APIs are a global phenomenon, the lingua franca for international business. Now, with bold EU regulations and new entrants, the API industry continues to evolve in exciting directions. In this talk, I’ll outline seven major API economy shifts and describe what repercussions these have on how APIs are perceived, marketed, and elevated into business critical platform decisions. I’ll tackle major growth indicators, using public API data, and examining niche sectors, IPOs, and acquisitions in the API space as evidence. I’ll describe ground-breaking regulation affecting the global API game, such as GDPR and PSD2, outlining the incumbents these initiatives affect. I’ll also describe more subtle undercurrents such as the politics of important API legal issues as well as strides toward achieving open standards around API design. By the end, the viewer will have an introductory footing on the current and future global API landscape.

1. 7 Global Movements That Are
Evolving The Story of APIs
PRESENTED BY:
BILL
DOERRFELD
@DoerrfeldBill
AT:
Nordic APIs
Platform
Summit
Oct 2018 7 Global Movements That
Are Evolving The Story of
APIs

2. The Nordic APIs Community
API Tooling Specialists
API Consumers
Thought Leaders, Bloggers
API Owners, Practitioners
Blog, Digest
Events

3. Unique Economy Perspective

4. We're Storytellers

5. Exposition
aThe Classic Story Arc
Climax
Falling Action
Resolution
Rising Action
Act 1 Act 2 Act 3

6. What Are Its Rising Actions?
If The API Economy
Has A Story,

7. #1: Public
API Growth
...20,000 APIs And Counting

9. ● Size: 19,758 public web
APIs (ProgrammableWeb, June 2018 data)
● Velocity: Plateaued?
2005-2013 Huge growth
● Other Estimates:
● 50,000 - API Hound
● Other Approaches:
Partner, Private, not
seen.
● Nearly all industries
#1: 20,000 Public APIs

10. "APIs Hold Key To Digital Transformation"
– Forbes
The API Provider Rising Action:
"The Unsung Heroes of our Connected World"
– Visual Capitalist
Evidence of

11. #2: The API Space
Gets Acquired
…Enterprises Up Agility

12. #2: Acquisitions of API
Management Platforms
Redhat - acquisition of 3scale -
2016
Apigee acquired by Google - 2016 TIBCO acquires Mashery - 2015
Salesforce Acquires Mulesoft -
2018
Rogue Wave Software acquires
Akana - 2016
Oracle acquires Apiary - 2017

13. #2: From API to IPO

14. "...persistent appetite for API management"
– Tech Target
The API Economy Rising Action:
"APIs have emerged as big business"
- VentureBeat
Evidence of

15. #3: PSD2 Ushers The
Open Banking Wave
...All Bank APIs Hang Ten

16. ● PSD2: EU Banks must provide APIs
● CMA: UK's open banking initiative
● World-wide: Other players in North
America, Australia, Asia, and
worldwide respond
● Many new entrants
● FinTech: Excitement
#3: The Bank Becomes
Programmable

17. The Open Banking Rising Action:
"...persistent appetite for API management"
– Nordea
"300 FinTech Signups in 72 Hours"
– Gunnar Berger, Nordea
"API Thinking must replace API Doing"
- Flavia Sequeira, ING Bank
Evidence of

18. Intuitive banks are investing in microservices
design for delivering niche functionality
Decomposing The Bank
Case Study: CIBC is
homebrewing a microservices
framework.

19. (Bet You Didn't Hear)
#4: GDPR Happened
...Data Security Takes A Public Stage

20. #3: In Case You Didn't Receive
300 Emails About GDPR
● Another EU initiative with global
repercussions
● All about Data privacy
● Transparent breach notices
● New rules to only allow personal
data sharing with user consent

21. Awkward Timing...

22. #3: In Case You Didn't See Zuck's
Disappointed Dad Face 300 Times

23. What Means for API Owners?
With regulation and public outcry over data
breaches, data privacy has taken center
stage
• APIs that handle user data must comply
(Unless you want to separate geographical data sets - what a pain)
• Improve API security wherever possible
• Emphasis on API partner screening

24. #5: Blockchain
...API Economy Poised To Accelerate

25. The Blockchain Rising Action:
"...persistent appetite for API management"
– Nordea
"This process would be impossible without APIs."
– BBVA
"Blockchains Will Change the World"
- Fortune
Evidence of

26. #6: Google Vs Oracle
Verdict Leaves Industry Implications...

