Advancements in stabilization in software development techniques
as it led to companies being able to sell or give away a programmatic interface
that allows developers to use their services.
Application interfaces (API) have created a World Wide Web that is
programmable. This programmable Web
allows other companies access to a wide variety of tools.
Companies who are able to use Web services and APIs are seeing a
reduction in cost, quicker time-to-market, and a competitive advantage over
their competition.
Not every company gains a competitive
advantage to using APIs. IT managers
looking APIs must look at many factors to determine whether or not these types
of services will benefit their company.
Definition
Before the
programmable Web revolution companies had to develop software often from basic
building blocks into the finalize project.
This software was often tied down to the operating system it was built
on. If a company wanted to make a
geographic information system they would need to start with the basic building
blocks and work up from there. These
tasks could take months or years. If
they wanted to correlate their system with crime statistics they would have to
make sure that there geographic information system was compatible with crime
data provided by the government. If the
crime to a database was an Oracle database and the geographic information
system was a MySQL database then the two databases often would have a great
deal of trouble communicating with each other.
Today with readily available APIs from companies such as Google and from
the government this type of data is no longer tied to a specific system. Websites such as crimereports.com can be
built in weeks and not years at very low costs.
Providers
Microsoft recently with the release of Windows 7 has moved many of
the services that were traditionally on a computer to the Internet (“Clash of
the clouds; Cloud computing“, 2009). For
services such as e-mail, and social networking Microsoft provides via an API
that the operating system can use. This
API, however, is not limited to the Windows 7 platform. The same information is accessible to a
desktop computer can be accessed through a smart phone or a video game
console. Any device that has Web access
can potentially use these services. This
frees the user from the computer and allows them to choose to use programs on
number devices. They can even log into
other computers and have their information available to them.
Microsoft
is launching a new platform for companies to develop APIs (Microsoft, n.d.). Microsoft's new platform called Azure allows
companies to run virtualized servers. In
the same way that the Windows 7 operating system allows people to access their
systems remotely, Azure allows companies to host their programs remotely in a
way that is accessible to a large number of people.
Amazon
Amazon has become a
leader in the sale of APIs (Amazon, n.d.).
Companies can now build entire websites in which everything is hosted on
the Amazon platform. Amazon's SimpleDB
allows companies to store their data remotely on Amazon's servers. Amazon's Simple Storage Solutions (S3) allows
companies to store a large amount of data.
Amazon provides low cost or free API services to many companies. The reduction in cost coupled with the speed
of delivery and low maintenance makes the Amazon API solutions desirable for
many new companies.
Google
Google has developed Google App Engine which is a hosting service
for API systems (Arnold, 2009). That combined with the dozens of API systems
that Google gives away for free makes Google a leader in API delivery systems.
Many websites have integrated Google Map’s freely available
API. Websites called mash-ups combine
information from several APIs. Google
maps have been a popular API because it allows people to visualize data. For example, Redfin.com combines Google maps
with real estate data to create a map of available homes for sale.
Google also offers a search service that allows companies to make
a custom Google search on their website.
Google’s search API allows companies to customize the look and feel of
the results.
Google offers programmatic access to its Google Docs program. This allows companies to programmatically
create web forms and spreadsheets easily.
Google is using this API to allow people access to their database API
Google Base. Through Google base people
are able to manage other Google products such as Google’s Image storage system
Picasa.
The Google Merchant API allows companies the ability to submit
items for Google shopping. Through the
API merchants can set post products that they want represented in the Google
product search.
Governance
The World Wide Web became popular in the 1990s. It's only been in the past 10 years that we
have seen companies offering programmatic interfaces. Unlike many internet based products API’s are
not the idea of one organization. They
have been developed slowly by many organizations that have found a need that
they could fill. Literature on the
subject of APIs usually focuses around cost-benefit versus risk analysis. Companies that use APIs typically have a
competitive and it over traditional companies.
APIs, however, are not for every company. Organizational structure, privacy concerns,
and disaster planning are things to consider when thinking about using APIs.
Cost
Using APIs has become a cost-effective means for many startup
Internet companies. Paid APIs are done
by a pay-as-you-go system this means that companies are able to start up at
very low cost and grow as the revenue comes in.
