highest standard, expertise and professionalism in a development partner is essential. This always translates to scalability of your platform and smooth integration with vendors and customers.

But team dynamics can also be an important consideration. Although your project may be outsourced, there’s still one-on-one work involved between teams. Finding the right cultural fit is also important to consider. We created an eBook with resources for finding the right outsourcing partner and leading a successful API strategy. 

API outsourcing: Is it really a good idea?

In one of our previous articles on API outsourcing, we discuss how some of our partners have enabled growth for their businesses with the help of Core10 outsourcing. The decision ultimately comes down to business goals and objectives, and these companies found it more effective and efficient to let partners like Core10 complete certain tasks and keep their internal resources focused.

Core10’s expertise

We get it. API development isn’t at the top of your list of priorities. You may not even know where to begin or exactly how it could help your business. This is where Core10 can help. Like the contractor who lifted a burden off my shoulders by erecting my backyard shed, we’ve done this a few times and know the questions to ask.

Our engineers, product managers, and project leads are adept at working with your business to understand where integration development is most effective, and we’re experts in the development and implementation of scalable, resilient APIs. 

Contact us to learn more about how we can get you started on your API development journey.