In 5 years, losses from email attacks total US$ 12.5 billion worldwide

Unsurprisingly, the way we consume has changed. The connectivity is already so embedded in our routine that when we turn on Waze we are logged into Spotify almost by osmosis. Our bank account also seems to have a 'life of its own', with the amount of services offered to us according to our spending habits. Today, it is also possible for all our financial applications to connect and give us a complete view of our finances. We have reached the age of platforms and the world has really changed.

The way we consume information and perform simple day-to-day activities, such as paying a bill, hailing a cab, listening to music or watching a movie, would even blow open Marty McFly. For companies in consolidated sectors such as banks, finance and retail, these changes are especially impactful, as they require a transformation of business vision and the relationship they already have with technology.

From this urgency for change and disruption of the role that technology had for executives until the beginning of this decade is the birth of the famous 'digital transformation'. IT has moved from a technical to a strategic department that can completely transform more regulated business models such as banks.

And it is important to remember that it is in this transformation that APIs take shapeafter all, they are largely responsible for turning even credit and debit card machines into open platforms, which allow developers to create new services - such as Cielo Lio - which is now a platform that even allows a restaurant integrate your menu into it, for example.

From the APIs came the Unicorns

Far beyond the 'bits and bits' these three letters are practically responsible for the success of Unicorns - those that are already born in the digital environment and have technology in their core business. There are several examples of companies that emerged as a platform and created unbeatable business models, such as Uber, Spotify, and in Brazil, Nubank, Netshoes and PagSeguro. These companies were born in this era and are conquering an ever-expanding market of people who can do just about anything on their mobile phones.

One of the main differences between unicorns and traditional businesses is that APIs have been at the heart of everything since their inception. They are in communication between internal teams, in agility with microservices, the organizational changes of the teams, and the interaction with customers through the various channels and platforms in which they operate. Of course, APIs are also offering the different products and services that these companies market. And what does it generate? Agility and transformational power.

It is in these companies that IT has taken a leading role in business development and not just in supporting the day-to-day operation of the company. These companies are rewriting the history of IT teams, who are using their technical capabilities to create businesses that are independent of the physical world to survive. They are cloud businesses with a scalable architecture that use internal and external APIs and have a good platform strategy aligned with business strategy.

So as the fourth industrial revolution knocks on traditional sectors showing that integration and connectivity are changing the direction of the economy, companies that have not yet included APIs as part of their business strategy will have much to go after. not to disappear.

APIs can support in-house teams to transform traditional business models with agility to compete fairly with digitally born companies. After all, technology creates opportunities to serve society and businesses. And while talking about APIs may seem too technical, the subject is necessary and should get on the executives' agenda.