27. Court Case Timeline
● 2007: Google Announces use of Oracle
Java APIs in Android
● 2010: Oracle files lawsuit
● 2012: District court rules that APIs aren't
subject to copyright
● 2014: Decision overturned
● 2016: Ruling in Google favor
● 2018: Federal appeals court, rules in
favor of Oracle

28. The API Legal Rising Action:
"...persistent appetite for API management"
– Nordea
"Oracle vs Google case threatens foundations of
software design" - The Conversation
"
– Graph
"the case has already had a permanent effect on the
way developers build software"
- Wired

29. Implications:
● Java APIs ≠ SaaS APIs
● Are APIs Copyrightable?
● Can open source be copyrightable?
● Is unlicensed use permissible under U.S. fair use?

30. (Bet You Didn't Hear)
#7: From Empathic
Robots to Ghost Cities
API-Powered AI and IoT Turn
Future Into Reality

31. The AI Rising Action:
Evidence of
● AI recognition functionality
● New dev ecosystems
○ Voice assistants
■ Amazon's Smart Home Skill API
■ Google Assistant SDK
○ Chatbots
■ Facebook Messenger Platform
■ Slack: Bot, App ecosystem

32. The AI Rising Action:
"powerful technologies like machine learning and
A.I. -- accessed via open APIs -- [are now used] to
identify new opportunities, create new solutions
and solve problems in new ways altogether.""
– ComputerWorld
Evidence of

33. The IoT Rising Action:
Evidence of
● New dev ecosystems are emerging around IoT:
○ Smart Cities
○ Smart Home
○ Drones
■ DroneKit: SDK and web API to easily
develop apps for your drones.
■ Airmap: Open APIs to drone devs
■ Web-based remote sensing
■ Landmark Legislation: NJ

34. The IoT Rising Action:
"...persistent appetite for API management"
– Nordea
"APIs will glue together the Internet of things"
– Infoworld
"The Universe Is Programmable. We Need an API for
Everything"
- Wired
Evidence of

35. The IoT Rising Action:
Evidence of

36. We're Storytellers

37. Falling Action
Resolution
Act 3
So What
Happens In
Act 3?

38. API=Modern
Communication
The New Global B2B Lingua Franca

39. APIs Rock and Revive
APIs Continue To Enable Innovation
And Reinvent Brick And Mortar

40. API Tooling Space Grows
Responds To Meet New Entrants

41. API Strategy Is Refined
Developer Experience, Platform Strategy

42. API Security Becomes
Business Critical
Public APIs Hunker Down Access

43. API Standards Evolve
OpenAPI, GraphQL, gRPC, & others
Meet Needs Of New Tech

44. Interconnected Universe
Predictive Tech That
Improves Quality of Life

45. 7 Global Movements That Are
Evolving The Story of APIs
PRESENTED BY:
BILL
DOERRFELD
@DoerrfeldBill
AT:
Nordic APIs
Platform
Summit
Oct 2018
7 Global Movements That Are
Evolving The Story of APIs
Image Credits: Unsplash.com
THANK YOU!

46. a@DoerrfeldBill
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48. Come Say Hi!
...And Enjoy The Event!

49. 7 Global Movements That Are
Evolving The Story of APIs
PRESENTED BY:
BILL
DOERRFELD
@DoerrfeldBill
AT:
Nordic APIs
Platform
Summit
Oct 2018
7 Global Movements That Are
Evolving The Story of APIs
THANK YOU!