API Days Why do companies build APIs? Alex Wilson CISSP Snr - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

API Days Why do companies build APIs? Alex Wilson – CISSP Snr Principal Consultant - CA Technologies

The API Academy  A small group of authors, speakers and researchers  Focused on API-centric software – Strategy – Design – Operations – Implementation – Organization – Culture http://www.apiacademy.co/

Why do companies build APIs?

Why build an API?

Case Studies Disclaimer  Examples are used only to illustrate API business drivers  These case studies are not an endorsement of any products, companies or services  These case studies are (mostly) speculative and based on publicly available information

API Driver Revenue DEFINITION  Not just general revenue related activity  Deriving revenue directly from use of the API  Developers pay to use the API “How can we make money from our data and APIs?”

Pricing and Revenue  Developers pay to utilize API at runtime  Developing the right pricing structure is important  Two primary models: – Tiered – Metered

Tiered Pricing Example: Addressify API

Metered Pricing Example: Twillio API

“ Startups don’t fail because their technology doesn’t work, they fail because nobody ” wants what they are trying to build. Eric Reiss Lean Startup Creator

Revenue Based APIs The most important question to ask: Is your service and data worth paying for?

Revenue Driver Case Study

Twilio’s Product: APIs

Big Valuation and Big IPO

Twilio in Context  Operates in a crowded marketplace  Not always the cheapest price  Large investment in developer engagement and experience

Internal Revenue Models  Internal/Private APIs may adopt a revenue style model  Usually not “green dollars”  Usually incorporates a “chargeback model“

API Driver Revenue KEY TAKEAWAYS  Treat the API like a product  Success attracts new entrants  API User Experience is key differentiator.

API Driver: Reach DEFINITION  Reach existing customers  Build new user experiences  Increase the contact surface for products (e.g. omnichannel) “How can we provide great experiences to all of our users?”

Reactive interfaces There is no universal platform There is no standard screen size

Consumer experiences are fragmented

Reach Software, Media and Social Communities

Platforms are not forever!

Why is Reach Difficult?  Good UX is a high investment, highly contextual activity  User touchpoints have proliferated  Reaching all users is too costly

Reach Case Study

Reach Case Study

Reach Case Study

Reach Case Study https://community.commbank.com.au/t5/Mobile/NetBank-API/td-p/27585

Mobile OS Marketshare

A Windows Phone App

API Driver: Reach KEY TAKEAWAYS  Consumers expect you to extend experiences to their platforms  An open API model is cost effective, but reduces brand and experience control  For open models: benefit to developer must outweigh cost of development

API Driver Compliance DEFINITION  Mandated API implementation “How should we comply?”

Compliance Examples  Mergers and acquisitions  Open Data initiatives  Regulatory requirements

Open Data  Democratization of data  What information is available? What do you know about me?  Governments are acting…

Compliance

Open Data is not the same as Open APIs

APIs are needed to make data more consumable Client Applications APIs Open Data

Compliance - enhanced

Compliance Directives  Open data initiatives are seeping into the private sector  Example: EU: Right to be Forgotten  Compliance is (generally) high cost, low benefit

Compliance: Cost-Benefit Driver Meet Requirements Exceed Requirements M&A One time data-merge, big- API for continued inter-op. bang cutover Open Data Export data file Provide API Regulatory Email/file transfer API for on-demand reporting  Do as little as possible  Increase compliance while minimizing cost

API Driver Compliance KEY TAKEAWAYS  Driver is usually out of our control  Tactical approach is to comply as cheaply as possible  Strategic approach is to utilize budget to fulfil other drivers

API Driver Innovation DEFINITION  Facilitating innovation activities “How can we continue to deliver the most valuable products and experiences?”

A Recipe for API-Centric External Innovation ① Open an API to expose data and services ② Run a “hackathon” ③ See what blooms and profit

Typical Results

“ If you never want to be criticized, for goodness sake don’t do anything ” new. Jeff Bezos Founder of Amazon

Innovation Case Study

William Hill

William Hill : 10 APIs

William Hill: Fostering Innovation from the Outside

API Driver Innovation KEY TAKEAWAYS  Open APIs can acts as an idea engine for an innovation process  API-centric architectures can increase speed within enterprises  Focus on usability of APIs to accelerate innovation potential

API Driver Growth DEFINITION  Acquiring new customers and users  Including marketing & advertising “How do we increase our product’s user base?”

Growth Case Study

Uber Native Experiences  Mobile App and convenience focus  “Just push a button”

Uber: Deep Linking

Uber API

Uber API

API Driver Growth KEY TAKEAWAYS  Focus on high adoption of API  Focus on targeted adoption of API  Reduce monetary and time cost barriers

API Driver: Intelligence DEFINITION  The API as a vehicle for data collection  Data Sources: – Users – Applications – Systems “How can we collect more and better data?”

Amazon: Crowd sourcing price data

API Driver: Intelligence KEY TAKEAWAYS  APIs can be designed to facilitate data mining  APIs must provide value in exchange for data  Data collection may be negatively perceived

Six Business Drivers

Amazon utilizes all six drivers

Google Maps – Combined Growth, Intel. and Revenue Drivers

Summary 1. Understand the drivers and business model 2. When you know WHY you can identify WHO 3. Implement user-centric APIs to succeed

Thankyou Alexb.wilson@ca.com