data

Photo courtesy of zegosoft.com

I recently discussed what data/content enterprises can open up to the public through APIs.  This week, I want to discuss the customer and/or partner API tier.  This tier covers data that is too important to the enterprise to be made public, but is very useful to its customers and/or partners. 

Photo courtesy of Asigra.com

The term “big data” continues to make headlines across the tech and business worlds, but what is it exactly and how can it help companies reach their full potential?

A few weeks ago, I wrote about an API strategy specific to enterprise needs.  The strategy discussed in that post is one of dividing data into tiers.  Large companies have virtual landfills full of data, but not all company data is the same.  Some is public, some is for customers only and some is for internal use only.  The API strategy should reflect that.  It should have different tiers that are meant for different users.

Did you know that your digital data isn’t just for those you follow on Twitter or people on your friends list on Facebook?  There is a large, growing and yet unregulated market for your digital information. It’s not uncommon for data about you to be consumed by your doctor’s office, your car or even your refrigerator.

API’s are driving tremendous innovation. This isn’t news. The news, as it would be, comes in the daily twists and turns of that innovation as we rewrite the laws, rules and mores of social interaction, ownership and privacy, etched into design and use of APIs and API architecture. Why?

In July 2011, the Poynter Institute, the go-to resource for breeding the next generation of journalists and other media creatures, took on the task of telling its audience about the birds and the bees.

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

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?

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.