API

If an API never really launched, will anybody notice when it’s withdrawn? In the case of the Google Weather API, at least, the answer is a quiet yes.

As our modern-day society evolves into a more interconnected ecosystem via ubiquitous Internet connectivity and the adoption of diverse device usage, we are also noticing that there is growing demand for quality developers and programmers. This trend of a more forward-thinking digital society has driven companies to not only realize, but also prioritize developments in creating faster, more efficient and user-friendly digital services and applications.

Some of my favorite stories emerging from the app economy are those of apps that actually created platforms. In most cases, these platforms emerge from vision and strategy where the backend driving the app can and should be available to serve a larger ecosystem. The following stories are of companies that saw the potential of their functionality beyond their own successful apps.

Functionality infusion with Sincerely

Friday we reflected on multichannel expansion as a key business driver for retailers at eTail Boston this month, by comparing it to the technology recommendations of the analyst community. One fantastic point that Brian Walker touches on in his talk is that businesses in general cannot keep up with all of the emerging digital touch points in today’s market. Retailers are looking for strategies to reach customers across the rapidly growing array of channels most consumers touch daily: mobile, social, word of mouth, as well as traditional Web and traditional channels.

One period of my career that I always try to keep in mind was my time with Salesforce.com. It was 2002—the economy was in lockdown mode and everyone was looking for innovation on a budget. I started selling Salesforce Automation (SFA) as a multi-tenant SaaS solution, and it turned out to be exactly the right offering for the right market at the right time.

In the past year, we’ve seen a surge in mobile devices and smartphones plunging into mainstream, giving millions of people the capability to browse the Internet, watch movies and stream music anywhere, without ever having to find a place to sit down and boot up a laptop or desktop. In fact, in a recent Gartner report, worldwide sales of mobile phones to end users reached a whopping 419 million units in the second quarter of 2012, where open OS smartphone devices made up over 36.7% of all mobile device sales.

Platforms have become a driver of new technologies, businesses and economies. Many in our industry focus on companies looking to enable others to create and deploy on existing foundations. And so a lot of media attention goes to APIs that generate innovation, energy and attention from third party developers in what we call the “App Economy”. Yet, many platforms have been generating revenue with the simple strategy of selling access to their valuable data.

I’m always amazed to hear how fast things happen in the technology industry. It’s true—entire platforms can go from revolution to obsolete seemingly overnight, and we all know of companies that burned bright as startups and then went bankrupt in the blink of an eye. This is what keeps our world so exciting. It’s the new thing, the next thing, the bigger-faster-cheaper model taken to extremes.

There aren’t many issues left that we can see in terms of black and white. Everything has nuance—there are shades and complexities, levels of acceptance, and so on.

Here’s an exception. If you handle credit card data, your product or service is either PCI-compliant, or it’s not. Period.

I know this isn’t a fun topic. You want to focus on launching a commerce API but instead you spend time on figuring out how to comply with a long list of confusing rules. It’s a hassle and an obstacle. But it’s also vital.

There’s no arguing that the 2012 London Olympics are the most connected games ever. Via television, Web, radio or Twitter, the up-to-the-minute updates are pervasive. A sheer platitude of Olympic apps and gizmos offer up various bite-sized updates tailored to many tastes. All this, of course, comes courtesy of various APIs from news and other data sources. But are apps alone enough to deliver this data?

What makes a firm stronger than its competitors? Many things, of course: better products, better distribution, a better brand, more efficient manufacturing, and so on. But in the post-website, apps-everywhere economy, one technology powers all of these.

That it goes by the cocktail-party-conversation-killing name of “application programming interface”—or its equally unsexy acronym—is unfortunate (not least of all for those of us in the API management industry). But that doesn’t change the important new reality:

APIs are now the primary source of competitive advantage in business.

I’ve been blogging recently about how APIs are the New Currency. There are many factors in this equation, but one industry literally illustrates the changes I’m describing: financial services.

Companies in this arena have been all over the map in adapting to change. From putting ATMs in non-banking locations to deploying mobile applications, it’s often been a story of resistance followed by embrace. That’s because every change has required relinquishing control, broadening boundaries and taking risks, and for many that’s a tall order.

In my previous blog post, I said that APIs were the New Currency. Well, that triggered some interesting responses from the statusphere, like this one:

“Jordan Elpern-Waxman @mashery doesn't know what currency means. Currency needs liquidity and exchangeability. APIs are valuable but not currency “

From my vantage point, it’s been fascinating to see the evolution in how others see what we do.

Here at Mashery, we admire the trendsetting that our customers bring to their markets. This year, creating APIs as products is one of the ways we see customers pushing the envelope in their markets. APIs as products help companies scale across new channels at rapid speeds because they simplify how developers discover, use and compensate companies for their products via APIs.