In the fast-paced world of technology and business, staying ahead of the curve is crucial. One of the key drivers of innovation and efficiency in the modern enterprise landscape is the API economy. APIs, or Application Programming Interfaces, are the invisible workhorses that power the digital experiences we encounter every day, from mobile apps to online shopping and even healthcare applications.

To shed light on the immense potential of APIs in large enterprises and the unique approach of digitalML, our CRO John Bogard recently sat down with the fantastic tech expert Evan Kirstel on one of his live streams.

The Thriving API Economy

The term “API economy” has been circulating for some time now, and it’s more than just a buzzword. It’s a tangible and constantly evolving reality. As John points out, APIs are everywhere, driving functionalities that enhance our daily lives, from mobile apps to financial services and healthcare. No wonder then that 83% of all internet traffic now belongs to API-based services. We’re seeing APIs become an integral part of business’ operating models; take a look at Tesla’s new API (and predicted app store) and Nokia’s new API platform as just two launches in October alone.

John emphasizes that APIs are not just for developers; they’ve caught the attention of CEOs, Chief Digital Officers, product owners, and business leaders. Across all verticals the potential of APIs is being realized, making it a lucrative space for enterprises.

The Future of Development

The technology landscape is changing, and you now don’t have to be a coding expert to participate in it. Low-code and no-code platforms, along with new programming languages, are revolutionizing development. We see these advancements as rocket fuel for businesses. We’re witnessing a transition from manual development to more automated and synchronized processes. For example, AI is playing a significant role in finding and consuming functionalities exposed through APIs, leading to the creation of innovative solutions. This offers great opportunities for large enterprises, but their inherent complex nature poses some key challenges…

API challenges for large enterprises

Large enterprises have more challenges when it comes to embracing the API economy. They’re complex at many levels including:

• Multiple and changing business and technical priorities
• Large amounts of legacy SOAP services which needs to be managed and balanced against new business opportunities that the API economy brings
• Distributed runtime environments
• Growing API sprawl as businesses try to build APIs fast
• Lots of stakeholders across the API development lifecycle

The challenge for large enterprises is how to demystify and manage this complexity in a flexible way so that they can curate and promote APIs for adoption and reuse, ensuring they meet the high standards expected by customers. Managing the complexity of API ownership, production, and consumption is especially important, all done in a way that’s transparent and reportable so the enterprise can track and prioritize the API economy maturity journey.

Defining digitalML and how we help large enterprises

digitalML works with some of the largest enterprises globally, offering a holistic and connected catalog for APIs, services, and events alongside extended lifecycle management and an API consumer portal. This comprehensive view helps enterprises answer important questions like how many APIs they have right now, what their coverage is, what gaps exist, and how they can manage the lifecycle and governance of these APIs across their runtime systems.

We prioritize helping these enterprises achieve flexibility and abstraction from the rapid changes in the technology landscape. Enterprises are aiming to be able to expose data and functionality through APIs and provide businesses with the ability to choose where and how to deploy them. The focus is on making things self-service, promoting innovation, and enabling faster development by reducing redundancy. This adaptability aligns closely with the ever-expanding opportunities in the API economy.

Our ignite platform is highly configurable, avoiding the need for heavy customization. We work closely with customers to create best practices and milestones to achieve their vision. ignite is also technology agnostic, so enterprises can integrate ignite seamlessly with various runtime platforms, API gateways, and cloud providers via our abstraction technology. This approach gives customers the flexibility to choose the best tools and providers for their specific needs.

A huge thanks to Evan for having us on his livestream!