Across the globe and even orbiting around it in space, APIs are being used for a huge range of innovative purposes. Let’s step into the API economy and look at some of the cool things API innovation enables.
The role of APIs in the modern digital economy
Providing a leading API gateway for microservices has given the Tyk team plenty of insight into exciting and innovative API use cases. APIs have become the backbone of the modern digital economy. They don’t just connect systems anymore; many APIs are products in their own right, driving business revenue and powering new experiences.
The evolution of APIs
APIs have come a long way in a relatively short space of time, helped along by user-friendly platforms that make managing them easy (one of the benefits of Tyk is that you don’t have to be super technical to see its value as an API experience platform).
APIs have evolved rapidly, from the earliest APIs based on monolithic architectures to those used with modern microservices and gateway access patterns.
Evolution of API technologies
API protocols have changed over the years, with evolving technology moving us increasingly away from SOAP APIs towards RESTful APIs. More recently, gRPC and GraphQL APIs have gained in popularity, as have systems for automating and containerising them for greater simplicity and efficiency. In terms of the latter, Kubernetes if by far the leading containerisation tool, with Priyanka Sharma, Executive Director at the Cloud Native Computing Foundation, observing:
“Kubernetes adoption among the ever-expanding cloud native community is approaching 100%, meaning those investing in cloud native are strongly bought in and excited for the future.”
Emergence of API-first companies
Evolving API technology has supported the emergence of API-first companies. These businesses adopt a product-centric mindset and position APIs as discrete products rather than simply ways to integrate and connect systems. This API-first mindset has been a powerful driver of API innovation. We can see this first-hand at businesses such as AMAAN Indonesia, underpinning API-led product growth with powerful performance and stability.
Understanding API innovation
API innovation comes in many forms. The evolution of APIs as products has embraced usability, reusability and consistency courtesy of open standards. This frees developers to engage with APIs and build with them differently, enabling everything from new partnerships to new apps and website services. Excitingly, APIs aren’t just enabling innovation; they’re enabling faster innovation.
Defining API innovation
API innovation refers to the design of APIs that enable interoperability, enhanced functionality and efficiency that wasn’t previously achievable.
The importance of API innovation in today’s digital world
API innovation is essential for any business wanting to remain competitive in today’s digital world. When working with a brand, developers and partners expect an engaging, intuitive API experience. In contrast, end users expect the seamless online interactions that APIs facilitate in everything from digital banking to e-commerce. If brands aren’t actively participating in the API economy, they’re likely far behind the competition.
Examples of companies driving API innovation
We can look at the banking sector for insights into how APIs are used for innovation. Banking has raced from glacial traditional processes to neobanks and fintechs connecting with previously unbanked individuals around the globe at lightning speed.
Fintech company areeba is an excellent example of this kind of API facility. In two years, the firm went from having no APIs to an entire platform, enabling exceptional growth as it scaled out all digital applications with an API focus.
Implementing API innovation in your business
Are you ready to harness the economic benefits of API innovation? Then, let’s begin.
Assessing your business for API innovation potential
First, assess your business for API innovation potential. Do you have the technical expertise and a team of hungry, product-focused developers with big ideas? You’ll need both. If you don’t already have an API product designer on your team, now’s the time to find one.
Building an API strategy
API innovation shouldn’t happen in a vacuum. It needs to be aligned with business goals. Align your API strategy with your overarching business aims to ensure you get where you want. If you’re unsure where to start, check out Tyk’s free API strategy success kit for a bunch of helpful tips, guiding principles and key insights.
Designing and developing innovative APIs
Designing and developing innovative APIs starts with thoughtful product modelling. This is key to creating consumable, performant, reusable APIs fulfilling precise business needs. It’s also important to stick with design fundamentals even as you innovate to ensure the resulting API products are secure and provide self-service adoption and easy integration, as well as being innovative.
Managing and maintaining APIs
You have many API management architectural and deployment patterns at your disposal when deploying API management. Consider aspects such as high availability, performance, latency and multi-region deployment when working out which management approach will best support your successful participation in the API economy.
Future trends in API innovation
There’s plenty of API innovation still to come. API-related technology and concepts are still evolving, and so are a range of other technologies.
The role of APIs in emerging technologies
Artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, blockchain… there’s plenty of potential for APIs to intersect with other technologies in new and exciting ways over the coming years. Enterprise AI governance platform Montag is an example of this, supporting the blending of AI-powered capabilities with all the benefits of APIs.
The evolving API economy
The API economy is set to expand massively over the coming years. The concept of APIs as products is still maturing, meaning there’s plenty more innovation as API designers and businesses refine their approach.
Predictions for the future of API innovation
What does the future hold? In 2024, the Tyk team expects to see API innovation focus on three key areas:
- Observability will drive advancements by delivering comprehensive performance and usage insights;
- OpenTelemetry will revolutionise API monitoring, tracing and optimisation and
- Mainstream adoption will accelerate the pace and scale of API innovation.
Keen to learn more about API innovation? Check out Tales from API-Topia for 28 examples of how brands are building world-leading API experiences, from open banking API platform innovation to performant, innovative government service delivery.
