5 best practices for moving from SOA to APIs

January 23, 2023

What does it take to modernize SOAP web services and legacy applications to create API-driven customer experiences?

Transitioning from SOAP web services and legacy applications to API-driven customer experiences requires detailed planning, execution, and management.

1. Mapping customer behavior

For APIs to be relevant, they must align with and be able to adapt to changing customer requirements. This might mean anticipating additional information valuable to the customer, for instance. Understanding browsing patterns is critical.

2. Understanding the difference in the use of web services and APIs

APIs often result in combining multiple web services in a single API call. One API method that uses as many web services as necessary to accomplish the task helps to simplify the developer’s job.

3. Planning how APIs will move from isolated teams to organization-wide embrace

A time will come when you want to enable as many people in the organization to use APIs as possible. APIs are, after all, a tool for the business as much (or more) than they are part of IT. It’s a good practice to plan for their spread across the organization.

4. Managing the control of APIs throughout the organization

Strong controls over APIs are essential to their effective adoption in multiple projects across different business units. Adopting an enterprise-wide API platform is the best approach to achieving efficiency and control.

5. Making the development of APIs more accessible to a larger development pool

Successful API programs include an API developer portal and an API catalog, making it easy for developers and people outside of IT to discover, test, and experiment with your APIs.

Download this page as a resource for: