What can be done with an API is limited only by imagination. However, what should be done using your API may have a more definable answer. Whether you are planning to leverage your API to extend your business model into new channels or to capture new revenue, it is The Business of APIs.

1. Open
APIs:
State
of
the
Market
John
Musser,
ProgrammableWeb
Business
of
APIs
Conference,
Nov
16th,
2009

2. Introduc7on
ProgrammableWeb.com
• Launched
summer
2005
• API
directory,
news,
community,
reference
• 1,500+
Web
APIs

3. Open
APIs:
State
of
the
Market
• Why
do
we
care?
• Where
is
the
growth?
• How
are
they
moneDzing?
• What
makes
a
winning
API?

4. Open
APIs:
Why
Bother?
• Make
money
 60%
of
all
lisDngs
on
eBay.com
added
via
their
APIs
 6
billion
API
calls
per
month
• Save
money
 SmugMug
saves
>
$500K/year
with
Amazon
S3
Storage
• Build
brand
 Google
Maps
300%
growth
vs
20%
MapQuest
• Move
to
the
cloud
 Over
50%
of
all
transacDons
via
their
API
• Disrupt
markets
 10,000
applicaDons
in
6
months
 Today
nearly
every
social
network
has
an
API
4

5. APIs
hiding
in
plain
sight,
if
you
know
where
to
look
+
+
5

6. APIs
moving
to
the
cloud
Old Model New Model
• APIs are now in the cloud
• Open, global
• New business opportunities
PrintFile UpdateRow
DrawMap FindProduct
ConvertLead
6

7. Open
API
7meline
Over 1,000 new APIs in 2008 & 2009
Double the total of prior 7 years combined
2000 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Facilitating Extending the Enterprise 105 APIs 352 APIs 601 APIs 1,116 APIs ? APIs
Power Affiliate SaaS Listed at PW Listed at PW Listed at PW Listed at
Sellers Network Platform PW
7

8. APIs:
Some
very
compe77ve
markets
Number of APIs in each of the top 15 categories
Based on directory of web APIs listed at ProgrammableWeb, November 2009
8

9. Open
APIs:
Sampling
growth
by
sector
9

10. Open
APIs:
Sampling
growth
by
sector
YouTube sells
for $1.7B
10

11. Open
APIs:
Sampling
growth
by
sector
Facebook
opens platform
11

12. Business
focused
segments
seeing
rapid
growth
Information Services
SaaS for Enterprise & SMB
Platform as a Service
12

13. API
business
models
Who
What
How
Amazon
eCommerce
Retail
Affiliate
Model
Amazon
S3
Infrastructure
Pay-­‐as-­‐you-­‐go
eBay
AucDons
APIs
for
lisDngs
Salesforce.com
SaaS
CRM
Seat
licensing
Exact
Target
Bulk
Email
Tiered
pricing
Facebook
Social
Network
Pixel
sharing
Cypress
Golf
ASP
Tee
Times
IntegraDon
Rhapsody
Music
Strategic
partnerships
Best practice: Bake your business model into your API

14. APIs
as
a
biz-­‐dev
enabler
“Decentralized
business
development”
-Toni Schneider
An
API
can
lower
barriers
to
working
with
you
Flickr API
Consumer/Hacker Business/Partner

15. What
makes
an
open
API
successful?
• Rule
#1,
the
underlying
service
• Or,
a
good
API
on
a
bad
service
is
lipsDck
on
a
pig
• A
plan
and
a
business
model
• Simple,
open,
easily
adopted
• Providing
choices
• Good
developer
support

16. Where
are
we
headed?
• APIs
opening
new
business
&
revenue
models
• New
ecosystems
of
tool
&
service
providers
• APIs
becoming
more
sophisDcated
&
ubiquitous

17. Have
we
seen
this
before?
Why
do
we
need
Of
course
we
Why
do
we
Of
course
we
a
Web
site?
have
a
Web
site
need
an
API?
have
an
API
1995 2000 2005 2010
17

18. thank
you
QuesDons,
ideas,
comments?
Email
me:
john@programmableweb.com
18