Transforming the Internal IT Landscape with APIs Scott Cranton Director, Application Platform SAs April 2018
AGENDA API Domain Overview (very) Brief Technical Overview How to help your API Program Succeed 2
COMMON CHALLENGES IN MODERN APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT Integrate SaaS Apps Customer and Partner Access Enable Customer Facing Apps via Many Channels Extend Legacy Apps IoT Devices and Architectures Data Access for Business Users Building Scalable Cloud Native Applications 3
4 3scale API Management
What do APIs Really Do? Provide Stable, Reusable Interfaces 5
MOST COMMON API USE-CASES 6 Mobile & IOT Support Customer Integration Partner Ecosystem Content & Transaction Channel APIs as a Business Internal Agility
Lines between Internal and External APIs are Blurring 7
CAMPBELL'S SOUP: APIs LEAD TO A BREAKTHROUGH NEW CUSTOMER CHANNEL 8 Initially created a Nutrition and Recipes API to be used by marketing agencies and application designers Reaching new audiences with the recipe application Campbell's Kitchen on the Amazon Echo device Very high value brand interaction in the customers residences Leading to possible Integration with Amazon shopping cart to provision for recipes
INTEGRATION AND APIs DRIVE AIR TRAVEL INNOVATION 9 Schiphol Airport aims for world class traveller experiences Using Integration to create the right API endpoints and then putting them in the hands of partners creates an extended team to deliver innovation Flight, baggage, reservation, and other data are available throughout the airport and to all partners APIs through API Management provide the foundation for seamless handoff between the airport and its partners
QANTAS - DRIVING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE THROUGH APIS 10 Promoted a change to API First 2-3 years ago to identify key resources and make them more reusable Internal APIs are changing development patterns inside large organizations Stable APIs are creating new opportunities to innovate for internal developers and outsourced teams Powering mobile applications, integrations and (shortly) partners
APIS HELP PROVIDE LOOSE COUPLING Accelerate by Forsgren, Humble, & Kim 11 APIs (and bounded contexts) can enhance architecture capabilities that allow for independent testing and design changes Correlated to higher performing organizations Inverse Conway Maneuver - teams and org structure evolve to attain desired architecture Benefits derived when teams can make large design changes with little to no communication with other teams Critical that APIs are stable, well documented, and managed like a SaaS / Product
THREE PILLARS FOR AGILE INTEGRATION Key capabilities for modern software application agility DISTRIBUTED INTEGRATION -LIGHTWEIGHT -PATTERN BASED -EVENT ORIENTED -COMMUNITY SOURCED FLEXIBILITY CONTAINERS APIs - CLOUD NATIVE SOLUTIONS -LEARN ARTIFACTS, INDIVIDUALLY DEPLOYABLE - CONTAINER BASED SCALING AND HIGH AVAILABILITY -WELL DEFINED, REUSABLE, AND WELL MANAGED END-POINTS -ECOSYSTEM LEVERAGE SCALABILITY Tools and Processes 12 RE-USABILITY
API CAPABILITIES API Strategy API Management Gateway Rate Limiting Dev Portal Analytics Security \ Authentication API Development & Integration New API Development Legacy Systems Composite APIs Microservices API Operations Automation 13 Dev Ops Continuous Integration and Delivery
HIGH LEVEL ARCHITECTURE API Manager Admin Portal Developer Portal API Consumers (App Developers) Dashboard Developer / Application / Key Management CMS Analytics Billing API Provider Branded API Description Signup ActiveDocs (OAS) Authorize & Report Traffic API Request API Provider (Line Of Business / Product Manager, Writers, Ops) Authorized API Request API Implementor Developer Apps 14 API Gateway API Backend (Developers, Integrators)
FUTURES: ISTIO SERVICE MESH 15 http://blog.christianposta.com/
Help Your API Program Succeed
API PROGRAM STRATEGIES 1. Focus on the value of the API 2. Obsess about developer experience (DX) 3. Remember API retirement and change management 17
THE API OWNER S MANUAL Captured learning from successful API teams Reinforced by recent experience Digital Copy: https://engage.redhat.com/3scale-apiowners-s-201706160312 18
FOCUS ON THE VALUE OF THE API Expected Design Prohibited Undesirable Desirable Fire Drill Innovation Unexpected 19 Thor Mitchell / Google / Crowdcube
Operator Benefit User Benefit BUSINESS (OR VALUE!) MODEL 20 3scale API Management Different types of value (monetary, brand, loyalty) etc. are all valid Adoption of an API is often just as expensive as provision Think of the Apple Store value creation equation
OBSESS ABOUT DEVELOPER EXPERIENCE Time To First Hello World 21 3scale API Management Make it very clear what the API does Provide instant signup Provide free access Be transparent about pricing Having great documentation Having the means to test the API Live
RETIREMENT AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT Often Forgotten Just as critical as launch Communicate Roadmaps, Communicate Change Provide Migration opportunities 22 3scale API Management
What To Measure
Bad Metrics Number of APIs Number of API Calls Number of Integrations Number of Containers Number of Servers Number of Lunch & Learns
Good Metrics Number of Apps Supported Number of complete Use Cases Number of Users Dollar Value of Business Speed of Application development Speed of API Deployment
Take Aways...
