How do APIs improve integration capabilities in Business Central?

APIs allow Business Central to communicate with external applications and services using standardized interfaces, making it possible to exchange business data without directly accessing the Business Central database. For example, an e-commerce application can communicate with Business Central to exchange information about: Products → Customers → Sales Orders → Inventory → Invoices Business Central provides standard APIs for many common business entities, and developers can also create custom APIs using AL when specific integration requirements are not covered by the standard APIs. APIs provide several advantages: Real-time or near-real-time data exchange Standardized integration Reduced manual data entry Easier integration with cloud applications Better separation between systems Support for modern application architectures Controlled access to business data For example, an online store could use an API to retrieve available inventory from Business Central and submit new sales orders. For enterprise integrations, developers should also consider authentication, authorization, API versioning, throttling, error handling, pagination, performance, data consistency, and monitoring. APIs effectively turn Business Central into an integration-friendly business platform rather than an isolated ERP system.