According to Ericsson, the opportunity created by mobile network application programming interfaces (APIs) will grow to more than $20 billion by 2028. APIs are ways for different types of software applications to communicate with each other. They are critical to a dynamic 5G network ecosystem and the secret sauce that unlocks 5G potential, enabling edge integration, bringing processing closer to users, simplifying the development of 5G applications, enabling innovative network capabilities, and making deployments more efficient. APIs also provide opportunities for new revenue streams for communications service providers (CSPs) by offering network capabilities as a service.
For organizations, embracing 5G and its API-driven ecosystem isn't just about keeping up with the times; it's about unlocking a wealth of opportunities for improving efficiency, creating new revenue streams, and delivering exceptional customer experiences.
APIs bring a host of benefits to ensure efficiency for 5G networks, including the following:
- Network slicing: The 5G killer app promises to provide tailored network experiences for enterprises and CSPs, supporting a diverse range of 5G use cases that require low-latency and high-bandwidth applications. APIs allow developers to dynamically request and configure network slices with customized configurations. Without APIs, configuring network slices would be manual and cumbersome to manage.
- Edge computing: For real-time edge experiences requiring data processing close to the users and low latency—artificial reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) experiences or remote surgery, for example—APIs provide a standardized way for edge applications to utilize resources for compute power, storage, and any specialized hardware, unlocking the full potential of edge computing. This ensures the delivery of immersive and responsive experiences.
- Application development: APIs provide prebuilt standardized interfaces, giving developers the flexibility of rapid development, reducing time to market, and fostering an innovation environment while simplifying integration.
- Automation and orchestration: Managing and orchestrating 5G networks requires a high degree of automation. Using APIs ensures harmony with automation when provisioning network resources, scaling for capacity, and integrating systems.
- Monetization: The use of APIs provides a pathway for innovation, allowing CSPs to seize new business opportunities such as offering network capabilities as a service, and leveraging the dynamic strengths of the 5G network.
Although APIs can drive the capabilities of complex 5G networks, integrating APIs comes with its own set of challenges that must be managed—challenges related to vendor lock-in and security. To avoid vendor lock-in, APIs must meet standardization requirements for interoperability. Poorly designed APIs also can create a bottleneck, impacting not only network security but the network itself in terms of latency and performance.
Observability into real-time performance for a multitude of key performance indicators (KPIs)—including latency, error rate, throughput, availability, capacity, and error codes—is critical for maintaining the reliability of APIs.
Enterprises and CSPs that prioritize the development and deployment of secure, standardized APIs will be the ones to thrive in the 5G era, able to bring new services to market faster, create new revenue streams, and deliver exceptional customer experiences.
How NETSCOUT Helps
NETSCOUT’s vendor-agnostic scalable Visibility Without Borders platform can support enterprises and CSPs with proactive, end-through-end real-time insights for any application, any service, any cloud, and any network, enabling automated monitoring of APIs for improved network experiences.
With more than 40 years of network monitoring experience, NETSCOUT leads the industry in visibility solutions. Our unique approach and deep technical expertise help enterprises and CSPs solve today’s biggest challenges for the most complex networks in the world. From cloud to cybersecurity to distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) and mobile networks, NETSCOUT is a globally recognized leader of visibility solutions.
Learn more about carrier-grade visibility with NETSCOUT.