Presentation on the progress of the API Economy given at the API Meetup in Seoul Korea 8th April, 2014, Organized by Daum.net

1. Progress in the API
Economy
Steven Willmott
3scale Inc.
@njyx, @3scale

2. 3scale is…
API
Infrastructure
Provider
!
Power 350+
APIs
!
110,000
Developers
writing Apps
!
API Tech Operations
API Business
Operations
Developer Support
(Selection)
3scale.net

3. Also Check Out…
New service for
developers
!
Track
Transform
Analyze
API Traffic
!
http://www.apitools.com

4. 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

5. Topics
Numbers
Three Drivers of Adoption
What people are doing and why
Where are we going with the API Economy?
Technology
Conclusions

6. What do you mean API?
& API Economy

7. 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. ”

8. Proceed with Caution :)

9. Numbers
Programmable 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?

10. Numbers: Mobile Apps
1 Million IOS Apps (Oct 2013)
1.19 Million Android Apps (Now / AppBrain)
How Many are
Calling an API
Backend?
10%? 5%?
20%

11. Example: Evernote Platform
Evernote “feels”
like an App
But it is a
platform
Many successful
Apps are

12. Three Drivers of API
Adoption
Mobile HTML5
B2B
Integration

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

14. Business Integration
SOA often 1-1, This is
1-n
Replacing SOAP and
In-house custom
Supplier / Provider /
Customer Integrations
B2B
Integration

15. 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

16. Examples

17. What People Are Doing with
APIs and Why…
Mobile
Backend
Customer
Ecosystem
Partner
Ecosystem
API As a
Business
Internal
Innovation
Content
Distribution
Transaction
Distribution

18. Mobile Backend
Support OS’s: IOS, Android,
Windows, Blackberry, HTML5
Auto generated (e.g. Parse,
Kinvey)
Often Naked & Security by
Obscurity
Business Driver: enables
mobile
Mobile
Backend

19. Customer Ecosystem
e.g. Salesforce, Box,
Dropbox
Customer gets primary
value - boosts product
value
Business Driver: drives up-
sell & loyalty
Customer
Ecosystem

20. Partner Ecosystem
e.g. Evernote, Twitter,
Amazon AWS
Partners add reach and
functionality
Business Driver: improves
product reach and richness
Partner
Ecosystem

21. 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

22. Transaction Distribution
e.g. Walgreens, Target,
eBay, Expedia, Amazon…
APIs enable Business
Transactions on Company
Core business model
Business Drier: drive
transactions
Transaction
Distribution

23. 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

24. Internal Innovation
e.g. Construction
companies, retail, banks, …
Rewire internal data
pathways, empower
developers
Business Drier: make the
company more agile
Internal
Innovation

25. Organization API Cycle

26. New
Audience
Market
Acceleration
New
Building
Blocks
API
Consumers
The API Economy Cycle
Individual
APIs
API
Providers

27. Technology

28. • API Design
• Access Control
• Rate Limits
• Security
• Scaling
• Documentation
• Lifecycle
• Versioning
Technology Individual
!
!
Challenges Vendors
Vendors & Open Source Cover Most of the Stack

29. • 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

30. Conclusions

31. 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

32. 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)

33. Get More Informed
APICodex: http://apicodex.3scale.net/
API Academy: http://www.apiacademy.co/
Apigee API Resources: http://www.slideshare.net/
apigee

34. 3scale: http://www.3scale.net
APItools: http://www.apitools.com
APICodex: http://apicodex.3scale.net

35. The API Economy is
Emerging… Join In!
Contact:
http://www.3scale.net
@njyx - steve@3scale.net