Cisco DNA Center provides an extensible platform that Cisco customers and partners can use to create value added applications that can be built on top of its native capabilities. You can leverage the following Cisco DNA Center platform features to enhance the overall network experience by optimizing end-to-end IT processes, reducing the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), and developing new value networks:

• Intent APIs—The Intent APIs are Northbound REST APIs that expose specific capabilities of Cisco DNA Center platform. The Intent APIs provide policy-based abstraction of business intent, allowing you to focus on an outcome to achieve instead of struggling with the mechanisms that implement that outcome. The APIs conform to the REST API architectural style that are simple, extensible, secure to use and support the standard REST methods which includes the GET, POST, PUT and DELETE operations through HTTPS. For additional information, see Getting Started with the Cisco DNA Center Platform Intent API.

• Integration Flows—Integration capabilities are part of Westbound Interfaces. To meet the need to scale and accelerate operations in modern data centers, IT operators require intelligent, end-to-end work flows built with open APIs. Cisco DNA Center platform provides mechanisms for integrating Assurance workflows and data with third-party IT Service Management (ITSM) solutions. For additional information, see Integration APIs.

• Multivendor Support—Cisco DNA Center now allows customers to manage their non-Cisco devices. Multivendor support comes to Cisco DNA Center through the use of an SDK that can be used to create device packages for third-party devices. A device package enables Cisco DNA Center to communicate to third-party devices by mapping Cisco DNA Center features to their southbound protocols. For additional information, see Getting Started with DNA Center Multivendor SDK.

• Events and Notifications Services—Supported services are available for Cisco DNA Center SWIM events to be captured and forwarded onto third-party applications via a webhook URL. For additional information, see Getting Started with Webhooks on the DNA Center Platform.

Note	The Cisco DNA Center platform application is only accessible to a super admin user. You can log in and view the Cisco DNA Center platform capabilities, as well as perform actions through its UI only after logging in as a super admin user.

The Intent APIs are Northbound REST APIs that expose specific capabilities of Cisco DNA Center platform. The Intent APIs provide policy-based abstraction of business intent, allowing you to focus on an outcome to achieve instead of struggling with the mechanisms that implement that outcome.

The APIs conform to the REST API architectural styles that are simple, extensible, and secure to use and support the standard REST methods which includes the GET, POST, PUT and DELETE operations though HTTPS. A REST endpoint accepts and returns HTTPS messages that contain JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) documents. You can use any programming language to generate the messages and the JSON documents that contain the API methods. These APIs are governed by the Cisco DNA Center Role Based Access Control (RBAC) rules and as a security measure require the user to authenticate successfully prior to using the API.

The Intent APIs are listed in the API catalog located in the Cisco DNA Center platform GUI. To view a list of the APIs in the GUI, after deploying Cisco DNA Center platform click the Platform tab > Developer Toolkit > APIs.

Note	For additional information about Intent APIs, see Intent APIs. For general information about APIs used by the Cisco DNA Center platform, see Cisco DNA Center Platform Overview.

The Integration Flows allow Cisco DNA Center to integrate seamlessly into cross-functional IT domains, e.g. IT Service Management (ITSM), IT Operations Management (ITOM) based Reporting, and IP Address Management (IPAM). These integrations are critical as they help with the following items: (1) operationalize many events and insights that arise out of Cisco DNA Center and (2) close loop the entire IT value chain. Such integrations are key as they minimize the needs for manual hand-offs between network engineers and IT staff, allow issue de-duplication resulting in faster remediation, and eventually optimize various IT processes.

Note	Cisco DNA Center platform supports the IT4IT™ Reference Architecture, including standards for events, incidents, problems, and request for changes. For additional information about IT4IT™, see http://www.opengroup.org/it4it/about.

For additional information about Integration APIs, see Integration APIs.

Cisco DNA Center now allows users to manage their non-Cisco devices. Multivendor support is available to Cisco DNA Center in the form of an SDK that can used to create device packs for third-party devices. The device package enables Cisco DNA Center to understand how to communicate to the third-party device by encapsulating the southbound protocol used to communicate with the device.

Note	For additional information about Cisco DNA Center Multivendor SDK support, see Multivendor Support and Getting Started with Cisco DNA Center Multivendor SDK.

Cisco DNA Center platform supports the ability to receive custom notifications when specific events are triggered. This is valuable for third-party systems that take business actions based upon event type. For example, when a device in the network is out of compliance, a custom application may want to receive notifications and execute a software upgrade action.