Case USA4: How an eCommerce Platform Mistook API Exposure for Enterprise Architecture Maturity

This case is part of a 100-diagnostic series exposing how US enterprises have mislabeled operational wins as “Enterprise Architecture progress” for over two decades.

Across sectors, a recurring illusion is mistaking API exposure for true enterprise architecture maturity.

Leading eCommerce platforms opened their systems to merchants and developers, accelerating partner onboarding and integration variety.

Yet, without a modeled enterprise structure, APIs became patchwork gateways that surfaced inconsistent business rules and duplicated logic.

P1–P6 Insight Preview: 

APIs improved integration touchpoints (P3) and supported faster implementation cycles (P5), but failed to connect to a coherent enterprise strategy (P1) or shared process architecture (P2).

Business and tech operations (P6) became reactive, chasing inconsistencies created by uncontrolled integrations.

Role Disconnects:

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