On Wednesday, Feb. 14, at 11 a.m. PDT/2 p.m. EDT/7 p.m. GMT, @eWEEKNews will host its 64th monthly #eWEEKChat. The topic will be, “App Economy or API Economy: Which Will Prevail?” It will be moderated by Chris Preimesberger, eWEEK’s editor of features and analysis.
Some quick facts:
Topic: “App Economy or API Economy: Which Will Prevail?”
Date/time: Feb. 14, 11 a.m. PDT/2 p.m. EDT/7 p.m. GMT
Tweetchat handle: Use #eWEEKChat to follow/participate, but it’s easier and more efficient to use a real-time chat link.
Real-time link to the conversation: Use http://www.tchat.io/rooms/eweekchat. Sign in via Twitter and use #eweekchat for the identifier.
‘App Economy or API Economy: Which Will Prevail?’
Apps are closer to line-of-business users; application programming interfaces (APIs) are equally close to developers and software architects. Both are required to work together in order for an IT system to deliver its payload each day.
Apps are needed to get anything done. An API is a connector between apps; it is defined as a set of routines, protocols and tools that standardize building software applications compatible with an associated program or database.
However, sides now are being drawn up in the IT world. Do apps control I, or are the connections between them actually more integral? APIs are what make the internet and cloud run; apps are what control interactions.
Which one of these two approaches will eventually come out on top as the controller of the new IT economy?
An enterprise can have the best, most agile, scalable and capable IT system in the world, but if an end user can’t access or utilize the functionality as needed, it’s all for naught. Both apps and APIs must be doing their job 24/7 for a system to work optimally.
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was right about a lot of things, but the most important one is that apps in IT have to be as simple as possible to use. But what is an application? For the consumer, the term “app” may bring to mind Angry Birds, Snapchat or Instagram, but apps are equally integral to the development and use of enterprise IT.
An app could serve a CRM function internally, a customer portal, or even a machine-to-machine back end. In fact, there are many lessons we’ve learned in today’s app economy that are relevant to the way IT works—whether the app addresses employees, partners, or customers.
On the other side, research from API management firm Apigee and a Massachusetts Institute of Technology digital fellow shows a direct impact to the bottom line of companies that implement API programs.
The study finds that companies adopting APIs, or application programming interfaces, experienced an average annual revenue increase of 13.5 percent. Apigee recently released research from Marshall Van Alstyne, author of Platform Revolution and an MIT digital fellow, that explored the financial impact of API programs at more than 120 companies.
According to Van Alstyne’s study, API adoption leads to increased profitability in the short and long run.
“APIs are the infrastructure that mediates economic transactions; their value is not controlled by a single firm alone but also by the developers willing to use them for productive purposes,” Van Alstyne said in his report. “They enable ubiquitous interactivity.”
Let’s chat about these things on Feb. 14. We’ll be asking the following, among other questions:
- APIs make it easier for non-technical people to create apps. Do you or your company do this as a routine duty?
- How often are you or you company iterating software? Do you see a divide between the API and Application economies?
- Is your company creating its own APIs for app production, or is it finding them in open source libraries or commercial collections?
- What issues are you seeing—and solving—in moving to citizen development/agile development?
- Do you agree/not agree with the idea that APIs enable ubiquitous interactivity?
Join us Feb. 14 at 11 a.m. Pacific/2 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. GMT for an hour. Chances are good that you’ll learn something valuable.
For your reference, here is a list of scheduled #eWEEKchat topics for 2018. They are subject to change, but not less than 30 days beforehand:
#eWEEKchat 2018 Schedule
Jan. 10: The IoT Greenfield: Where Will It Take Us in 2018?
Feb. 14: Application Economy or API Economy: Which Will Prevail?
March 14: Push-Button IT: The Influence of Automation in All Technology
April 11: PI Everywhere: Can We Continue to Allow Numerous Organizations to Own Our Personal Information?
May 9: Determining and Automating Truth in Information on the Internet
June 13: New Roles for VR and AR in Enterprise IT
July 11: New Trends of All Kinds in Security
Aug. 8: What’s New in Low- and No-Code Application Development
Sept. 12: Voice-Enabled Everything
Oct. 10: Trends in New-Gen Mobile Apps, Devices
Nov. 14: Straightening Out Enterprise Collaboration Strategies
Dec. 12: Predictions and Wild Guesses for IT in 2019
If you have a suggestion for an #eWEEKchat topic, email [email protected].