API integration is now a critical elements for most marketers, according to State of API Integration, a study by Cloud Elements. 

The study, the third annual edition, surveyed over 350 API advocates. Of those polled, 55% ay API is “critical” to their strategy, and 29% say it is somewhat critical.

In addition, 60% feel API will have a major impact on customer upgrades or renewals.

However, 56% now charge or API access or integration, up from 44% in 2018.

Key uses for API include “lead to customer” (45%), “customer to cash” (23%), “lead to loyalty” (20%), “quote to cash” (8%) and “hire to retire” (4%).

The study also found that 62% of those surveyed said they are becoming more of a platform provider to integrate with partners, maintain stickiness with customers, and/or find new revenue opportunities.

Moreover, almost 55% are using APIs to build B2B products, including 36% for mobile products, 29% for B2C/consumer products, 26% for employee productivity, and 22% for IoT applications.

CRM is the top API priority, cited by 24%. Next are finance (16%), ERP (15%), database (12%), communications (10%) and human capital (6%).

The biggest challenges are: event-driven integration and workflows.