THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT HANDBOOK SOUTH AFRICA 2023

A complete guide to national government in South Africa nationalgovernment.co.za

NINTH EDITION

Why An Application Programming Interface (API) Platform in The First Place?

SITA’s Digital Transformation Agenda looks to enable delivery by the South African Government of a greater citizen experience. To do so, SITA uses various digital platforms, such as API gateways, to facilitate protected and secure data sharing.

The Platform offers a single-entry point, and standardisation of processes between applications, data and services, and its customers. Some of the benefits offered by APIs include scalability, efficiency, improved integration, collaboration, and added security. SITA’s API Platform differs in its design specific to governmental applications.

Here are four areas where impact on government and its services can be seen:

Reduced Costs

Common software components mean a single transversal development investment. Standardised business logic and data are shared and securely reused as needed across multiple products or work ows.

Increased Productivity

Common logic established as sharable software components reduces the need for redevelopment. Shared software components maintained centrally can be discovered, contracted, and incorporated into applications to take advantage of shared data and business logic. Automated and integrated business processes improve operational productivity.

Citizen Convenience

Incorporating data sharing across departmental work ows and integrating departmental business processes reduces manual information requests and improves the citizen experience through standardised business rules.

Data Protection

APIs provide a simple interface, hiding underlying technology and functional complexities, inherently protecting direct access to the data source. APIs introduce contracting, establishing governance between the data provider, API facilitator and customer. Data is further protected in transition, using encryption technologies that enable secret communication and promote trust.

SITA’s API Platform Key Features and Benefits

Key Features and Benefits

The key features of SITA’s API Platform include API governance, monitoring and accounting. These drive reliability and secure data sharing.

The SITA Application Programming Interface (API) Platform Value to government and the ICT industry

Value to government and the ICT industry

The Platform’s main benefits include API discovery, contracting, provisioning, consumption and establishing a proxy between the provisioned API and API consumer for data protection. Also, accounting, usage monitoring, and gateways. Other benefits of the platform include reduction in code, system complexity, and data capturing, and reuse of data already captured across processes, systems, and services.

SITA’s API Platform offers great value to government and industry. Improved research accuracy, planning, budgeting, and reporting, as well as accelerated digital collaboration between departments and the public, and improved trust and security between data-sharing government entities. The Platform provides Integration services and API development and governance to improve government’s operations. It also improves effectiveness and efficiencies of government processes through reduced duplication and improved citizen experience. APIs are generally used for integrating systems, modernising applications and microservices-based solutions. Finally, it extracts insights from collected and integrated data from government’s existing applications and platforms.

Get

In essence, SITA’s API platform consists of a series of APIs sitting behind SITA’s API Gateway. Like any gateway, it’s a software pattern that facilitates requests and delivery of data and services.

Its primary role is to act as a single-entry point and to standardise processes for interactions between SITA’s apps, data and services, and internal and external customers. The gateway also performs various other functions to support and manage API usage, from authentication and rate limiting to analytics.

The client engagement model of the API is as follows:

·SITA acts as facilitator of government APIs to safeguard government information

·SITA will develop and host client APIs/solutions on the platform, and

·Clients have the liberty to develop and host their APIs/solutions on the platform

Some Questions Answered

How do you discover SITA’s APIs?

SITA is currently building an API portal that will be available on the internet. This will serve as a central point for all shareable government APIs.

How do you consume SITA APIs?

Once a customer contracts on an API, a secret API key will be provided to authorise access to the API. Access and consumption are managed using the integration platform management and monitoring tools. Billable APIs are costed on the SLA and invoiced monthly, based on consumption.

How do you contract?

Customers must be POPIA-compliant, and comply with the Provider terms and conditions.

Support For SITA’s API Platform

Service-related requests or enquiries arising will be handled by SITA’s Service Desk. Email them for any more information on SitaSC@sita.co.za.