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Tip of the Week - APIs Overview

  • 1.  Tip of the Week - APIs Overview

    Employee
    Posted 10 days ago
    Edited by Tammy Lake 9 days ago

    Before I go into details about the value Evolve APIs can offer your organization, let me take a step back.  While a lot of users may understand what a REST API is, others may have heard of APIs but don't have a solid understanding of what they do.  Let's start with the basics. 

     

    If you are already a REST API guru, feel free to skip this paragraph.  For everyone else, let's talk about what REST APIs are.  A REST API, which stands for "Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interface," is a type of web service architecture that allows applications to communicate with each other without requiring developers to know the internal technical details of each other's systems.  REST APIs use standard HTTP methods like

    • GET (retrieve data)
    • POST (create new data)
    • PUT (update data)
    • DELETE (delete data)

    REST APIs follow a set of design principles to access and manipulate data through web URLs, making it a flexible and lightweight way to integrate different systems. 

     

    Traditional Winshuttle (now known as Automate) applications provided a lot of value for our customers.  However, third-party interactions were limited to SAP.  With the addition of the Evolve platform, Automate Evolve now has the ability to centrally manage interactions with other third-party applications like Snowflake, EnterWorks, Salesforce, and many more by using their REST APIs in Evolve's web form solutions.

     

    In Evolve, customers can create individual third-party API connections (in addition to other types of connections) in the Connections library and then use those connections over and over again in multiple web form solutions.  Examples:

     

     

     

    Using APIs, users can interact with multiple systems from one web form to download data from or upload data to multiple systems using data quality business rules or intelligent autocomplete.  Being able to update multiple systems from one user-friendly web form solution can help simplify business processes while ensuring data consistency across systems.

     

    In addition to Evolve's ability to interact with third-party systems using their REST APIs, Evolve provides two types of REST APIs to give third-party systems the ability to interact directly with SAP or Evolve solutions.  The two types of APIs available in Evolve are:

     

    1. SAP Data API - Synchronous REST API that enables direct integration with SAP for scenarios that don't require data enrichment.  SAP Data APIs can either download data from or upload data to SAP.  Use case examples include embedding SAP Data APIs into generic RPA bots, partners, and third-party applications that need to interact with SAP.

     

    Developers can create SAP Data APIs from Studio scripts in the Studio Map screen.  Example:

     

    A script mapped to Excel

     

     

     

    can be easily transformed into an SAP Data API from the Studio Map screen

     

     

     

    1. Digital Access API - Asynchronous REST APIs that enable external applications to start Evolve workflow processes, get/complete process assignments, and get data from a form

     

    Use case examples: 

    1. Customer data creation across CRM and SAP
    2. Product data creation across PLM and SAP

     

    See example below for one way to create a Digital Access API.

     

    In Evolve, Developers can create a Digital Access API for a solution by selecting the solution and then clicking on JSON Payload.  The JSON file is downloaded to the default downloads folder on your computer.

     

     

     

    Imagine the possible!  End to end use case example: 

     

    Salesforce/Evolve/MDM/Geo-Addressing/SAP system integration

     

    You have a prospect in Salesforce that needs to be converted to a customer.  Part of the business process includes routing the new customer request to multiple business users to collect additional customer-related data (banking, credit, etc.). 

     

    The process is launched from a Salesforce screen by clicking a button that invokes a Digital Access API and passes the Salesforce prospect data to an Evolve workflow solution.

     

    Along the route, you need to 

    • verify that the customer's address is correct and deliverable
    • enrich the address data (add latitude/longitude and tax jurisdiction information)
    • use reference data to either help the business user complete the request using intelligent autocomplete or reference data from an MDM system

     

    After the data collection is complete, a new customer (business partner) needs to be created in SAP.  The BP is created in SAP using a script embedded in the web form solution.

     

    After the BP has been created in SAP,

    • the new BP number needs to be added to Salesforce
    • the new customer also needs to be created in the MDM (possibly more) system(s)

     

    Using an Evolve web form solution that integrates Salesforce, MDM, and Precisely's Geo-Addressing REST APIs along with Automate's classic SAP integration results in the ultimate business user experience and organizational data excellence across systems.

     

    Once you understand the value and possibilities Evolve offers, you may never run out of use case ideas that will bring more value to your organization.



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    Tammy Lake
    Sales Engineer
    *Precisely Software Inc.
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