In our last API blog, we highlighted Apigee’s survey in their 2017 State of APIs Report. After collecting the experiences of several hundred customers, the API management firm outlined the characteristics of a successful API program, highlighting the need for scalability, digital ecosystems, and the right industry.
While each organization attacks the market differently and thus deploys APIs in their own way, successful API programs support winning digital platforms. We explore some of the characteristics in this blog post.
- Focus on Platform Capabilities: To create an award-winning platform, organizational leaders must focus on their capabilities. In Apigee’s survey, initiatives were split between integrating internal applications, API monetization, and connection of partners. Without these characteristics, API ecosystems might not flourish as easily.
- APIs are Strategic: To build a successful platform, APIs must be part of the development roadmap. In their work with customers, 80% of the top quartile of survey respondents indicated that APIs were a priority, even with constantly evolving business requirements.
- Lead with Business Use Cases: Two-thirds of survey respondents in the top quartile also noted that business use cases were a key part of their API strategy. Being able to tie APIs (and any technology) back to a use case is far more convincing than approaching adoption blindly.
- Obsess about Developers: In the technology world, developers are the stars and everyone else is just living in their space. Organizations with the most successful platforms often times also support developers the best. From running hackathons to hosting technical talks, these organizations are beloved by developers and have a strong industry reputation.
- Track with KPIs: Finally, the best digital platforms are measured by their success metrics. In Apigee’s survey, nearly two-thirds of the top quartile of API-ready organizations said that they measure the success of their API programs. Metrics that these organizations track center around API traffic, the number of applications, as well as the number of active developers.
Do these characteristics describe your organization’s API program? Let us know in the comments section below.
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APIs are the core of Perficient’s work with many of our customers. If you’re interested in learning how to master your API adoption, reach out to us at sales@perficient.com for a conversation and join our DevOps webinar to discover how APIs fit in your development lifecycle.
In today’s innovative enterprise, IT exists in an ecosystem. In contrast to the past where many implemented solutions existed in individual silos, today’s implementations work together to influence positive business outcomes. This post is part of a series focused on guiding enterprises through an overwhelming process to compete, scale, and innovate in a fast-moving world. Follow more of the series here.
