Technology Solutions
API Integrations
Connect your systems so data moves reliably, and failures are visible rather than silent.
03 / Technology Solutions6 capabilities · 7 deliverables
The problem
Integrations that work in the demo and fail in production
Connecting two systems looks easy when the documentation shows a single successful request. In production, tokens expire, rate limits trigger, a vendor has a two-hour outage, and a webhook is delivered twice or out of order. If the integration was written for the happy path, you get duplicate invoices, orders that never reach the warehouse, or a CRM that quietly drifts out of step with billing.
These failures are hard to catch because they are partial. Most records sync, a few do not, and nobody is told. Months later, finance finds a discrepancy and no one can say which system is right or when the divergence began. Reliable integration is less about calling an endpoint and more about deciding what happens when the call goes wrong.
Sound familiar?
- Orders, payments or contacts exist in one system but not the other
- Customers get duplicate emails, invoices or shipments after a retry
- An access token expires and an integration stops until someone notices
- Nobody can see which sync runs failed or why
Our solution
Integrations designed for failure from the start
We begin by agreeing which system is the source of truth for each piece of data, what direction it flows and how fresh it needs to be. Authentication uses the right scheme for each API, whether OAuth 2.0 with refresh handling, API keys held in a secrets manager or signed requests. Calls are wrapped with timeouts, retries using exponential backoff, and respect for rate limits.
Operations that change data carry idempotency keys, so a retry cannot create a second invoice. Incoming webhooks are verified by signature, acknowledged quickly, queued and processed in a way that tolerates duplicates and out-of-order delivery. Every run is logged, failures land in a dead-letter queue with an alert, and a reconciliation job compares both systems on a schedule. If a connector already exists and is reliable, we will configure that rather than write new code.
Capabilities
What's inside.
- 01
Authentication and secrets management
OAuth 2.0 flows with token refresh, API keys and signed requests handled securely, with credentials stored in a secrets manager and never in code.
- 02
Retries, backoff and rate limiting
Timeouts, exponential backoff with jitter and queue-based throttling so a temporary outage or a rate limit does not lose data.
- 03
Idempotency and de-duplication
Idempotency keys and unique-constraint checks make repeated requests safe, which stops double charges, duplicate orders and repeated emails.
- 04
Webhook receivers
Signature verification, fast acknowledgement, queued processing and handling of duplicate or out-of-order events from providers such as Stripe, Shopify or WhatsApp Business.
- 05
Data mapping and transformation
Field mapping, unit and format conversion, and handling of the differences between systems, such as statuses, tax fields and customer identifiers.
- 06
Monitoring and reconciliation
Structured logs, failure alerts, a dead-letter queue and scheduled comparisons between systems so drift is found in hours, not at month-end.
Process
How the work unfolds.
- Step 01
Integration mapping
We list the systems, the data that moves between them, the direction and timing, and which system wins when they disagree.
- Step 02
API review and contract
We read the vendors' documentation, check limits and failure behaviour, and write down the payloads and error cases the integration must handle.
- Step 03
Build and failure testing
We build against sandboxes, then deliberately test failures: expired tokens, duplicate webhooks, timeouts and malformed data.
- Step 04
Release and monitoring
Gradual rollout with alerts on, an initial reconciliation to confirm both sides match, and a runbook explaining what to do when something fails.
You receive
Deliverables
- 01Working integrations between the agreed systems
- 02Data flow diagram showing source of truth and direction for each field
- 03Retry, idempotency and webhook handling implemented and tested
- 04Logging and alerting on failed syncs
- 05Reconciliation job or report comparing both systems
- 06Runbook covering common failures and how to replay events
- 07Secrets and access setup documented for your team
Where it fits best
- E-commerceCatalogue structure, product-page SEO, checkout fixes, paid media and the integrations that keep stock, orders and finance in agreement.
- HealthcareLocation pages, booking flows, reviews and patient communication, built with privacy and the plain language patients actually search in.
- EducationProgramme discovery, enquiry-to-enrolment funnels, and the CRM plumbing that stops prospective students slipping between teams.
- Professional ServicesAuthority-led content, specialism pages that rank, intake forms that qualify and CRM workflows that make referrals measurable.
- Startups & SaaSProduct sites, demo funnels, onboarding flows and growth instrumentation, shipped at the pace a young product needs.
FAQ
Questions we get asked.
Why not just use Zapier or Make for integrations?
For low-volume, low-risk connections they are often the right choice and we will say so. When you need strict ordering, high volume, signed webhooks, complex mapping or guarantees against duplicates, custom code or a more controlled setup is safer. We choose based on the failure cost, not on a preference.
What does idempotency mean and why does it matter?
An idempotent operation produces the same result however many times it runs. Networks fail and clients retry, so without it a retried payment request can charge a customer twice. We attach a unique key to each change so the receiving system can recognise and ignore repeats.
What if a vendor's API changes or goes down?
Outages are handled by queuing and retrying, so data is delayed rather than lost. For API changes we pin to versioned endpoints where they exist, monitor for deprecation notices, and keep the integration code isolated so an update touches one place. Ongoing monitoring can be part of a support arrangement.
Can you integrate with a system that has no API?
Sometimes. Options include file exports, database access, or an official partner interface. Screen-scraping is a last resort because it breaks easily, and we will explain the risk before agreeing to it.
- TechnologyWorkflow AutomationWe build the specific automated flows your team needs, such as lead handling, onboarding, approvals and invoicing, using Make, n8n, Zapier or code where it fits.View
- TechnologyCRM Development & IntegrationWe configure, extend and integrate CRMs such as HubSpot, Zoho and Salesforce, or build a lightweight custom one, so leads and customers live in one reliable record.View
- TechnologyCustom Software DevelopmentWe design and build bespoke internal tools, customer portals and back-office systems when off-the-shelf software forces you into workarounds.View
Ready to talk about api integrations?
Send a few lines about what you're trying to move. We'll reply with questions, a rough shape of the work, or an honest no.
Or write to hello@asoftbit.com