Third party APIs are something which are mostly out of our hands. While fixing it entirely does not fall in our basket we can try a few things: 1. Check the number of requests made simultaneously and figure out legitimate calls, which can probably affect the response time. 2. Avoid making calls for fetching the same information. Use cache to store API responses. 3. Check if fine tuning parameters can help in getting better response time. 4. If all the above does not work, reach out to concerned 3rd party's forum for feedback.

When third-party APIs slow you down, it's all about smart workarounds. Here’s how to minimize disruption: Evaluate alternatives: Always keep a backup plan with more reliable API providers to switch when needed. Implement caching: Cache frequent API responses locally to limit dependence on the service and improve speed. Optimize requests: Queue and batch API calls to avoid rate limits, staggering them when needed to prevent bottlenecks.

As others have addressed, it is crucial to find alternative sources who could provide the function as well. While caching is a good way to reduce the impact of inconsistent availability, it may not suit certain ecosystems, for instance, if the third party API is a payment gateway system whom you rely upon for transactions rather than just reads. If you do manage to find alternatives, employing a circuit breaker architecture which detects downtime, breaks the circuit, monitors for uptime, patches the circuit back would be ideal, even better if it is smart to get the best of all systems by distributing transactions. If there are unfortunately no alternatives, I'd invest in building the capability itself and reduce external reliance.

I am assuming these are web services provided by the 3rd party vendor. - Setup monitoring tools like Nagios and have the monitoring scripts call the health check APIs of the 3rd party service/API. When there is a complete service interruption or the response times are slower from the APIs, alert your internal operations team to take some action. Keep the 3rd party vendor informed about this. - Ask the 3rd party vendor whether they have a high availability setup for the APIs. If not, express the risk involved for your business otherwise. - Fully try to understand the API gateway policies of the vendor and try to negotiate for a better deal. Something like use more for lesser cost. - Understand those specific APIs that performs complex tasks.

When it comes to selecting third-party APIs, do your homework and protect yourself. Dive into their support forums for devs and see if there are a lot of complaints about slowness or awkward implementations because the API is hard to use. If things look good on that front, see if there is some kind of Service Level Agreement (SLA) that you can work with the provider. A provider not willing to back up their service with some level of uptime should be approached cautiously. Established providers who are leaders in their space may not 5 9's of reliability and uptime, but they can usually guarantee something. Lastly, just make sure the API service level you pick will not only meet today's needs but tomorrow's success. Give room to grow.

1. Caching: Implement caching to store responses from third-party APIs. This reduces the number of direct calls and speeds up retrieval times for repeated requests. 2. Rate Limiting: Enforce rate limits to prevent your application from overwhelming the third-party API. Use tools that throttle requests to maintain performance. 3. Asynchronous Calls: Use asynchronous processing for API calls. This way, your system doesn’t wait idly and can handle other tasks while awaiting API responses. 4. Monitoring and Alerts: Set up monitoring and alerting to track API performance and failures. This helps you identify bottlenecks and respond quickly.

To address slowdowns caused by third-party APIs, I focus on high-quality, low-level design for adaptability. This ensures that APIs can be switched seamlessly without impacting the system. Additionally, I reduce API call frequency by caching responses where possible, providing quick access to frequently requested data without repeatedly hitting the API. Using a data interface also helps store essential information, allowing the system to function smoothly even if the API experiences downtime. Together, these strategies maintain system resilience and performance, offering users a stable experience regardless of third-party fluctuations.

I would implement caching to store frequent responses, reducing repeat requests. Additionally, I’d use asynchronous or background processing for non-urgent calls, ensuring smoother user experiences and less dependency on the third-party’s response times. If possible, I’d set up fallback options or retries to handle occasional API timeouts gracefully.