APIs:

WHAT YOUR BUSINESS

NEEDS TO KNOW

1 The Modern
API Environment 2 What Does
API Exposure
Look Like?
3 The Principles
of Great API
Management
4 APIs in the Wild
5 The Technology
Powering API
Success
 The Modern
API Environment
Customers and employees alike want anywhere,
anytime, any-device access to a huge range of
apps and dataand thanks to APIs, they can get
it. APIs are the behind the scenes technology
thats enabling both enterprises and CSPs to make
the most of todays IT megatrends: apps, social,
mobile, and big data.
APIs are the gateways and bridges that make so
many highly connected business initiatives and
consumer services possible.
But APIs dont just help businesses by enabling
new services and initiatives; they also generate
revenue in their own right by liberating buried
assets, and enabling powerful and profitable
new partnerships.
01
2005: 105 APIs; 2015: over 13,000 APIs
24 percent of web apps and 15 percent of mobile apps use APIs
Apps using APIs are expected to reach 68 percent by 20151
To the average person on the street, an API is an
abstract concept at best. But the services APIs deliver
to them are instantly recognizable, and are on the brink
of becoming ubiquitous:
60 percent of all eBay listings are added through APIs
Google Maps grew by 300 percent using APIs
A
 PIs deliver Netflix to millions of users
through hundreds of devices
Expedia does US$2bn worth of trade through
APIs every year
In this e-book well explore the changing world of
API exposure and management. Well examine the
opportunities its created for CSPs and enterprises,
and the ground-level challenges its created for IT
managersand well look at how new technology
can help you get even more from APIs, and drive real
business value.
programmableweb.com and MindCommerce:
1
Telecom Network API Marketplace: Strategy, Ecosystem, Players
and Forecasts 2013-2018, June 2013
02
 What Does API APIs enable new types of

Exposure Look Like? relationships, making the

web much more interactive,
collaborative and social. They
effectively enable you to:
As more and more companies go digital, Exposing APIs is the key to both utilizing great
API adoption has increased dramatically. But the external talent, and creating profitable partnerships. Monetize digital assets
API environment of today is dramatically different By opening your digital doors, you welcome in the and resources
from that of a decade ago. APIs were once used world (or whoever you choose) to do whatever they
Monetize your data and
for basic point-to-point integration; now, they can with whatever great resources you choose to
share insights
serve as the thread that stitches every part make available.
of our technology-driven world, workplaces Broaden the reach
and lives together. Exposed APIs are also helping CSPs and of onsite assets and
enterprises make the most of major new technology
In broad terms, API exposure means giving technology trends, by enabling them to deploy
Deploy cloud
additional parties access to your internal resources, highly focused services such as:
infrastructure
technology, or data. Whats in that for you? Well,
its hard to innovate and build a great digital brand Messaging as a Service Help mobile apps talk
on your ownyoure probably going to need some Network policy as a Service to back-end services
help from partners. Integrate your
Identity management as a Service
own services with
Take eBay, for example. Only a fraction of all Contact-center-app enablement social media
listings are added through its main site by individual
Communications-enabled business Help mobile apps talk to
users. API-enabled services used by store owners
processes and Unified Communications back-end services
and power sellers enable them to add large
volumes of listings quicklymaking the selling
process more efficient and profitable for them, and
the buying experience more comprehensive and
simple for customers.

