Increase Revenue, Reduce Costs With Automated Logistics using APIs and Your IBM i

The world of paper documents, fax machines, phone calls and even old style EDI is rapidly being replaced by online, real-time API communication. APIs make it possible to instantaneously obtain rates across carriers, track the exact location of shipments and provide accurate ETAs, automatically generate shipping labels and shipping documents and electronically process orders and invoices. They reduce administrative costs and enhance the quality of customer service of everyone involved in the supply chain. The day is approaching when companies will be unable to compete or even participate in the supply chain if they cannot support API communication.

Whether you want to provide functions from your applications via APIs or you want to access the APIs of others, Eradani Connect for IBM i makes it easy.

We have heard from too many logistics executives who believe their ability to take advantage of APIs is limited because they are running RPG applications on the IBM i. They are concerned that those IBM i applications cannot support the new technology.  That is no longer true! At Eradani, we have worked with manufacturers, distributors, transportation companies as well as 3PLs and 4PLs to API enable their IBM i applications.

Some of the ways Eradani has helped IBM i users:

1. Eliminate the “outlier” status of the IBM i – Eradani Connect allows the IBM i to communicate with APIs just like every other platform (Linux, Windows, UNIX, etc.). You no longer have to worry that the IBM i is “different”. You can take advantage of the latest technology and APIs without the risk and expense of replacing your IBM i applications.
2. Simplicity – With Eradani Connect, you can securely access APIs directly from your RPG programs without writing the code for security, JSON parsing, error handling, monitoring and tracking of API calls. The same is true for providing APIs from your IBM i for others to access. In either direction, Eradani Connect provides those functions for you.  Importantly, with Eradani Connect, you can easily import the SDK (software development kit) code that the API providers give you to simplify the use of their APIs. And, you can rapidly add capabilities using any of the millions of open source components accessible online.
3. Safety and Security – To ensure the safety of your systems, Eradani Connect supports the latest in encrypted token based communication out of the box. You no longer need to worry about sending user IDs and passwords across the network for each API call. Nor do you have to write the complex security code. Eradani Connect supports the latest Cipher suites so you don’t have to worry about API connections being refused because your Cipher suites are out of date.
4. Performance – Eradani Connect uses high speed dataqueues and other high performance techniques to get maximum performance from your API calls. In benchmark tests, Eradani Connect has out-performed native tooling by 10x or more in calling or providing APIs. With Eradani Connect, you can handle hundreds of thousands or even millions of simultaneous requests.
5. Message queuing and asynchronous processing – Eradani Connect automatically queues API requests so if a service is unavailable at the time of the call, the requests will not be lost. They will simply run when the service becomes available. Meanwhile, your application does not need to wait for a response before continuing on with its processing.
6. Innovation and New Technology – Eradani Connect makes it easy and secure to integrate your IBM i applications with new languages like JavaScript, Python, C#, Java and PHP via APIs. With Eradani Connect, our customers have begun enhancing their RPG applications by adding functions in these new languages.

With Eradani, you also get access to our experts in APIs for the IBM i. They will help to ensure the success of your IBM i API enablement efforts. With Eradani Connect, there is no reason you cannot take advantage of the power, productivity and business expansion potential of APIs for your IBM i.

If you would like to learn more about how Eradani Connect is currently helping IBM i users take advantage of the API economy, contact us at www.eradani.com or via email at info@eradani.com.