Incremental transformation Creating a new organizational capability Treating APIs as products rather than resources 27
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME! APIs will very likely be a key architectural component for most organizations Red Hat is investing heavily and aiming to be a long term partner Agile Integration, Container Management, and API Management will be a key architectural pillars for the next 3-5 years 28
FOLLOW UP MATERIAL 29 Red Hat Integration homepage: https://www.redhat.com/en/technologies/jboss-middleware/integrate Inside mind of a successful platform architect / Gartner APPS 2016 https://www.slideshare.net/3scale/inside-mind-of-a-successful-platform-architect-gartner -apps-2016 API Model Canvas for successful API strategies and programs https://www.slideshare.net/3scale/api-model-canvas-for-successful-api-strategies-and-pr ograms The API Owner s Manual https://www.redhat.com/en/resources/3scale-api-owners-manual-ebook
THANK YOU plus.google.com/+redhat facebook.com/redhatinc linkedin.com/company/red-hat twitter.com/redhat youtube.com/user/redhatvideos
2. BUSINESS (OR VALUE!) MODEL 1. Create Value 2. Do not attempt to capture all the value you create 31 Don t leave adoption benefit to chance Decide what is in and out of scope for your users This is even true inside an organization
3. FOCUS ON USERS AND USABILITY Re-check who your Users Really are APIs as Products is a key meme Make Sure Genuine Use-Cases are Fulfilled Evolve Interfaces, Documentation and experience via feedback 32 3scale API Management
3. FOCUS ON USERS AND USABILITY 1. Data Format: Support of XML, JSON, proprietary formats, or a combination. 2. Method Structure: Methods can be very generic, returning a broad set of data, or very specific to allow for targeted requests. Methods are also usually called in a certain sequence to achieve certain use cases. 3. Data Model: The underlying data model can be very similar or very different to what is actually exposed via the API. This has an impact on usability, as well as maintainability. 4. Authentication: Different authentication mechanisms have different strengths and weaknesses. The most suitable one depends on the context. 5. Usage Policies: Rights and quotas for developers should be easy to understand and work with. 33 3scale API Management
4. TACKLE API OPERATIONS Empower teams to launch and manage Platform Enablement Teams Provide Governance, Guidance, Support Access Control, Rate Limits, Analytics, Policies, Onboarding, Documentation 34 3scale API Management
6. GO BEYOND MARKETING 101 35 Internal and External APIs need Marketing Important to diffuse: What resources are available What use-cases are intended Highlight successful users 3scale API Management The things to try: Puzzles SDKs Discovery / Registries Co-marketing with partners
Developers Data Scientists Integration Specialists Administrators Governance Development End Users Management Shared Integration Libraries and Services Catalogs Enterprise Applications Workflow Databases Partner Applications Big Data Analytics Data Services Customer Applications Mobile Apps Bots End Users Business Logic Services Data Pipelines Orchestration Events Batch Request-Response Reactive On-Premises Cloud Mobile Edge