03 04
 These services can provide another lucrative
new revenue stream for CSPs and enterprises.
But its not all about extending new services
to customers and partners.
API
An often-overlooked application of API
management is improving internal
efficiencies. When we think about APIs, we
generally think about extending access to
resources outside the organizationbut they
are just as effective at unlocking the power of
internal resources, uncovering buried onsite
functionality, and giving your own people
simple, more reliable access to everything
they need to do their jobs properly.
05
APIs fuel synergy. They take multiple
components and connect them to make
something greater than the sum of its parts.
They power the technological convergence
that has helped create so many of the
modern applications and digital services
weve come to take for granted in our lives.
For example, combining digital maps with
location-based GPS capabilities produces
a service far more useful than either of
the two on their ownand when you add
dynamic routing information into the mix,
the value becomes even greater still.
06
 The Principles
of Great API
Management
Clearly, when it comes to API management,
there are a lot of factors for managers to juggle
and manage. And with the number of APIs in use
constantly growing, todays IT teams must find
new ways of keeping their API environment as
efficient and manageable as possible.
We can break the core principles of API
management down into four key categories:
Maintaining security at every stage of the
API lifecycle
Onboarding and managing partners
Monitoring analytics and delivering
data-driven insight
Browsing, creating, updating, and
managing APIs
07
MAINTAINING SECURITY AT
EVERY STAGE OF THE API LIFECYCLE
To get the most from your APIs you need to move
beyond management to complete application
service governance. With the right tools you can get
complete control over permissions, enabling you to
tightly tailor exactly whats available to your API users.
You can also get visibility into critical API metrics and
analytics, helping you fully understand the weight of
demand being placed on your resources, and letting
you optimize the way you manage capacity.
The very word exposure sets off warning sirens for
network technicians and IT security teams, and while
APIs are a relatively secure technology, management
does needs to be stringent. In fact, the way you
manage your APIs can have a dramatic effect on
what you can achieve with them.
Put strong API policies and SLAs in place, and you
can ensure they all obey the same rules, and deliver
a reliable experience to whoever you choose to let
access them. Having established policies in place
also helps to accelerate the deployment of new
APIs, ensuring you can capitalize on new
opportunities quickly.
08
 ONBOARDING AND
MANAGING PARTNERS
A good API management platform will enable
you to onboard new partners and manage the
permissions of existing partners with ease. This is
crucial, since fast onboarding is essential to getting
the most value for both parties.
When youre partnering with a new company,
entity or individual, its probably because you want
to gain from each others expertise, and work
together to create something highly innovative and
valuable. Projects such as this are often extremely
time-sensitivethe value they stand to deliver is
directly linked to the speed with which you can get
them to market.
Once those partnerships are established, they
must then be managed. The APIs that enable your
partnerships need to be flexible and malleable
that way, you can keep them fit for purpose as
circumstances and requirements change.
09
MONITORING ANALYTICS AND
DELIVERING DATA-DRIVEN INSIGHT
Monitoring API analytics is the best way to keep
these partner APIs working the way you want.
When you can see and understand API usage,
you can dynamically improve the performance
and experience they deliver.
Typical examples of metrics API managers want
to track are:
Duration and volume of usage
Traffic generation
Which APIs are making money
How partners are using APIs
Such metrics are the key to delivering predictable,
reliable experiences through your APIsbut only a
handful of management platforms can deliver the
kinds of detailed analytics that API managers need.
BROWSING, CREATING, UPDATING,
AND MANAGING APIs
The final major responsibility of IT teams
managing APIs is keeping track of every
connection and staying on top of all of them.
The sheer volume of APIs today is making
API management
API
an increasingly complex task.
With each new technology initiative, partnership,
or new business model come yet more APIs to
control and manage.
If theyre to stay on top of every API and
connection, IT teams need access to simple
dashboards that show them the most relevant
information they needat a glance. The ideal
platform will collate information on all APIs in
one place, providing a unified view of the entire
environment, and enabling the fast resolution
of issues if they should occur.
10
 APIs in the Wild
To help illustrate some of todays typical
API scenarios, lets examine some popular
use cases for CSPs and enterprises.
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CSP USE CASE 1:
MACHINE-TO-MACHINE AND
CSP USE CASE 2:
API EXPOSURE IN TELECOMS SERVICE
THE INTERNET OF THINGS Theres a broad range of services telcos can extend
to customers by exposing APIs. Some (such as
For telecoms companies, one of the biggest
areas of opportunity is the Internet of Things.
SMS) have been in place for a number of years
now, but with the arrival of smarter mobile devices,
Today, people dont just need to talk to each other
many more have emerged:
constantly; objects and devices do, tooand telcos
can facilitate this through the exposure of APIs.
Account management/provisioning
Take for example, a field-service or fleet- B2B2C operations
management solution. Vehicles on the road and
Behavior management
the employees driving them are equipped with
devices that are wirelessly connected to the telcos Call control, micropayments, credit transfer
network. Data is constantly recorded and fed back
Call management
to the client company via a digital dashboard
provided as a web service. That data is both Customer-service management
collected from and delivered to different client-side
Interactive TV
users through secure APIs, and they pay for the
entire system as a cloud service. Inventory management
Mobile payments
API
Service activation
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 BREAKDOWN OF API-DRIVEN ENTERPRISE USE CASE: ENABLEMENT
SERVICES ADOPTION OF CONTACT-CENTER APPS
Enterprise contact centers can take advantage
Telecom operators: APIs on offer
of APIs to power better connected and more
Messaging 66%
satisfying caller experiences. Features such as call
reconnecting, courtesy callback, and app-driven
Billing 66% voice messaging and session recording help
improve customer experiencesand improve the
Location/presence 52% efficiency of the contact center and its agents.
APIs can also help put the most relevant

Device management
Security/identity mgmt
Social networking
The Technology
37%
information in the hands of contact-center agents
when a customer calls. Phone numbers and names
34%
are matched against customer histories, and the

Unified Communications
30%

Number portability
29%
agent can instantly see essential data on screen
helping them provide the right answer as quickly
as possible. This can accelerate resolutions, cut call
Powering API Success
times, and leave customers delighted.
28%

Other 18%

% of respondents Whether youve been using your own APIs for years, or youre just
starting your API journey, getting the most from them depends on
selecting the right technology.
With secure authentication capabilities and a
platform capable of managing a wide range of APIs In the past, taking total control of APIs required multiple
with ease, telcos can turn any of these modern solutions working in unison. Today, however, a new breed
services into new, API-driven revenue streams. of complete solutions is available.
API

Base: Telecom operator respondents already active in API ecosystem (n= 83)
Source: Informa Telecoms & Media, Exposing Telecom APIs survey, 2012

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 A COMPREHENSIVE API MANAGEMENT
AND EXPOSURE PLATFORM CAN:
Provide powerful, simple Integrate easily with your
API management IT environment
Enable you to build APIs Be cloud-ready, and offer cloud- API

in minutes based control

Provide a highly secure Ensure security, with a strong
API gateway API firewall
Effectively accelerate partner Support every stage of the
onboarding API lifecycle
Simplify API configuration
and deployment

The platform you choose will have a dramatic

effect on what you get from your APIs, and the
ROI they ultimately generate for you. Plan ahead,
and select a solution that can grow with you and
that offers you the maximum functionality in a
single package, delivering everything you need
both now and as your API environment continues
to expand.
Oracle has a wealth of experience in managing APIsand in developing solutions
that let other companies get the most from theirs. If you have any questions about
API management or exposure, and need some expert advice, get in touch with us
now by calling 1-800-417-0059 or visiting us at www.oracle.com/goto/api-ocsg

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