English | EN Organizations should join the API Economy
Mar 26, 2015
The well-known platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Google Maps and Instagram, Uber and Airbnb, all have APIs available to the public to use the platform as a basis for other applications. It is clear that only very few organizations are in a position to become a platform themselves. Taking our departure from the idea that only a limited number can actually be directive, the inference is that one should look at the part an organization plays in an ecosystem of product, companies and services. This is something you can prepare yourself for. If you intend to join the platform economy, then join the API economy as well. Its time for the business community and the IT department to devise a thorough-going API strategy.
Platforms and APIs
New players combine the services, generating creative solutions, and a real market emerges for APIs where function, price and quality can be compared and all kinds of new combinations can be tested. The aim: to have greater dynamics and better opportunities for valuable services. Or the downside: more competition and the kiss of death for mediocre solutions and companies that prove unable to offer their services online.
How to take the royal API road
Today, every organization is faced with two API-related questions. First of all, what APIs exist to realize better solutions at a higher pace? And even more importantly: which APIs should be made available to the market? Which processes, functions and data are interesting enough for others to interact with via APIs and what should then be the business case? Organizations must asses which of their core services is most suited to be distributed via APIs.
If you opt for the API route, what does that imply for your IT organization?
- The support, availability, scalability etc. of the interface will be points of address.
- Good version management is imperative.
- Security must be in apple-pie order.
These are no insuperable challenges, but it is still quite different from making technology available on an internal scale only. Organization-wise there is a lot of work to be done: simply offering an interface is not enough to make sure it is actually used. Much like other services and products, this requires some consideration and joint consultation with regard to marketing, customers and the proposition for clients.
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