The Hidden Costs of DIY API Integration: When to Consider Professional Help

When considering integrating APIs in-house, we’ve found that many can approach the task without the right expertise or resources. API integration challenges are not to be underestimated. Elements such as in-house development costs and the security risks in API integration can be overlooked. By the time they are noticed or discovered, it can be too late with resources being spent unnecessarily or a vulnerability being exploited by malicious actors.

In this piece, we’ll discuss the hidden costs and some key considerations for API integration. We’ll also touch on why hiring a professional team can be beneficial and ensure your API integration challenges are met and overcome.

Considering Professional Help for API Integration

The easy question in this is “when should I consider professional help for my API integration?”

Given the complexity of the process and the many pitfalls that can swallow up the unprepared, we say you should consider professional API integration solutions if you’re not an expert. Or if you’re scraping through a point of contact (POC), or if you’re struggling to make that jump from prototype to actual production – which involves a lot of refactoring and leaving a lot on the cutting room floor. These are just a few examples but in each of them, the Cyrex team would definitely encourage the use of a professional API integration solutions.

The Pitfalls of API Integration

The Cyrex Enterprise team pride themselves on cost-effective API integration services. Our API solutions are designed to ensure that work is directed from the get-go in the right direction and to the right purpose.

Some of the key pitfalls we often see clients encounter are small mistakes occurring throughout. Though this might be fixed later or patched in later iterations, these mistakes in API integration will add up to far bigger and more expensive mistakes. Secondly, we see some teams investing in unplanned increments of complexity without consideration for the big picture. These moves, if they cause issues, take longer to solve and risk putting the product on hold once it encounters these problems. These can include the requirements to scale properly with an infrastructure that is not ready for it.

Similarly, we also see a lack of direction established in the early DIY API integration set-ups. This is where we see in-house development costs rising as investment is put in a certain direction. It might be discovered down the project pipeline that this might not be the most effective or even the correct direction. This can lead to a huge project overhaul for the sake of the product, increasing the time and cost of the work. A good way to counter this is to work more in small increments of complexity while moving in an established direction

API Integration Challenges: Classic Cost Mistakes

Given how the process of API integration grows in-house development costs the longer in operates without proper direction, we’ve compiled a few classic cost mistakes that you could consider if opting out of professional API integration solutions.

“The time and budget to do it twice but not properly”

We typically see API integration attempted and reattempted multiple times, each one struggling and failing for different reasons. The truth is you need a proper direction and patience to execute the attempt properly.

Overengineering a product

Don’t overthink it, keep it simple and to task. 

Scalability bottlenecks

Scalability goes both ways and it’s always important to consider what your needs are and how your product might grow or change in the future.

Not leveraging services or third parties

Using custom code instead of third parties is far more expensive even in the short run. It takes longer and often underdelivers on quality compared to existing solutions.

Security concerns

One of the key API integration challenges is the worry of security. Done wrong, you’ll open the door to malicious actors, which will cost you more than a financial loss if any user data is compromised.

Technical debt

Technical debt is the classic of classic enemies! This catches up on maybe 90% of the projects we’re brought in to solve and it arrives in a very dramatic and costly fashion. Good planning and direction can avoid this.

Unoptimized infrastructure

Without considering proper optimization, you’ll find your costs adding up.

What can a professional offer you?

Simply put, an avoidance of security risks in API integration as well as a cost-effective API integration solution. If you want these things done efficiently, safely, and built to scale, get in touch with a professional team like Cyrex Enterprise.

Contact us today and leverage our expertise with professional API integration solutions and watch any classic cost mistakes vanish before your eyes. The Cyrex team will ensure the process is clear, directed, and done efficiently giving you the smoothest experience in API integration.