Partner API Down? 5 Hidden Causes of Integration Failures That Require an Urgent Fix

But it’s important to remember that API failures aren’t technical accidents. They’re actually system failures, and they’re often completely avoidable with the right approach to software or web development.

Partner APIs are the foundation of successful business flows. But even seemingly stable integrations might be hiding a multitude of risks.

Global API downtime soared by 60% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the year before. We’re here to protect your business from such disasters, so let’s look at five of the potential integration failure causes that could be to blame.

1. Unclear Ownership and Accountability

Someone, or a group of people, should be charged with ensuring your APIs are monitored and maintained at all times. Otherwise, changes, deprecations, and many other issues may slip through the cracks.

Don’t assume that the issue always lies with the partner.

A number of issues can erode partner confidence and user trust in your product. Taking too long to detect failures, shifting blame during outages, and repeated incidents can all have a detrimental impact on your brand.

Assign clear ownership of API monitoring and maintenance. Every partner integration should have a dedicated steward. This person or group should be made responsible for ongoing monitoring, liaising with partners, coordinating updates, and escalation in the event of outages.

2. Poor Monitoring and Alert Processes

Basic uptime checks and waiting for partner alerts will only get you so far. They won’t alert you to the less serious issues that can develop over time. Perhaps data is being lost. Maybe responses are slowing gradually. Errors may be going under the radar because they’re not crashing the system. At least not yet.

Standard software and web development services can leave you in the dark — meaning problems are noticed by partners and users before your team becomes aware. This isn’t good news for either your partner relationships or the trust of your clients.

Incredibly, 17% of teams use no monitoring tools at all for their APIs . As a result, they operate with blind spots. Problems remain hidden until complaints start flooding in.

Be proactive. Monitor business outcomes with end-to-end tracing and anomaly alerts. Be aware of the tell-tale key metrics at play. And to really get on top of things, make all the necessary information freely available to leadership via dashboards.

3. Poor Change Management Practices

The lack of a process for change management can lead to serious API issues down the line. Functionality suddenly deteriorates, data gets lost, rules are broken, and partners lose confidence.

When partners change how data is structured or update features without telling you and coordinating the timing, issues can build quickly. Old, unused connections can stay hidden and cause issues later. And even when those issues arise, they’re often small at first — causing major trouble when scaling begins.

Fortunately, talented software developers and a shared schedule for changes can eradicate this issue without too much hassle or effort. Automate testing to ensure updates aren’t breaking anything, and create a clear process for introducing new versions and removing the old ones.

4. Poor Error Handling

Small problems can grow quickly when integrations don’t come with ways to handle temporary problems. Solutions such as automatically retrying failed connections, pausing due to overloads, and switching to backup options automatically can all prevent serious downtime. But they have to be agreed on and applied from the outset.

Web and software development that doesn’t handle errors in the ways mentioned above can lead to longer downtimes. As a result, your team could spend more time firefighting than focusing on core business objectives. Rather than improving and innovating, software developers end up fixing the same issues repeatedly.

According to a recent survey, around 42% of organizations say that poor resilience in API integrations is causing unexpected outages . But it really doesn’t have to be this way.

Build safeguards into the system from the start. Retry failed attempts automatically with the shortest of delays between them. Fall back to a safe mode when necessary. Stop sending requests temporarily when problems arise. And test by introducing small failures to ensure your system can continue to perform.

5. Not Learning from Issues and Mistakes

You fixed an API issue. That’s all well and good, but how do you stop it from happening again? Every problem should be used as a learning opportunity. Yes, it may take time and effort in the moment, but it could save you a lot of time and resources down the line.

At DigiNeat, we like to take the time to dig into the reasons why an incident occurred. We’re not bothered about the blame game. We hold frank and open discussions with all the relevant stakeholders to ensure the same issues don’t keep coming back to haunt us.

The solution is simple. Learn and grow. Use what you’ve learned to improve your processes, architecture, and ownership rules.

Hand Over API Integration Duties to an Experienced Software and Web Development Company

Premium software and web development services with an outcome-based approach should include a tried-and-tested approach to API integration that protects your revenues and minimizes your costs.

Talk to the DigiNeat team about your requirements during a free strategy session, and future-proof your API integrations for long-term business growth.