In a report issued Thursday, analysts at Pacific Crest including Rob Owens, Brendan Barnicle, Brent Bracelin and their respective teams looked into the software industry and trends among developers. According to the note, “the days of broad, monolithic applications are numbered.” The velocity of software development is generating a shift to micro-apps and platforms. Thanks to APIs, lego programming and data gravity, developers and pseudo-developers (including business-owners and citizens) are now able to address narrow, specific market verticals. Moreover, applications have mutated from being a system of record to working as “a means of engagement and monetization.”
Developers hate marketing. But they are key to digital business success. Customers and partners have moved off of the browser and onto mobile apps, and developers carry your products or services to customers through these apps. Developers are your indirect sales team, your value-added resellers – your channel partners.
Technology continues to revolutionise all aspects of our lives. From the way we communicate to the way we make financial transactions, from how we watch TV to the way we shop — there isn’t a single industry which isn’t being shaken up by the growth of digital products and services.
Ever since famed venture capitalist Marc Andreessen wrote aWall Street Journal article entitled “Software is Eating the World”, there has been an inexhaustible supply of organizations ready to tell how they’re applying software to a legacy business. But this approach of reinventing through software is applicable for software businesses as well. Technology is allowing constant reinvention and this is being applied to companies that one might have thought were relatively safe.
“Appdiction” is a term that the Apigee Institute (apigee.com) created to describe people’s increasing dependence on their smartphones. Research by the Apigee Institute, in collaboration with Stanford University’s Mobile Innovation Group, found that smartphone power users in the U.S. and the U.K. tap away on their devices many times and at many places.
All aspects of our lives continue to be revolutionised by technology. From the way we communicate to the way we make financial transactions, from how we watch TV to the way we shop – there isn’t a single industry which isn’t being shaken up by the growth of digital products and services. As a result, businesses are experiencing a fundamental shift in customer expectations. It’s never been more important for organisations across all industries to innovate – not only to be successful but to remain competitive.
As the API economy grows, Apigee wants to make it more affordable for the average small to medium (SMB) business to participate. This week the provider of API management services delivered via the cloud unfurled an Apigee Edge SMB edition of its service that gives organizations access to up to 25 million API calls a month at a cost of $30,000 per year or $2,500 per month. Through July 31, Apigee Edge SMB is available for $23,700 per year or $1,975 per month.
“Software is eating the world” is a statement in danger of becoming a cliche, and yet it remains a prescient observation of the way in which every business is becoming a software business. A more important observation is how critical developers are to this transformation for every business function. Apps have now become the way consumers discover and use services. If your app sucks, your product sucks. Similarly, APIs are the de facto way that both apps and third party companies integrate. If your APIs sucks, your product sucks.
Self-professed digital savvy UK firms are pushing out mobile apps, but failing to make investment in APIs and analytics despite the proven revenue return.
Over a third of UK companies have placed digital improvement as their top priority, however, the majority are focusing on building mobile apps and are neglecting API and analytics programs. Developing apps alone is unlikely to be enough to fully grasp the potential of digital businesses, with effective digital transformation coming from a combination of apps, API's and analytics.
According to the Apigee Institute's 2015 UK Digital Business Survey Snapshot, companies which are investing in these core digital technologies are eight times more likely to increase revenue from digital activity, this is when compared to those who are only developing apps.