The Power of Voice APIs and How to Choose the Right One.

Voice APIs are having a moment- and it’s about time. Voice APIs enable your developers to add telephony functionality to your apps, even if they are not telecoms experts, with just a few lines of code. They establish a reliable connection with your carrier and allow you to implement advanced functionality, such as in-app communication on any device, over any network, all over the world (as long as you’re connected to the internet, of course). What’s more, Voice APIs do this without having to interact with the PSTN directly. As you would expect, they have a wide variety of use cases- including contact centers, UCaaS platforms, voice notifications, and alerts.

So if this sounds like a Voice API is something you need, that’s because it is. But with so many providers out there, it can be hard to know what makes one Voice API better than another. Choose the wrong one and you could end up with issues like lag and jitter, and packet loss, leading to an overall poor experience for your end-user. Get it right, and your Voice API can help you set your business apart from competitors and allow you to scale in a hassle-free manner.

Let’s take a step back for a moment and look at the critical factors in a great Voice API — the API itself and the provider’s network. When choosing a Voice API, you should give equal weight to both. You need to evaluate the API itself to make sure that it will easily integrate with your existing systems and the carrier network that the API connects to in order to ensure that it won’t drop when your customers need it.

The API

One of the most critical parts of any voice API is its usability. An API that is hard to use or doesn’t integrate well with your existing code will eat up time and money and will ultimately frustrate your developers. So what can you look out for to ensure your developers will be working with a quality API?

Excellent developer experience

Since your developers are the ones that are going to work with the API, it’s vital that your API is built by developers, for developers.

Development tools

The whole point of an API is to minimize the code you need, reduce the development workload, and improve efficiency. Your API provider should offer tools to help your development teams get integrations done faster.

SDKs and extensive developer documentation

It’s a red flag if an API provider doesn’t offer any software development kits (SDKs), or if they only provide them in one or two languages. API providers need to deliver SDKs that any development team can use, no matter what language they work in. The same goes for developer documentation.

Inadequate developer support will cost you time and money in development and potentially lead to bugs and issues in the end-user experience.

As it’s the developers that will be working with the API, it’s always a good idea to have your developer check it out before you sign on the dotted line. They will be able to point to missing features and will know what will make their life easier.

The Provider

Even if the API itself is excellent, the API provider might outsource their voice connection to third-parties. This means that your voice app reliability is in the hands of third-party network operators that even the API provider has very little control over, let alone you. But don’t worry, if you know what to look for, you’ll be just fine.

Find a licensed carrier, not just an API developer.

Many API developers are just that: API developers. They simply build the link between you — the customer — and someone else’s network.

A true, licensed carrier connects you to their own network. This gives you more control over the service you get from your API developer (because they can pass the network control on to you). It also means that your API provider has access to exclusive telecom databases for looking up numbers, a much deeper phone number inventory, and has a say in telephony policy negotiations.

A true carrier has the best leverage to provide you with excellent telecom service and go to bat for you in developing telecom policies, in addition to developing an API.

Have a look at their network

No matter how well-optimized your code, or how solid the API, your voice application is going to suffer if it’s not connected to a strong network.

Many API providers rely on the public internet and third-party network operators to connect your voice calls. The public internet was never meant for real-time communications, so issues like lag and jitter, and packet loss are commonplace.

Third-party networks can be better than using the open internet, but an API developer who uses third-party networks has very little — if any — power to fix connection issues when they arise, simply because they don’t control the network.

The best solution? Work with an API provider who owns and operates its own network. This eliminates the lag, jitter, and connectivity issues you often experience with other voice APIs and ensures that your app delivers the clearest and most reliable voice calls.

24/7/365 support

If you have a problem with your Voice API, you need it solved now, not tomorrow or next week. Your provider needs to deliver round-the-clock support as standard, so you can keep your application running around the clock. If a provider doesn’t offer this, it’s a no-go. You can’t afford to risk having your voice app shut down until your API provider comes in on Monday.

Seeing as your voice API provides a critical function for your apps, invest the time now to find an API with solid developer support, a powerful network, and the integrations you need to create the app you want.

You’ve done the research, built the product, designed the app. Don’t let your downfall be your Voice API.