Open interfaces. Clear boundaries.

No. It complements the security checks of the application. Business permissions and secure data processing must be implemented in the responsible services.

Yes, if scope and data access are agreed. We plan separate access credentials, suitable test data and a path to approval for production.

Partners and applications need interfaces whose behavior they can rely on. We design API contracts, set up access and protection at the gateway and organize versions, documentation and approvals across the entire lifecycle.

API guideline with naming conventions, error formats, versioning and security requirements Interface catalog with OpenAPI specification and an owner per API Gateway build with Kong, Apigee or Azure API Management, connected to your identity management via OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect Partner and developer portal with access management, keys and usage reports Lifecycle with approval process, deprecation of old versions and change notifications

API guideline and interface catalog Operational API gateway with identity integration Developer portal with documentation per API

We start with the cases handled by the connected systems: what data do they need, which states are they allowed to change and how do they detect errors? REST, GraphQL or gRPC are chosen depending on the use case. The description uses the format that suits the protocol, for example OpenAPI for HTTP APIs of that kind. Besides the payload, pagination, timeouts, error responses and retry behavior are defined. Examples and test cases help the consuming teams integrate the interface before the production release.

A gateway can manage access, throttle requests and enforce technical rules. Whether a specific user is allowed to read a particular order must additionally be decided in the responsible service. We plan token validation, service identities, tenant assignment and logging along this boundary. For write calls, we clarify how repeated requests are handled. Old versions follow a clear deprecation process, so that changes do not unexpectedly break partner connections.

Contract tests check the agreed structure; integration and load tests also cover behavior. We test rejected access, invalid input and timeouts as well as successful calls. The handover includes the specification, gateway configuration and responsibilities. To get started, we need typical consumers, load assumptions and the business cases that an API is meant to enable.

We design APIs so that internal teams and external partners can use them reliably. This includes a clear contract, defined access rights and operations that handle errors and overload visibly.

Unauthorized object access is explicitly tested. The API contract and the implementation are consistent in the agreed cases. Overload and outages result in documented responses.

Example: Business partners need to retrieve the status of their orders. We provide a well-defined API, assign access to the respective organization and protect the ERP system from uncontrolled load. Internal status changes are translated into stable external responses.

An API should offer a clearly defined business function rather than exposing an internal system’s tables unfiltered to the outside. We define resources, actions, required fields and error responses together with the consuming teams. Sample data and a machine-readable description ease integration; business rules remain explicitly documented. Changes are assessed by their impact. An additional optional field must be treated differently from a new required value or a changed meaning. We plan versioning, transition periods and communication to known users. This way, an internal database update does not have to break every connected application at the same time.

The gateway can implement central rules for authentication, rate limiting and routing. Business-level authorization still needs to be checked in the responsible service: a validly logged-in customer must not automatically be able to read another customer’s records. We therefore consider the entire request chain. For operations, we agree response time budgets, timeouts and how retries are handled. Correlation identifiers link logs across multiple systems without logging sensitive request content by default. Developer access with examples and a suitable test environment helps partners identify errors before connecting to production.

System map, data flows, bottlenecks Business unit, IT operations, architecture, OTOKO® integration architect Interface inventory, assessed risks, prioritized integration cases

Integration architecture, interface catalog, operating model Architecture, information security, data protection, business unit Target architecture, data ownership per object, security requirements, operating model