mobile

This guest post, written by Andy Thurai, originally appeared on Programmableweb. Andy is the Chief Architect & Group CTO for the Intel unit responsible for Cloud/ Application security, API, Big Data, SOA and Mobile middleware solutions. You can follow him on Twitter at @AndyThurai.

The journey of Netflix from DVD rental service to video streaming platform and ultimately API powerhouse is a timeless and instructive story of adaptability.

From humble beginnings, Netflix’s API skyrocketed and has remained strong even through the company’s difficulties. By continuing to strengthen its API strategy, Netflix can only increase its momentum going forward.

Image courtesy of lancekorsun.com

As business value continues to move toward data and its associated uses in 2013 – technology is following.  Here are Gartner's “Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2013,” are you ready?

After listening to the DreamForce 2012 Keynote address earlier this week it dawned on me that what the world has been experiencing in the last few years is nothing compared to what’s about to come.

Most people think of Facebooking or Tweeting is merely just a fun hobby or activity. For others it’s a business that is really still in its infancy.

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.

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.

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.

Six short years ago I started Mashery from a hotel lobby as an extension of how I thought I would scale my previous startup through these software connectors called APIs. That eventually became a daily lesson of teaching those I met with how to spell API, how to build one, and how to eventually double or triple their business online with these things. These days I don’t have to spell API very often, and in the past two years we’ve seen a phenomenal shift in the amount of knowledge about the importance of APIs inside the companies we work with.