We are at the peak of the “Internet of Things” (IoT) hype. It’s easy to see it in the sheer number of articles proliferating online on the topic and around it. That popularity was confirmed by the latest edition of Gartner’s Emerging Technologies Hype Cycle, published in August 2014. In the coming months the discussion will cool naturally — but unlike some “wearable devices” such as Google Glass, this is a line of technology-product study that is here to stay, and it has already earned a new term: the Internet of Everything (IoE).
Broadly, connected devices will spread above all in the corporate world, thanks to the tremendous potential in distributing data and information collected in every possible way. We are still entering an era of big data in information gathering, and the possibilities are endless.
The invisible infrastructure behind the hype
What the countless reports on the subject rarely mention is that, perhaps more important than the capacity to process or store information is the capacity to transmit data between devices and the software that manages them — from purpose-built satellite systems to enterprise resource planning software (ERPs).
All of this communication between systems and devices happens through APIs — Application Programming Interfaces. APIs are routines built to allow communication and data transmission between different technology systems, or between devices (the “things” of IoT) and the software responsible for accumulating and managing the information collected.
“APIs are one of the fundamental pillars for the Internet of Things to succeed.” — Raine Bergstrom (Intel)
Below, a chart from ProgrammableWeb — a recognized reference and the largest repository of published APIs — clearly showing the growth of documented APIs on the site since 2005.
When the API leaves the IT fiefdom
Over the past 20 years, I’ve watched a remarkable evolution up close:
- APIs are increasingly becoming corporate business assets.
- Gradually, APIs have been leaving the “domain” of IT; they adopted open protocols and development standards and became resources managed by business, product and R&D teams.
- APIs stopped being the “villains” and “risk factors” of IT projects. There was a time when the sales teams of enterprise software (ERP) companies pitched an “all-in-one solution.” With mergers and acquisitions in software and the rise of high-quality specialist solutions, that pitch became obsolete.
- Driven not only by IoT but also by the trend toward componentization in software development, we will increasingly see solutions plugged in through APIs into any module of an enterprise system or specialist software — making strategic partnerships in the tech world less and less dependent on the IT department.
Managing APIs as a business asset
In the excellent article “API economy – From systems to business services,” by George Collins and David Sisk — part of Deloitte Consulting’s sixth annual technology-trends report, published in February of this year — the authors run quickly through the history of APIs and point to trends for the future. I translate below a paragraph and an infographic they drew from ProgrammableWeb:
The evolution of APIs
The idea behind APIs has existed since the dawn of computing; yet over the last ten years they have grown significantly not only in number but in sophistication. APIs are incredibly scalable, monetizable and everywhere, with more than 13,400 listed on ProgrammableWeb, which manages a global directory of APIs.
The article is required reading for any CIO who runs development teams. For that audience in particular, Collins and Sisk lay out the fundamentals for mature management of an API library. They recommend (in a free, expanded translation):
- In developing, deploying and controlling APIs: strict version control, clear and accessible documentation, and clarity of scope and purpose.
- In security, monitoring and usage optimization: access control, security policies, efficient routing and caching, rate and quota limits, and statistical usage analytics.
- In market, support and monetization of the API as a business asset: commercial policy, pricing and sales management, metering, usage billing, and the availability and control of keys or tokens (to meet security and corporate governance standards).
For CIOs who still haven’t grasped how central their role is to the business, Collins and Sisk’s warning may sting: initiatives centered exclusively in IT can be harmful. In the article they needle technology leaders to avoid isolated “gold-plating” exercises inside IT — to avoid “flashbacks” of the well-intentioned but failed SOA (service-oriented architecture) initiatives of the previous decade.
The trend is that, as we mature in orchestrating smart devices across any environment, APIs will become the backbone of new opportunities in the corporate world — not just for software companies. Collins and Sisk quote Raine Bergstrom, VP and General Manager of Software Products at Intel: companies “will adopt the Internet of Things, or perhaps fall behind.” He also argues that “APIs are one of the fundamental pillars for the Internet of Things to succeed.”