What is an API platform?
How API platforms differ from other technology platforms?
In this post we look at how API platforms compare to other technology platforms. And how they provide business value.
Idea for this post came after reading thoughts by Erik Wilde.
Multiple platforms
When we talk about platforms they mean different things to different audiences.
It's important to setup the framework and align on it in order to have a meaningful platform conversations within multiple teams in organizations.
If we talk about technology infrastructure foundations, all the software and applications we build and use - run on top of operating systems.
Operating systems are the foundational platforms built on top of hardware. By operating systems we mean variuos flavours of Unix, Linux, Windows etc.
Sysadmins and IT operations teams are managing and running operating systems.Cloud platforms streamlined the provisioning, management and running of operating systems and all the underlying hardware.
They productised the technology foundations by automating original IT operations function. DevOps methodology and practices were born.Pay as you gobusiness model of Cloud platforms allowed DevOps enabled teams to significantly reduce effort spent on foundational infrastructure work and focus on business value.
Ease of such selection, specially if left without boundaries, created a large segmentation of technology choices used within teams in organizations.
Which eventually can slow delivery of business value - because of choice overload.Internal Developer Platforms - aim to address the above overchoice by providing standartization and boundaries for the foundational technologies and frameworks used only in the given organization.
They reduce uncontrolled segmentation created by multiple product teams within organization having an unlimited choice to pick any underlying technology.API Platforms. Allows teams to more effectively develop new products based on the existing set of software applications organization has already built.
This concept prescribes exposing of reusable API interfaces to be leveraged by multiple teams within organization.
It creates multiple building blocks which already deliver business value and can be combined to rapidly create more.Business Platforms - where technology blocks built by the organization are recognized and treated as strategic business assets.
APIs in most cases are adopted as a universal usage patterns accross such business assets.
Bundled by the business domains and productised for the internal and external usage (internal teams, partners, public products).
Organizations can directly measure business value brought by such assets and plan strategic business growth by building new products.
Some organizations have their core business offerings as exposed to their clients and partners as digital products.
Such businesses can be called Platform businesses.
Their value chains are based on providing business platforms to other organizations.Below diagrams illustrate the concept. See Eriks full article.
