What if our existing software doesn’t have an API?
Assess supported exports, imports, vendor options and file transfers before deciding whether existing software needs replacing.
An older application may still do an important job even when it lacks a documented API. Before replacing it, investigate how information can enter and leave the system.
The useful question is: which supported connection could meet the workflow’s requirements, and what would remain manual?
Inventory the available routes
Ask the supplier or administrator about:
- Documented imports and exports.
- Scheduled reports or file transfers.
- Existing connectors and partner integrations.
- Integration features available through another edition or licence.
- Supported access to reporting data.
- Any planned changes to the product’s integration capabilities.
Confirm which options are available in your actual account. A feature described for another edition may not be usable in the system you operate.
Also distinguish reading information from changing it. Being able to export customer records does not establish that you can create or update customers through an import.
A file transfer can be a practical connection
For a workflow that does not require immediate updates, a supported export and import may be worth assessing.
As an illustrative example, an operational application might export approved transactions for review before they are imported into an accounting system. The design would need to establish the file format, record identifiers, validation rules and handling of rejected rows.
Xero provides a concrete product example: its documentation describes importing customer invoices from a CSV template. Those invoices enter as drafts for review and approval. This is an available import route in a product that also has an API; it does not establish what another application can export. Xero’s invoice-import guidance.
A file-based process still needs an operating plan. Someone must know which files were produced, which were accepted and whether a file has already been processed.
Agree how current the information must be
Define the business requirement before choosing the connection.
Does the receiving system need an update immediately, before the next working session or before a reporting deadline? What happens if the transfer is delayed?
A scheduled file exchange may suit one process and be unsuitable for another. Test that decision against the actual work, including exceptions.
Also agree what happens when someone changes a record after export. The next transfer might need to carry an update, a cancellation or a correction.
Treat database access and screen automation as separate assessments
Direct database access needs review against the supplier’s supported approach, application rules and security requirements.
Likewise, automating clicks through an application needs testing against the screens, permissions and failure situations involved. Assess how the process detects incomplete work and what happens when the interface changes.
Neither route should be selected simply because it appears to avoid an integration discussion.
What the Sainsbury’s account establishes
Fraser Pearce, Senior Engineering Manager at Sainsbury’s, described Cloudini’s work bridging interactions between older systems, vendor solutions and newly built software.
That is a verified example of integration across an existing technology estate. The account does not identify which interfaces were available or say that the systems lacked APIs. Read the Sainsbury’s account.
For your application, start with its supported capabilities and one defined handover. Replacement becomes a decision based on the constraints found during that assessment.