Background

Brooke supported the digital transformation of a large-scale government department by
designing and rapidly configuring an Application Programming Interface (API) portal to enable
the cataloguing, consumption and management of APIs. The portal assists the department to
showcase a digital brochure and create a window into its digital business capabilities.

The Problem

Brooke’s client manages an enterprise architecture of disparate systems which contain common
data elements, and data needs to flow across these systems to enact business processes through
a complex range of business rules. There was a general lack of awareness amongst technical
teams internal and external to the department about the existence of the APIs held by the
department. Development in systems was often disconnected, making effective integration
challenging and creating duplication and redundancy of effort.

How did we think differently to deliver?

As part of a broad digital transformation program bringing in modernised integration methods,
our client required a centralised platform to provide developers, partners and other stakeholders
with a self-service interface to discover, consume and manage APIs of all types. These APIs
support safe and critical data exchange across the department and with external stakeholders,
enabling the development of mission critical insight through analytics and improving governance.
The use of APIs also aims to reduce development learning curves and accelerate digital
transformation initiatives within the department.

Brooke believes in solving business problems with technology as the enabler, rather than starting
with the technology task first. The business sponsor needed a tangible solution quickly to be able
to build buy-in across the technology organisation to integrate systems in a more modern way

By configuring a common API catalog using MuleSoft’s Anypoint API Community Manager, Brooke
established the first version of the department’s future mechanism to discover, consume and manage
APIs across all development efforts. The portal supports the department to catalog all APIs, agnostic
of platform, relevant to the efficient execution of business processes. Usability was factored in through
UX design, supporting a personalised experience to enhance stakeholder engagement and ease of API
consumption.

Brooke’s client needed a trusted and experienced team given the project’s importance and tight
timeframes. A key factor in choosing Brooke was our technical credentials in Salesforce and MuleSoft,
validated by our team’s certifications and strong client testimonials

We knew success was achieved when

As a result of implementing the API portal our client is creating staff awareness and fostering collaboration across its ICT department, and providing a platform for effective API governance and management. Future benefits expected include:

• A better experience for inhouse and partner software developers, with easier developer onboarding
  and support
• Increased developer productivity and collaboration through FAQs and relevant API information that
  is easy to keep up to date
• Strong usability, with adaptive look and feel through a ‘drag and drop’ editor that allows a
  customised user experience
• Easier access to insights through analytics regarding API choice and usage
• Improved data exchange efficiency and effectiveness with internal and external stakeholder organisations

Products implemented

For this project, Brooke’s team configured and implemented:

• Salesforce Experience Cloud
• MuleSoft API Community Manager
• MuleSoft Anypoint Exchange