Thanks to the examples of our Web friends the world of APIs is continuing to grow dramatically. There is practically no new technical product or service release that does not mention an API or SDK. The challenge,of course, is to get developers to begin using your API. Unless Google, Facebook, or Apple signs your paycheck a build it and they will come approach is probably not the only strategy you should attempt when releasing an API.
Here are 5 ideas that we view as important considerations when building a developer ecosystem. Our friends from across the industry can take credit for this list through trial and error. The list may stink of commonsense but the supply of APIs seems to be larger (for now) than the developers who commercialize these technologies.
1. Show the world that your company can directly monetize whatever product or service has been created. Expecting developers to be your primary sales channel will fail unless there is a huge branding budget attached.
2. Demonstrate integration opportunities with another software platform or system that already has a developer ecosystem AND customer base built in. An upsell opportunity is always easier than a first sell offering.
3. Be willing to introduce developers to your clients to do work! or at least to hear about their real customer experiences with your products/services.
4. In the CEBP/Mashup world it is very possible to now talk about ROI. Make sure quantifiable success stories are well understood by your developer community especially in a weakening economy.
5. Consumer oriented APIs versus business focused APIs are different animals entirely. The developer ecosystem that builds applications to generate eyeball traffic versus solving business process problems may have different characteristics/skills particularly on the usability front or approach to project management.
This list can be expanded over time. Fortunately, there are companies in the Mashup/CEBP industry who are doing it right. We will mention them in upcoming posts. Any nominations or additional insights on this topic are appreciated.