Post on 08-Jan-2017
The Fundamentals of Platform Strategy: Creating Genuine Value with
APIsSteven Willmott, @njyx, steve@3scale.net
@3scale @RedHatNews
3scale now part of Red Hat Inc. - www.3scale.net
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Platforms: huge opportunity for value – and for wasted resource
MISSION CRITICALBIG INITIATIVES
GENUINE NEED
EXAMPLE:UBER
EXAMPLE: “APPLE TV-OS READY” IN 2 WEEKS
APIS DON’T WORKAPIS ARE NOT USED
TEAM ISN’T RESOURCED
THE VALUE OF PLATFORMS
“Jeff Bezos Moment” (thank you @frankarr)
)
Platform Value
• Individual APIs can have tremendous value• Underpin products, enable new business
channels, provide an abstraction layer• Core value almost always revolves
around: Agility
COMMON ERRORS
Common Errors in Platform Beginnings
• Try something peripheral and low risk• Replace multiple core systems at once• Have a platform team build everything• Top down design a uniform approach
TIMING & MOTIVATION ARE CRITICAL
Best time to begin
• When you have one or more driving initiatives• When IT teams are ready to rethink
some infrastructure• When the goal is not too abstract
THREE PRINCIPLES FOR SUCCESS
IDENTIFY YOUR TRUE USERS
FOCUS ON TRUE VALUE
SHARE THE BURDEN
#1: FOCUS ON TRUE VALUE
A Map of Expectations
Prohibited Design
Firedrill Innovation
Expected
Unexpected
DesirableUndesirable
Thor Mitchel, 2014
Questions to Ask
• Who is the customer?• Where is their value?• If we create this, will you use it?• What is the complete use case?
Walked th
rough
all major p
rocesses
Calculated co
st
benefit
EXAMPLE:MAPS CREDIT UNION
Loren Paulson, APIStrat, 2015
API for product listingBut not pricing or transacting
Almost null utilityEXAMPLE:MID-SIZED ECOMMERCE COMPANY
Key Strategy
Deliver value: one API and one use-case at a time
#2: FIND YOUR TRUE USERS
We have great developer experience … what happened?
Warning: Blasphemy Alert
Developer Experience is Overrated
Questions to Ask
• When Developer Experience is not enough • How do the APIs need to be consumed?• Who else might consume them? • Where do their effects propagate to? • What additional value can we add?
Web Ranking API
Realized plugins were
criticalPlugins now drive
majority of businessEXAMPLE:SIMILAR WEB
Noahm Schwartz, APIStrat, 2015
Millions of devices syncing
Robust libraries & dev
collaboration
Randomized back off
EXAMPLE:FITBIT
Jeremiah Lee, San Francisco, 2016
Amazon Alexa App
Query order is not
optimized for Voice
Secondary query rank in
client added EXAMPLE:CRUNCHBASE
Nicolas Greenie, San Francisco, 2015
Key Strategy
The API is not the key thing – the Value is the key thing
#3: SHARE THE BURDEN
Questions to Ask
• How to split Dev, Ops, Management?• What do we automate? • What do we monitor? • Which APIs do we focus on first?• How will we manage change?
Vicious Circle
Virtuous Cycle
Hairy Panic!
1-1 IT
Need for software innovation drives deep integrations
Inte
rnal
Sys
tem
s
Appl
icatio
ns
1-N IT
Governance and APIs create reusable anchor points
N-N IT
Common governance rules can apply to APIs from anywhere
Key Strategy
N-N >>>>> 1-N
Platform value is “co-creation” of value between providers and
consumers
(buyers & sellers)(you & partners / customers)
(mode 1 & mode 2)
Governance + Support must be Spread
e.g. tools, platforms, guides, design sages
BONUS #4: MEASURING IMPACT
• Very hard work• Unglamorous• It is not a big bang (big bet)• People get upset at rules and
restrictions • But … hugely rewarding
Recommendation:
Focus on Business(es) enabled (number, revenue)
TAKE AWAYS
Your company NEEDS your platform strategy to succeed
Even if you have a “Bezos Moment” – Keep focused on the value you
are delivering piece by piece
Try to empower both API creation and usage
API Owners Manual
http://www.3scale.net@njyx @3scale
http://bit.ly/APIOwners
Images (Copyright Authors)• Apple TV Image, Apple.com: https://
support.apple.com/library/content/dam/edam/applecare/images/en_US/appletv/apple-tv-3gen-home-screen.jpg
• Amazon Echo: Amazon stock marketing image• Bay Bridge: https://unsplash.com/photos/0iAzHzjeYRk • Jeff Sheldon https://unsplash.com/photos/o6Y9E-DdG6w• Taras Perevarukha https://500px.com/photo/215416/-by-taras-perevarukha• Richard Bland https://
500px.com/photo/89775589/coming-for-you-by-richard-bland?ctx_page=2&from=search&ctx_q=platform&ctx_type=photos&ctx_sort=relevance
• Kaleb Nimz: https://unsplash.com/photos/-5rA4DRrEXU• Seabags Creative: https://unsplash.com/photos/U3m4_cKbUfc• Todd Quankenbush https://unsplash.com/photos/IClZBVw5W5A• Hairy Panic http://
theconversation.com/what-is-the-hairy-panic-tumbleweed-that-has-buried-a-small-australian-city-55074
• Welder: Uğur Gürcüoğlu https://unsplash.com/@sharkdesignstudio?photo=s1M0ncSl9l4 • TrainTracks: Redd Angelo: https://unsplash.com/@reddangelo16?photo=60fa9BMxvpE