In our previous article we talked about Synthetic Monitoring—a technique used to automate the testing and monitoring of resources by performing simulated user interactions and API calls. Now we're going to look at a complimentary technique called real-user monitoring which takes a more passive hands-off approach.

Testing uptime, response time, and other performance metrics in applications can take a few different shapes. One common technique is an approach known as synthetic monitoring. This form of performance monitoring doesn't rely on real users interacting with a service, and instead uses automated tools to mimic interactions. Then, the results are recorded and parsed just like other solutions.

Some APIs provide data we benefit from. Others are hooks into an ecosystem that our users find valuable, and others provide features that are difficult to build. What happens when we need access to data that users expect, but an API doesn’t exist? Maybe you’re building an automotive application that would benefit from pulling driving statistics from the user’s car, but the manufacturer’s API is private.

FinTech isn't new, but the reach of its usefulness continues to spread into unexpected areas. One such area is card issuing. Card issuing is the ability of financial institutions to issue debit or credit cards—either physical or virtual. This might not seem like much, but when combined with new business needs and consumer trends we start to see interesting use cases crop up.