Companies hampered by the pace of change are often constrained by monolithic architectures, legacy systems and outdated processes. Many of these tools have been functional or easily transferable for years, but they have become clear barriers to innovation.
However, this can be managed when business leaders learn to think differently and start creating a unified architecture. According to GartnerAn integrated business is an “organization made of flexible building blocks.” This modular structure accommodates rapid response to changes in demand, traffic, production and supply chain challenges. Agile tools and infrastructure allow companies to keep pace with customer expectations, delivering the rich, engaging experiences they demand.
“Businesses today require highly differentiated software that delivers a human-centered, interactive experience. We’re seeing a generation of developer tools and technologies like JavaScript and Graphs,” says Matt DeBergalis, chief technology officer and founder of Apollo GraphQL.
Finding efficiency in graphs
GraphQL, an open-source data query and manipulation language, helps companies create and maintain unified architectures, enabling teams to create better experiences for customers faster and more efficiently. The result for product and engineering teams is the ability to build consistent, predictable APIs for rapid design, development, and deployment of new features.
GraphQL can pull specific data from multiple data sources in a single API call, making APIs fast and flexible, and reducing data overload and under-collation issues (a common problem with previous solutions, pulling too much or too little data, making queries. Not enough). Debergalis explains, “The question becomes how to take existing software like inventory control software and reuse or repurpose it.
Businesses large and small, from small supermarket chains to industry giants like Netflix, report rapid growth from the efficiency of graph technology. Over the past few years, Netflix has been integrating its APIs into a federated GraphQL platform. As a subscription streaming service and production company, Netflix IT handles a huge amount of data (titles, production companies, executive data, financials, customer data, etc.), and many data elements are managed by different departments. The Federated GraphQL platform means that data can be managed and maintained by its owner, shared with other stakeholders, and searchable across legal entities, seamlessly for the user.
