Backend
API Development, Design & Integration
APIs designed as durable contracts, well-documented, versioned and secure, so consumers can build on them with confidence.
An API is a long-lived contract, and every consumer that builds against it makes it harder to change carelessly. We design APIs that are consistent, predictable and well-documented, whether that is REST, GraphQL or event streams, so integration is straightforward and breaking changes are rare. Good API design is as much about the developer experience of your consumers as it is about the code behind it.
Stable contracts
versioning that lets you evolve without breaking consumers
Faster integration
clear docs and conventions that shorten consumer onboarding
Secure by default
standard auth, rate limiting and validation built in
API design and standards
We design APIs contract-first, agreeing the shape with consumers before writing the implementation. Consistent resource naming, error formats, pagination and status codes mean developers can predict how the API behaves without reading every endpoint. We choose REST, GraphQL or event-driven styles based on the actual access patterns rather than preference.
- Contract-first design with OpenAPI or GraphQL schemas
- Consistent conventions for errors, paging and filtering
- Versioning strategy that avoids breaking consumers
- Choosing REST, GraphQL or events per use case
Integration and system connectivity
Most enterprise value comes from connecting systems that were never designed to talk to each other. We build integrations that handle the messy reality of third-party APIs, rate limits, retries, partial failures and inconsistent data, so your workflows stay reliable. Where appropriate we introduce an integration or gateway layer to decouple consumers from backend churn.
- Third-party and SaaS integration
- Webhooks and event-driven integration
- API gateway and BFF patterns
- Legacy system and data connectivity
Security, access and governance
APIs are a primary attack surface, so we secure them with proven mechanisms, OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect, scoped access tokens, and rate limiting to protect against abuse. Input validation and sensible defaults guard against the common OWASP API risks. For regulated data we keep processing and storage in Australian regions where residency applies.
- OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect authentication
- Scoped authorisation and rate limiting
- Input validation against OWASP API risks
- Audit logging for sensitive operations
Documentation and developer experience
An API is only as good as its documentation. We produce accurate, generated reference docs plus the guides and examples that get a new consumer to their first successful call quickly. Well-documented APIs reduce support load and speed up every integration that follows.
Frequently asked questions
- REST or GraphQL for our API?
- REST remains the right default for most public and service-to-service APIs, it is simple, cacheable and universally understood. GraphQL shines when clients need to fetch varied, nested data in one round trip, such as rich mobile or single-page apps, at the cost of more complex caching and rate limiting. We often use REST for platform APIs and GraphQL as a client-facing aggregation layer.
- How do you handle API versioning without breaking existing consumers?
- We design for backwards-compatible change first, adding fields rather than changing them, so most evolution needs no new version. When a breaking change is unavoidable we version explicitly, run old and new versions in parallel, and give consumers a clear deprecation timeline with communication. The aim is that consumers upgrade on their schedule, not ours.
- Can you build APIs on top of our existing systems and databases?
- Yes. A common pattern is to put a clean, well-designed API in front of legacy systems so new applications integrate against a modern contract while the underlying systems stay untouched. This decouples consumers from the legacy schema and gives you room to modernise the backend later without disrupting the applications built on the API.
Related services
- Backend DevelopmentBackend systems designed for correctness, scale and the day-to-day reality of operating them in production.
- Cloud ConsultingIndependent cloud strategy, architecture and migration guidance grounded in what actually runs well in production.
- DevOpsCI/CD, infrastructure as code and observability that let your teams ship faster without trading away safety.
Industries we serve
- RetailUnified commerce that keeps stock, price and customer data consistent across web, app and store. We build the platforms that let Australian retailers sell everywhere without the operational chaos.
- LogisticsSoftware built for the depot, the cab and the loading dock, not just the office. We build tracking, dispatch and field apps that keep working across Australia's patchy regional connectivity.
- GovernmentSecure, accessible digital services that meet the standards Australian government actually holds you to. We build for IRAP assessment, the Essential Eight and data sovereignty from day one.
From the blog
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