Three in four organisations are planning to invest in IT infrastructure modernisation projects to meet customer expectations and comply with increasingly complex regulations, according to research.
In a study of 450 IT decision makers, 57% said they are relying on B2B integration gateways that are more than five years old, often lacking the API management necessary to support new digital business initiatives.
More than three quarters (77%) noted that the risk of B2B transaction failures could have critical business consequences, including service level agreement violations.
Seven in ten respondents said compliance issues are a significant challenge, and 67% pointed to revenue loss as the leading risk of not meeting the above issues.
Nearly two-thirds (64%) of the organisations quizzed were using or planning to use APIs to improve customer experience and address the integration challenges presented by traditional approaches.
>See also: What is digital transformation in business: Everything you need to know
The study, conducted by Ovum and commissioned by Axway, evaluated the IT and business challenges associated with traditional solutions such as EDI to determine the importance of adopting APIs.
More than half of respondents noted a lack of end-to-end visibility, non-compliance with data security regulations, and limited integration with backend systems as potential issues.
“Enterprises need to extend B2B processes to external applications and exploit APIs,” said Saurabh Sharma, senior analyst at Ovum. “Gone are the days when enterprises could maintain competitive positioning and meet customer expectations with a ‘good enough’ approach to B2B integration.”
Jeanine Banks, EVP of global products and solutions at Axway, added: “Organisations understand that the transition to digital is a business imperative. While the ‘why’ is well understood, the ‘how’ of a digital transformation journey is not as clear.
“As Ovum found, however, by starting with a more modern and integrated approach to B2B infrastructure, including the use of EDI and APIs, organisations can capitalise on the benefits of generating new revenue streams by connecting with customers and partners in new ways, while still ensuring security and compliance.”
