APIs and Unlocking the Value of Your Data

Steven Willmott3scale Inc.

@3scale - http://www.3scale.net

Flexible Scalable API Infrastructure: http://3scale.net@3scale

Also see http://www.apitools.com/me: @njyx on twitter

Powering 450+ APIsBillions API Calls / Month

To the content…

“Data is becoming the new raw material of business.” Chris Lynch and/or Craig Mundie

“Data really powers everything we do.” Jeff

Weiner

Good user interfaces are hard to build

You often need to move data around

Speed can be critical

Multiple parties may need access

APIs make this happen- the interfaces to data that

deliver its value

Examples

Xignite’s realtime MarketData –over 500 Streams

Aetna Carepass Restful API to Read/Write patient data

Realtime fleet management& Long term analytics

Realtime pricing in Retail

So APIs complement data … what does this mean?

Think of your data (and inferences) as a product, and

APIs as distribution

For both internal and external consumption

Data “product thinking”

Data Close Up

Raw Read / Write

InferredData

ControlInterfaces

Four Key Questions

• What am I Exposing?

• Who to?

• Why?

• How?

These are critical for APIS

Q1: What am I Exposing?

What?

Single Entries, Dumps, Streams

Raw

InsightProjections, Alerts,

Aggregations

ControlSettings, Params, Config, Schemas

Q2: Who to?

Who?

Departments,C-Team,

Automated SysInternal

Customer Users, Buyers

PartnerSuppliers,

Distributors, Resellers

Q3: Why?

Agility

ScaleStickiness

Add Value

DirectMonetization

OffBoarding

Transparency

Configurability

Raw

Internal Customer Partner

Insight

Control

Transparency

Monetization

Offboarding

Agility

Stickiness

Co

nfigu

rabilit

y

Reach

Valu

e

Raw

Internal Customer Partner

Insight

Control

Bandwidth $

Compute $

Risk

Co

up

ling

Trainin

g

Valu

e Cap

ture

Scale

Co

mp

lexity

Q4: How?

Tech

Business

FreeUnit Based

Tier DependentTier Based

Flat RateFeature Based

Message BusSOAP

Post RESTREST*

StreamingProprietary

Examples

Raw

Internal Customer Partner

Insight

Control

Reach / Scale

Valu

e / Co

mp

lexity

(Main focus of each company – many companies cover multiple cases)

Example: Customer InsightHigh ValueSticky

Monetization

Reach

Traffic Scale

Education & Customer Onboard

Compute & Storage Cost

https://www.fullcontact.com/developer/

Example: Customer Control

High ValueSticky

Customizable

Agility

Risk

Education & Customer Onboard

Complexity & Scale

http://www.johnsoncontrols.com/content/us/en/products/building_efficiency/building/panoptix.html

Raw

Internal Customer Partner

Insight

Control

Reach / Scale

Valu

e / Co

mp

lexity

(Main focus of each company – many companies cover multiple cases)

Summary

Key Take-away:

Your data is a product: think hard about packaging,

distribution (APIs)

Implications

• Answer the four questions

• This will determine your likely benefits and pain points

• Short term hacks around these pain points will probably kill the value of what you are doing

• There is a lot of value to created!

Go forth and unleash your data!steve@3scale.net@njyx, @3scale

Find us online at:http://www.3scale.net/

http://apitools.com/