The content of this post is solely the responsibility of the author. AT&T does not adopt or endorse any of the views, positions, or information provided by the author in this article.
Businesses often adopt APIs to automate operational tasks, introducing efficiencies and reducing human error. But the relationship between APIs and automation goes beyond that. To streamline API management, developers have started automating tasks in the API lifecycle, from development to production. This article explores where these automations live, how they impact the development process, and what teams need to look out for.
What is API automation?
API automation involves automating tasks associated with designing, building, deploying, testing, and managing APIs. This approach enables greater consistency throughout the lifecycle and improves the success and reliability of functions like testing and security, while also introducing more efficiency into the process.
Automated API tasks include documentation, code generation, versioning, deployment, and monitoring. It’s important to monitor progress and outcomes regularly to ensure appropriate parameters for automation.
API test automation
API test automation is defined as using a testing tool to programmatically run API tests at specific intervals. This helps prevent problematic changes from reaching production and allows for immediate issue identification. It also saves time and resources and reduces the risk of human error.
API automation and security
Automation also plays an important role in API security by identifying flaws, classifying data, detecting vulnerabilities, and providing remediation insights. Security platforms should be able to automatically identify and mitigate security gaps throughout the API lifecycle.
The future of APIs
APIs are becoming increasingly widespread within the business landscape, enabling core business operations and supporting automation. Automation will continue to become a core feature in the API lifecycle, making APIs much easier to create and manage down the line.