Progress in the API Economy

Steven Willmott 3scale Inc. @njyx, @3scale

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Infrastructure Provider

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API State of the Ecosystem Decks

See John Musser for definitive updates:

http://www.infoq.com/presentations/Open-APIs-State-of-the-Market

http://www.slideshare.net/jmusser/j-musser-apishotnotgluecon2012

Topics

Numbers

Three Drivers of Adoption

What people are doing and why

Where are we going with the API Economy?

Technology

Conclusions

What do you mean API? & API Economy

Definitions

API: “An interface to a software component that can be invoked at a distance over a communications network using standards based technologies.”

API Economy: “The emerging economic effects enabled by companies, governments, non-profits and individuals using APIs to provide direct programmable access to their systems and processes. ”

Proceed with Caution :)

NumbersProgrammable Web grew 20-30% YoY - less than before

Directories cannot keep up easily

Many APIs are private / semi private

10x (or maybe many more) are out there

11254 (Public) APIs

10x that many

Private APIs?

Numbers: Mobile Apps1 Million IOS Apps (Oct 2013)

1.19 Million Android Apps (Now / AppBrain)

How Many are Calling an API

Backend?

10%? 5%? 20%

Example: Evernote Platform

Evernote “feels” like an App

But it is a platform

Many successful Apps are

Three Drivers of API Adoption

Mobile HTML5 B2B Integration

Mobile

Network Backends for Apps Multi-Platform Hardware (e.g. multi-channel retail, TVs, gadgets)

Mobile

Business Integration

SOA often 1-1, This is 1-n Replacing SOAP and In-house custom Supplier / Provider / Customer Integrations

B2B Integration

HTML5 & Single Page Apps

Bridging Mobile and Web development together

Single Page Apps are new to the game

HTML5

Improvements to Hypermedia Controls

Speeded up development time

Offline Cache

Examples

What People Are Doing with APIs and Why…

Mobile Backend

Customer Ecosystem

Partner Ecosystem

API As a Business

Internal Innovation

Content Distribution

Transaction Distribution

Mobile BackendSupport OS’s: IOS, Android, Windows, Blackberry, HTML5

Auto generated (e.g. Parse, Kinvey)

Often Naked & Security by Obscurity

Business Driver: enables mobile

Mobile Backend

Customer Ecosystem

e.g. Salesforce, Box, Dropbox

Customer gets primary value - boosts product value

Business Driver: drives up-sell & loyalty

Customer Ecosystem

Partner Ecosystem

e.g. Evernote, Twitter, Amazon AWS

Partners add reach and functionality

Business Driver: improves product reach and richness

Partner Ecosystem

Content Distribution

e.g. EPSN, BBC, IGN, Pearson, Xignite, Factual

API Clients are channel partners for content syndication & delivery

Business Driver: syndication fees, reach, user convenience

Content Distribution

Transaction Distribution

e.g. Walgreens, Target, eBay, Expedia, Amazon…

APIs enable Business Transactions on Company Core business model

Business Drier: drive transactions

Transaction Distribution

API As a Business

e.g. Twilio, Paypal, Stripe, Sendgrid…

API is essentially the core business of the company, call the API and activate a function

Business Driver: sell access to API Transactions

API As a Business

Internal Innovation

e.g. Construction companies, retail, banks, …

Rewire internal data pathways, empower developers

Business Drier: make the company more agile

Internal Innovation

Organization API Cycle

New Audience

Market Acceleration

New Building Blocks

API Consumers

The API Economy Cycle

Individual APIs

API Providers

Technology

• API Design • Access Control • Rate Limits • Security • Scaling • Documentation • Lifecycle • Versioning

Technology Individual

!!

Challenges Vendors

Vendors & Open Source Cover Most of the Stack

• Many APIs & Apps - little cohesion • Competing Technology • Competing Design Partners • Directories by no Search • Tight v’s Loose binding • Real time joining the Mix • Ecosystem Instability from some

players • Copyright • API Apocalyse of Client code to be

written

Technology Collective

• REST / SOAP / Hypermedia - Twitter, WS-REST, API-Craft

• General Best Practice: http://apistrategyconference.com

• oAuth: IETF • openID Connect: http://openid.net/

connect/ • Copyright and Service Descriptions:

http://www.apicommons.org/

Challenges Conversations

Vendors & Open Source Still Very Early

Conclusions

Very Exciting Times!

100’s new API Requests /

Month (3scale)

Technology Solidifying

Convergence between Internal

and External Use-Cases

Tools Getting Better

Starting to Look at

Ecosystem Problems

More Smart People Involved

You can make a difference!Technology is not static

APIs are early & experimental

Apps are evolving all the time

Best practice is shifting

(* Photo Credit Alfred Leete)

Get More Informed

APICodex: http://apicodex.3scale.net/

API Academy: http://www.apiacademy.co/

Apigee API Resources: http://www.slideshare.net/apigee

3scale: http://www.3scale.net APItools: http://www.apitools.com

APICodex: http://apicodex.3scale.net

The API Economy is Emerging… Join In!

Contact:

http://www.3scale.net @njyx - steve@3scale.net