Open APIs

Just saw a post over at Non-Profit Tech Blog about Blackbaud offering an Open API. What is an API you ask, and why should I care?

API stands for Application Programing Interface and it is a fancy way of saying a standard set of commands to interact with an application. In the online world it often means third parties can write applications that interact with a database.

Still wondering why you should care? Think of it this way, as more online players create APIs it means less pain points for you. Don’t like the way a form works, no problem we have the API so we can create a custom form. Want to have a closer to real time data exchange with an offline system, that becomes much more doable.

Now don’t start dialing up your Account Executive asking them for an API. Most large vendors don’t offer them, and Blackbaud’s announcement is just an announcement. However, it does mean that large groups like Blackbaud are taking steps in the right direction. Hopefully this moves the industry to supporting Open API’s and that will make everyones day just a bit brighter.