What is an API?

An API, or application programming interface, is a defined way for one program to ask another for data or actions. Wikipedia describes it as "a connection between computers or between computer programs", and notes that "An API is often compared to a contract": it says what can be requested, in what form, and what will come back.

Why it matters

Most business systems hold data that other systems need. With an API, a data platform can read new orders from the ERP every few minutes, and an AI assistant can check a load on request. Without one, data moves by exports, spreadsheets and retyping.

APIs are commercial too

An API is a business decision too. IBM puts it plainly: "If the API grants access to valuable digital assets, a business monetizes it by selling access". Postman, which sells API tools, surveyed over 5,700 developers, architects and executives. It found "65% of organizations generating revenue from their API programs".

Vendors restrict access for other reasons too. The same Postman survey found that "51% of developers now cite unauthorized agent access as a top security risk". Limits on calls from unknown tools can protect the customer's own data.

In a timber business

In our view, the practical question for a buyer is narrower than the API economy. Can you get all of your own data out, in full, when you need it? A live API with limits may be fine for day-to-day use, if the contract also guarantees complete bulk export.

What to check

Before buying, ask whether the system has a documented API and which data it exposes. Ask what access costs and whether those terms can change at renewal. Check that bulk export of all your records is written into the contract. For existing systems without an API, ask what export options exist and how complete they are.

How Quarri works explains the platform as a layer over existing systems, not a migration.

Quarri is an AI-native data platform for the timber supply chain. It connects buying, production, sales and inventory for forest management, sawmill, wood products and pulp, paper and packaging operators.