With construction firms facing razor thin margins, is there money to be made streamlining your systems? More construction professionals are seeing and actively seeking the value in technologies that can help improve their decision-making, while also making their work processes more efficient. How can individuals and teams gain access to the data they need to make better decisions more efficiently, without creating new inefficiencies in the process?

“If data is the key to unlocking construction’s true potential, seamless integration is the key to unlocking the data itself,” so says Grant Nolen, Director of Sales for EquipmentWatch.

Without even realizing it, Application Programming Interfaces or APIs are already integral to our everyday lives. Examples include searching for airline flights on a third-party website, companies embedding their social media feeds on their websites, and local weather data updates on your phone. These examples all rely on an API to allow one application to seamlessly access and integrate data from another.

“As the world has grown more digital, so too has its reliance on APIs. The need for connected software has exploded, and APIs are ubiquitous,” stated Matt Hawkins in Forbes’ article The History and Rise of APIs.[1] “Companies that can quickly adapt to this reality, create systems for monitoring the performance of the APIs they consume, and track the massive flow of information between them may be the ones that define the next decade in API history.”

EquipmentWatch began offering APIs in 2018. Over the past four years, we have worked with our clients to provide integrations to include: Taxonomy APIs; Specs API; Verification API; Costs API; Values API, and Retail Rental API. Being able to pivot quickly, work in partnership with our client’s developers, and offer custom solutions is a cornerstone of EquipmentWatch’s dedication to continual innovation.

“We need to be able to meet our clients where they are at and offer a suite of solutions that meet their needs, on their terms – API integrations are just the next logical step,” stated EquipmentWatch’s Senior Project Manager James Hamilton.

Many times, “just having a conversation can start the process,” noted Nolen, who regularly makes notes on what other applications his equipment managers are using. “If we can simplify one major step in their internal systems, it can have ripple effects in terms of productivity and efficiency.”  The implementation of APIs can help deliver the reliable data equipment managers, estimators, finance teams and others need to make better decisions, all while automating laborious tasks and streamlining existing workflows.

With buyer trends shifting, and new product lines being introduced, and new technologies streamlining how we do business, it’s an exciting time to be in the construction business. For over 60 years, EquipmentWatch has been the industry’s unbiased source for equipment ownership, operating costs, and disposition decisions. We are also ready to be your principal data provider for any API-focused projects you take on in the future. If you are ready to have the conversation, please reach out.

1. The History And Rise Of APIs (forbes.com)

At EquipmentWatch, we analyze equipment values on a regular basis with our monthly Market Reports. More in-depth reports such as The State of the Construction Equipment Economy aim to arm you with the insights you need to make quality, informed decisions about how to manage your heavy equipment. EquipmentWatch can help you with the data you need now to set accurate rates, value your fleet, make disposition decisions, and understand when to rent equipment. We are also ready to be your principal data provider for any AI-focused projects you take on in the future. For more information on the data solutions offered by EquipmentWatch call us at (888) 307-1713.