How APIs Make Your E/CTRM More Powerful
Molecule’s most popular reporting tool isn’t a fancy graph or pivot table. Instead, our customers flock to a powerful workhorse enabled across our system, that supports automations, reporting, and integrations: the APIs.
APIs enhance ETRM/CTRMs by making it simple and straightforward to access your data, via common, widely used technology standards.
For example, you can use an API to pull a range of data - from trades to counterparties to inventory. And with a comprehensive view of your portfolio, it’s easier to build meaningful reports and develop actionable insights.
What is an API?
If you are unfamiliar with APIs, you’ve probably used them more than you realize; they’re integral to applications across nearly every industry. Did you check the weather on your phone this morning before leaving the house? Did you use PayPal when you ordered something online, or did you like a photo on Facebook? If so, you've used an API today.
An API (Application Programming Interface) is simply a request-response messaging system.
Applications communicate with each other through a standard interface, which must be followed exactly, like a contract. Think of an API like the order kiosks that are starting to pop up at many quick service restaurants. It makes you enter your order in a standard form, and you can count on the kitchen sending out the exact food and drink that you requested.
So, APIs are powerful because they are standard and reliable.
They are also powerful because they are widely understood by programmers. APIs are everywhere and used in many different ways. This means that when your IT group hears that Molecule has an API, they very likely have a programmer who will be able to write scripts to access it.
The Business Value of APIs
APIs are valuable to any company with large amounts of data because they allow them to develop automated ways to manipulate and manage that data. APIs can also reduce data silos, which boosts productivity and efficiency across different teams.
Common business goals when using an API include:
- Save time and money through automation
- Promote innovation
- Enrich business decisions
- Reduce risk
- Facilitate integrations and customizations
APIs and Molecule
Here are some examples of what's possible with Molecule's APIs.
You can write a script to automate loading:
- Trades (e.g. via a custom trade capture screen)
- Asset data for forecasts and production
- Marks, including custom curves
- Tickets to add or remove from inventory
You can extract all the data you loaded, plus:
- Position
- Valuations
- Settlements
- Snapshots (valuations archives)
You can push to or pull from custom tools and integrations, such as:
- Curve builds
- Advanced valuation engines
- Financial systems
- Any other internal applications
You can pull real-time Molecule data into:
- Excel
- Power BI
- Other scripts and API-aware tools
Getting Started with Molecule’s APIs
Your implementation team can provide you with credentials and access to our documentation site to start using Molecule’s APIs immediately.
On the documentation site, you can navigate through our list of API endpoints. Each page provides full lists of required and optional fields, sample code, and even interactive payload builders.
API Security
Since APIs transfer customer data between systems, it is crucial to maintain strict security standards.
The Molecule APIs are kept secure through the following:
- API keys and tokens: enforces authorization of user accounts
- Traffic encryption: prevents external parties from reading data while in transit
- Full suite of security testing and protocols: offers additional protection and monitoring
All of this is on top of Molecule’s robust security processes and structures, as evidenced by our SOC-2 (Service Organization Control 2) Type 2 certification. This certification distinguishes companies that are committed to securing and protecting customer data.
You can read about Molecule's SOC-1 and SOC-2 certifications here.
Summary
APIs are a very flexible and powerful tool for making the most of your Molecule implementation, from automations to reporting to integrations.
We’d love to discuss your goals in these areas so that we can give you further ideas and guidance on how to make the most of this valuable feature in your Molecule system!
If you're interested in how our APIs can optimize your trading and risk management experience, check out our packages and schedule a demo.
