What is a key characteristic of application level integrations?

The characteristic of application-level integrations involves the interaction via APIs with external data. Application-level integrations focus on how software applications communicate with each other to exchange data in real time or near real-time. This interaction occurs through APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), which define the methods and data formats that applications can use to communicate with each other.

APIs facilitate dynamic data exchanges and enable seamless functionality between different systems, allowing for improved efficiency and responsiveness in applications. Therefore, they are essential for integration scenarios where applications need to keep their data synchronized or leverage services from other systems on-the-fly.

The other options, while they may describe various integration methods or characteristics, do not accurately capture the essence of application-level integrations as defined by the API-based communication nature.