Systems | Development | Analytics | API | Testing

Mobile apps aren’t just another digital touchpoint anymore – they’re the front line. Whether you’re banking, booking a ride, ordering dinner, or catching up on emails, it’s happening on your phone. But when things go wrong, customers don’t wait around. According to PwC, 32% of customers would stop doing business with a brand they love after just one bad experience.

In today’s software landscape, APIs are more than just a technical interface, they’re the connective tissue of modern digital products. Organizations embracing API-first strategies aren’t just producing better APIs – they’re fueling faster innovation, scalable architectures, and smoother collaboration across teams. But transitioning to an API-first strategy isn’t always a smooth ride.

At SmartBear, we celebrate innovators in software testing who make a real impact on their teams. The Automation All-Star Award celebrates the pioneers using SmartBear Zephyr’s no-code automation to achieve transformative results. We’re thrilled to share the stories of this year’s winner, RAC Motoring Services, and our fantastic finalists: Capgemini, Infor PSSC, Pepper Money, and the Center for Sustainable Energy (CSE).

This article originally appeared on SD Times on May 30, 2025. We’re sharing it here for our audience who may have missed it. The headlines are seductive: AI will replace developers. Coding is dead. Ship 10x faster with half the team. It’s the kind of hype that grabs attention and fuels confusion.

Your business isn’t slowing down, and neither can your API strategy. For teams navigating digital transformation and laying the groundwork for AI-readiness, APIs sit at the core. Yet for many organizations, the challenge isn’t why APIs matter – it’s how to deliver them consistently, securely, and at scale. Bridging the gap between strategy and execution is what sets forward-looking teams apart.

Bugs that slip through testing and reach production can derail even the most well-planned software release. The key to avoiding costly fixes and downtime? Catching issues early – before they impact users. Pre-production testing is vital, but without the right level of error visibility, identifying the root cause of failures can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack.

By 2025, many QA teams have doubled down on automation. They’re running more tests than ever, collecting more results, and generating more data. And yet… they’re still facing the same challenges. Bugs are still found late in the cycle, release decisions are still delayed, which leads to production costs inflating. Even with all the dashboards and reports in place, there’s often still one big question left hanging: Where to focus on next?

Earlier this year, SmartBear acquired QMetry, a move that’s more than just a strategic acquisition. This move reflects a deeper commitment to enterprise customers – helping teams: As Product leader of Test Management at SmartBear, I’ve had the opportunity to help define our roadmap. Our vision for QA teams is clear: empower them to deliver better quality and build confidence – and consistently hit release deadlines.

In today’s API-driven world, strong API design is key to building reliable and scalable services. Without structure or standardization, the design phase can quickly spiral into chaos. Common problems like misaligned teams, tightly coupled systems, code duplication, and inconsistent standards begin to snowball. This causes delays, poor customer experiences, and in some cases, long-term technical debt that becomes a serious business risk.