APIs for your Business + Stages of the API Lifecycle

APIs for your Business
+
Stages of the API Lifecycle
API Workshop at TheFamily
Paris, December 5, 2014
Nicolas Grenié
!
Hacker in Residence at 3scale.net
Out-of-the-box API Management
@3scale

Outline
1. Four business benefits of APIs
2. The API lifecycle
• Plan/Design
• Build/Integrate
• Operate/Manage
• Share/Engage
3. Wrap-up and take-aways
The Family - Paris - Nov. 2014 Nicolas Grenié - !picsoung

API
!
Application Programming Interface

What’s an API?
" #

APIs for Developers
✴Enrich functionality
✴Increase attractiveness by new combinations
✴Leverage brand strength
✴Integrate more easily and quickly

APIs for Companies/
Organisations
✴Create/revive revenue sources
✴Deliver wider reach
✴Foster (external) innovation
✴Increase efficiency

Example 1:
Create/revive revenue sources
✴25% of revenue growth driven by APIs
✴750,000 fundraising pages created using
JustGiving APIs raising £76m
✴40% annual user growth
Source: http://www.3scale.net/resources/customer-stories/

Example 2:
Deliver wider reach
✴700 partners created 50,000 third party apps/services
✴300m monthly uniques who see the brand on other sites
✴The API gave reach and brand awareness which would not have been
possible with traditional marketing.
(Dick Brouwer, TripAdvisor Director of Engineering)
Source: http://bit.ly/1uk6Oo7

Example 3:
Foster (external) innovation
✴Only 1 app developed by Fitbit in-house
✴Third party apps in Fitbit’s ecosystem accumulated
are worth $1m of development cost
Source: http://www.slideshare.net/faberNovel/why-shouldicareaboutap-is4/53

Example 4:
Increase efficiency
✴Wrap every internal service with an API – or you are fired
✴Better re-usability, quicker integration, spot opportunities, get to market quicker (AWS)
Source: http://apievangelist.com/2012/01/12/the-secret-to-amazons-success-internal-apis/

But what really is the
power of APIs ?

!
• APIs enable the creation of platforms.
• Platforms enable 2-sided / n-sided
business models.
(aka Asymmetric Business Models)
See also VisionMobile report on Asymmetric Business Models:!
http://www.visionmobile.com/product/asymmetric-business-models/

Asymmetric Business Models
Side 1 Side 2..n
Get most of
the services Pays

APIs enable the creation of
platforms.
…can serve n victimized markets !
$ A platform

The API lifecycle
and tools

Plan /
Design
Build /
Integrate
Share /
Engage
Operate /
Manage
!
The API
Lifecycle.

Plan / Design
Why API?
!
Alignment with overall business strategy
What do we want to achieve?

Plan / Design
•Resource modeling: Fine- vs coarse grained
•Nouns and verbs (resources/HTTP)
•http://www.thoughtworks.com/insights/blog/rest-api-design-
resource-modeling
•Decouple DB%API
•“How to design APIs that last”
•http://apiux.com/2014/09/05/api-design-sustainability/
•API-first design
•https://pop.co/blog/why-we-chose-api-first-development/

Plan / Design
•Tools
✴API Blueprint
✴RAML
✴Swagger
!
•See also “Where APIs and Tooling Unite”
•http://www.futureinsights.com/home/where-apis-
and-tooling-unite.html

API Blueprint

Coding toools
• Ruby
• Grape http://www.confreaks.com/videos/475-rubyconf2010-the-grapes-of-rapid
• Sinatra http://www.sinatrarb.com/
• PHP
• Slim http://coenraets.org/blog/2011/12/restful-services-with-jquery-php-and-the-slim-framework/
• Node.js:
• Express.js, Fortune.js
• Restify http://mcavage.me/node-restify/
• ASP.net
• Python:
• Flask Web framework for Python: http://flask.pocoo.org/
• Django for Python: http://www.django-rest-framework.org/
• Java:
• JAX-RS
• REST.li http://rest.li/index.html
hype:
!
App Now

!
app.get('/api/account', function(request, response) {
! //Set content-type
! response.type('application/json');
! //Send text response
! response.status(200).send(
! ! { message: 'Your balance is: '+ balance }); !
! //...!
});
!
!
app.put('/api/account', function(request, response) {
//Get the change in balance!
! balance = parseInt(request.body.updatebalance);
! //Update the balance...
! !
! //Notify client
! response.status(200).send(
! ! { message: 'Your new balance is: ' + balance });
! //...
});!
!
//...

A demo: ‘Health’API
!
!
!
• https://github.com/3scale/workshop-apistrat2014
!
• Deployed on Heroku:
• https://nicolashealthapi.herokuapp.com (UNSECURED!!)

A demo: ‘Health’API
• Test with Postman
• http://www.getpostman.com
• (test live APIs quickly)

Unsecured API – What’s the problem?
No knowledge about:
• Who accesses the API?
• What are they doing with the API?
• How to block someone?
• What traffic occurs when by whom?

Operate / Manage
App /
Website
Backend
API

Operate / Manage
http://api.2445581123523.proxy.3scale.net:80
App /
Website
API
API
Management Backend
http://manfredhealthapp.herokuapp.com

Demo 1: Securing the API
via API Management

Demo 2: API Analytics
via API Management

What’s left to do ?
Your own deployment of the traffic agent.

Deployment
OR #infrastructure
App /
Website
API
API
Management Backend
Plugin
Proxy

Minimum API Operations
Access Control: authentication and authorization to
identify the originator of incoming traffic
and ensure only permitted access.
Rate Limits and Usage Policies: usage quotas and
restrictions on incoming traffic to keep
loads predictable.
Analytics: data capture and analysis of traffic
patterns to learn how the API is being used.

Share / Engage
Image source:
http://dx.jeremiahlee.com/

Developer Portal
Acceleration
Pilots /
Case Studies
Community
Building
Measure
Comms
Social Media
Events
Evangelist

Demo 3: API Documentation
via API Management

API Management
For Developers
www.apitools.com
Out-of-the-box
API Management
For API
Providers
3scale.net
Market Education &
Evolution
apistrategyconference.com
apicodex.3scale.net
APIs.io

Take-aways
There can be an enormous benefit in APIs -- shown by many successful
examples.
It needs to be crystal clear what you want to achieve. The API needs to be
aligned with the business strategy.
APIs enable Asymmetric Business Models to tackle many markets.
Carefully consider all four stages in the API lifecycle.
Exposing data or services via APIs alone is not enough. Make sure you
secure, monitor and manage APIs.

APIs for your Business
+
Stages of the API Lifecycle
• Q&A
!
• Manfred Bortenschlager
• manfred@scale.net
!
• I work at 3scale.net
• Out-of-the-box API Management
• @3scale

•www.apitools.com

APItools.com
• 1. Managing & Monitoring APIs
• 2. Modifying API calls

How does it work ?
reque
sts
My app APItools
respo
nses
★ Manage APIs
★ Test & Debug
★ Modify API traffic
★ Analytics
Web APIs
Others…

APIs for your Business + Stages of the API Lifecycle

Tools for Developers
• APItools
• https://www.apitools.com/
!
• Postman
• http://www.getpostman.com/

APIs for your Business + Stages of the API Lifecycle

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