API development and software integrations in Bastia
With API development, your software swaps data automatically, with no re-keying and no manual exports. We design and wire up these connections for businesses and public bodies, in Corsica and beyond. A piece of information typed once is enough. Your tools end up working together.
What an API and a software integration actually do
An API, or application programming interface, is a standard doorway. One program opens it to others so they can ask it for information or hand some over. When your online shop sends an order to your management software, or your calendar updates after a booking, there is almost always an API behind it.
A software integration links your programs through these interfaces. You decide which data moves and in which direction, at what moment, and what happens when something fails. API development, for its part, creates an interface for your own software, so your partners, customers or mobile apps can plug into it.
Two acronyms come up a lot. An ERP runs the business side (stock, purchasing, invoicing). A CRM handles customer relationships, with contacts and the history of exchanges, prospects included. Getting the two to talk is a very standard integration project.
Signs it is time to connect your software
- 01
Re-keying
The same customer, the same order, typed into several tools. Every copy is one more chance to get it wrong.
- 02
Manual exports
Every week, a file exported then imported again by the only person who knows how. When she is on holiday, nothing moves.
- 03
Mismatches
The stock shown online does not match what is on the shelf. A customer gets a reminder for an invoice already paid.
- 04
Reports nobody can produce
Figures are scattered across several programs and have to be stitched together by hand.
ERP and CRM integration, examples by sector
- 01
Retail and online shops
The online shop and the till share the same stock as the management software. Prices are current everywhere, and invoices produce themselves.
- 02
Tourism and hospitality
Booking platforms, the property's own software and the calendar are linked, so double bookings stop. Guests passing through Corsica get the practical details sent to them automatically.
- 03
Services and professional practices
The website form feeds straight into the CRM. Booking an appointment, e-signature, then invoicing follow on with no re-keying.
- 04
Industry and logistics
Orders go out to carriers, shipment tracking flows back into the ERP. An alert goes off if something is late.
- 05
Local authorities
Departments exchange data with each other, and online services talk to internal software. Open data gets published without anyone handling it.
- 06
Software publishers
A public API for your software or SaaS, documented so your customers and partners can build it into their own tools.
Our method for an API integration project
Real time is something we work with daily. Hameau Vivant relies on SSE, a technology that lets a server keep pushing updates to a page left open, to send its events to every visitor the moment they happen. La Forge, our software factory driven by autonomous agents, runs several tasks in parallel. It is a coordination problem quite close to joining up separate programs.
- 01
Understand
We list your software and the data that moves between them, with volumes and frequency. We also look at what happens today when a piece of information is missing. Budget and timing are set at this stage.
- 02
Design
We check which APIs each vendor offers. The map of data flows is approved with you, along with the rules to apply when there is a conflict or an error.
- 03
Build
The connectors are developed and tested on dummy data, then on a real sample. You follow progress at every step.
- 04
Launch and support
A gradual switch-on, monitoring of the exchanges, an alert when one fails. When a vendor changes its API, we adapt the connector.
Data exchanges you can rely on
- 01
Authentication
Each connection uses access keys stored securely. They grant only the rights that are strictly needed.
- 02
Encryption
Data travels encrypted. Sensitive information is never exposed without good reason.
- 03
Error handling
A program that is down, a record that is incomplete. The integration has to try again and flag the problem, without ever losing or duplicating information.
- 04
Traceability
A log keeps a record of every exchange. You can see what was sent, when, and with what result.
- 05
Dependence on vendors
The APIs of commercial software change. Some are capped in volume, others are paid for. We read their terms before designing anything, and each connector is isolated so a change at one vendor stays contained.
- 06
Ownership and documentation
The connector code and the description of the data flows are handed over on the terms written into the quote. You always know which way your data travels.
What weighs on the cost of an API integration
Each integration is costed after a first conversation, with a clear quote, and it is nearly always the same few things that move the budget.
- 01
Number of systems and flows
Linking two tools in one direction has nothing in common with keeping five programs in sync both ways.
- 02
Quality of the existing APIs
A complete, well-documented API makes the work simpler. Where there is none, file exchanges are sometimes the only route.
- 03
Complexity of the rules
Matching data from one program to the next, dealing with duplicates, deciding who wins in a conflict.
- 04
Volume and frequency
Real time or synchronisation at set intervals. The amount of data to process counts as well.
- 05
Support after go-live
Monitoring and maintenance, plus keeping up with the changes vendors decide on.
Integrations that stay monitored after go-live
You do not plug in an integration and forget about it. Vendors update their software, your volumes change, new tools turn up. We watch the exchanges and get an alert when one fails, then adapt the connectors when needed. So your staff work on current data. And the day you add a new program, it joins the existing flows instead of starting from nothing.
Technologies and methods
- REST APIs
- Webhooks
- Node.js
- TypeScript
- Real time (SSE)
- Docker
- Logging
Frequently asked questions
Can software with no API still be connected?
Often, yes, by other routes. Automated file exports and imports, direct database access where the vendor allows it, reading documents that arrive by email. These are less dependable than an API, and we explain their limits before you choose.
Can an ERP and a CRM from different vendors be connected?
Yes. That is exactly what an integration is for, as long as each one offers an API or some other way to exchange data. We check each vendor's terms at the design stage.
Do the exchanges happen in real time?
It depends on the need. Stock or a booking must be current straight away. Other flows can wait and go in batches at regular intervals. Real time takes more work, so we keep it for the data where it genuinely changes something.
What happens if one of the systems goes down?
The integration is built for that case. Pending data is held and sent once the service is back, while an alert goes to the person concerned. Nothing should get lost on the way.
Can you build an API so our partners can access our data?
Yes. We design the API with its access rules and its documentation. Your partners or customers connect securely and see only the data that concerns them.