The past few years have seen an abundance of milestones for ECE’s ongoing technology revolution. Child Care Management Systems have become more common among providers, dozens of states and large municipalities have replaced their outdated legacy infrastructure, and the experiences of providers and families are getting better at every level of the system. Through it all, one theme has remained constant: interoperability is the new industry standard. 

But what is it, really? Why is it such a big deal? What’s the next step on this journey toward streamlined systems, better data, and increased efficiency? Let’s pull back the curtain a bit and get to the bottom of it. 

A Big Word for a Simple Concept

No, you’re not alone for wanting some clarity on this. Interoperability is one of those seven-syllable technoterms that just sounds complicated. Like the kind of thing that only an IT person would care about. But all it really means in practice is the ability of a software system to exchange and make use of information. It’s essentially just a stand-in for “a system’s ability to play nice with other systems.” 

Before you understand interoperability, though, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with another word: integrations. Integrations are the in-the-weeds “how” of the information exchange happens. We are surrounded by integrations in our daily lives. When you buy something from Amazon and Alexa tells you your shipment has been delivered, that’s the result of multiple integrations between Amazon’s order system, UPS/USPS, and the device. When you use something like Venmo or Apple Pay or the Cash app, you’re using software that’s integrated with your bank’s systems so you can move funds around. When you pick up a prescription at the pharmacy, their system verifies your insurance coverage and copay through an integration with your insurance company’s system. You get the point. 

Once we have a handle on what those two words mean, the practical implications for ECE systems start to reveal themselves. If the data already exists somewhere, let’s not ask people to enter it again somewhere else. As a provider, I don’t want to update my vacancies in three different systems. As a parent, I don’t want to have to compare a licensing database from one site and a quality database from another just to figure out whether I feel comfortable sending my child somewhere. As a CCR&R specialist or state agency team, I don’t want to export reports from half a dozen different systems only to put the data together in Excel so I can actually do something with it.  

With interoperable systems, we have fewer logins, more automation, less redundant data entry, and cleaner, more reliable data at every step. 

Become Integration Literate

One of the most common points of confusion when it comes to the interoperability conversation is the “how” behind it. Let’s start from a common understanding of the most common types of integration.

API (Application Programming Interface)

Think of an API as a kind of Rosetta Stone for a software program. If a system “has an API,” that means it features an interface that other systems can use to access its data, including an accompanying reference manual (API documentation) that provides visibility into how that data is labeled and categorized, along with other important technical information. API endpoints refer to the specific web addresses where particular pieces of data or functionality can be accessed. If the API is a hotel, its endpoints are the individual rooms within that hotel. 

So when you hear software vendors talking about “building an API integration,” what they’re doing is writing code that creates a bridge between two systems, leveraging that API interface to access or change data. The act of using that bridge is referred to as a “call.” For example, if I am using software integrated with Google Translate, and I change the language I want a page to display in, that software is sending an API call to Google requesting the translation services. If I’m onboarding a new provider in my licensing system, that system might send an API call to the state’s background check system for the candidate’s status.

APIs are the preferred integration approach when you need real-time data on demand or you have recurring needs for small data transactions (like one record at a time). 

Webhooks

If APIs are the go-to integration for “pulling” data from one system into another, webhooks are its “push” counterpart. Think of these as little monitors embedded in the code that perform an automated action when a predefined trigger event occurs. This is the alert you get on your phone when your favorite football team scores a touchdown or the text you get when your pizza is done. 

Webhooks are a key part of interoperability, often serving as the mechanism for the “if this, then that” kind of automations at the heart of most processes and workflows that touch multiple systems. 

SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol)

SFTP is kind of the unsung hero of the interoperability world. It’s not as sexy as an API, but in our experience it does a lot of the heavy lifting, especially for more complex, state-level projects. Where APIs are great for calling data when you need it, SFTP is typically the more effective way to transfer whole files and large batches of data at a scheduled cadence. This type of integration is common for nightly data syncs; e.g. a child care search tool might update its provider listings with vacancy data and changes to licensing status overnight. 

The way it works is that a data file is automatically exported from the originating system to an SFTP server. The system receiving that data knows to look for the file at a certain time (hourly, nightly, weekly, whatever makes the most sense for the specific scenario). It takes in that file, validating and overwriting data in bulk to match any changes from what currently exists in the system, syncing with the source of truth to keep information consistent across platforms. The most obvious analogy is a secure dropbox only accessible by the person sending the “packages” and the person receiving them (not to be confused with the Dropbox platform, which uses its own protocols for file sharing). 

How Can You Create a More Interoperable System?

We always say that we don’t know what we don’t know. Now that you are familiar with the terminology and have a couple examples in mind, you can start thinking about where interoperability would help your organization. From internal workflows to family- and provider-facing resources, there are bound to be efficiencies that haven’t yet been unlocked. 

If you’re entering the same data in multiple places, start asking your vendors what they can do about it. If you’re evaluating your options to better serve families and providers or improve your team’s efficiency, make sure interoperability is a part of that discussion. Yesterday’s systems were self-contained, designed to do one thing but not built with the bigger picture in mind. The solutions of tomorrow are intertwined, delivering on the promise of modern experiences and functionality within the context of our early childhood landscape.