In traditional Internet company would need: servers, a server facility, licenses, and
support staff just to get the website up and running. This capital expense without any revenue
coming in can be a barrier to entry for many entrepreneurs (O’Sullivan, 2009).
Using APIs companies can host their websites remotely, use a
database such as SimpleDB to house their database and use pre-existing services
that allow them to build their websites faster. Products such as he Amazon’s S3 allow
companies to use store large amount of files without having to worry about
bandwidth limitations and server storage space. (Smith, 2009)
Cost of Maintenance
Companies that house their products on the Web can do so without
having to hire the traditional support staff as traditional companies do
(Smith, 2009). For example, database administrators
are responsible for backing up the data, indexing data for faster delivery,
replicating the data to other servers; maintain the hardware and many other
tasks. With Amazon's SimpleDB this is
handled by Amazon itself. Systems
backups, indexing, and other tasks that visual database administrators do are
done automatically by Amazon's database.
In 2007 Carbonite a storage provider lost the data it housed for
7500 customers. Failures like these
while rare still happen. When a customer
is looking at a potential API service provider they need to look at the level
they are paying for. The document that specifies what the service provider is
responsible for his called the service level agreement (SLA) (Zielinski, 2009).
An API provider should
have a SLA outlines their responsibilities. When choosing an API provider business people
need to look at factors that then would care about in their own organization
(Zielinski, 2009).
Service level agreements should spell out exactly what the API is
providing in terms of security, auditing, and disaster recovery. In a service provider should fail to meet
their responsibilities as outlined the contract they should be liable for
losses (Ria & Chukwua,
2009).
Development
Developing software and WebPages that use APIs require developers
architected their software in a way that is compatible with APIs. This usually means writing up their software
into logical parts and then componentizing their software developer efforts.
There are two ways that API services providers generally use to
allow others to interface with their system.
The first is an XML-based cross platform Web communication standard
called Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP).
This allows developers working in different offering systems in
different programming languages to share components easily. A second way is for servers providers that
cater to web pages using a technology called Ajax which is a client-side
browser specific technology. These API
providers use the Web standard JavaScript Object Notation (JSON). SOAP is used
primarily to transfer data from server to server; while JSON is used to
transfer data from server to webpage.
IT Architecture
Companies that use APIs are forcing themselves to take a modular
approach to software development (Luthria & Rabhi, 2009). While this can lead to delivery of their
products quicker to market they can also lead to some other issues. Service oriented architecture, for example,
does not allow programmers to integrate their software as a whole. Each functional part of the program must a
broken down into components that then can indicate with each other via
SOAP. SOA transitions can happen both
within the organization and externally to an API provider SOA fee uses XML
protocols to send data back and forth between the different functional parts of
the program. XML can be very verbose in
its transition of data. This extra
information that is passing through the company’s internal and external network
can cause problems with network latency.
Latency can lead to software freeze ups and web pages that take too long
to load. Working with APIs, developers
need to be mindful of the amount of data is transferred between systems and the
capacity of the network.
Updates
Support staff at company providing APIs perform all the maintenance
and updates necessary to keep their systems secure and running at peak
performance (O’Sullivan, 2009). In a
traditional company is to be handled by the IT staff. Offloading this task and reduce the number of
IT staff that a company needs.
Versioning of APIs can be a difficult issue for API
providers. Over the years and API
provider can have several different versions of their service available. Issuing updates can break existing client’s
software. Many API providers force
software developers to choose a version that they wish to use. This prevents version conflicts and allows
projects to target one statistic set of services offered by a
API provider. Because new versions are
not forced upon API clients, when a new version comes out it is up to the
client to choose whether or not they wish to upgrade their current
version. New versions of an API may
contain bug fixes and new features but they also could destabilize a company’s
current software product or webpage.
Because the client does not control when new versions come out there may
be no development budget to implement and test the new versions. Because there are some writers and clients
are often out of sync with versioning and software development efforts clients
need to be flexible enough to make changes whenever the need arises.
Adapting
Traditional software is constrained to an operating system and a
set of hardware (O’Sullivan, 2009).
APIs, however, often defy these constraints so they can gain more
clients. Many APIs use the SOAP portal
format which means that they are able to transmit not only work on websites and
PC software but other devices such as smart phones and game consoles.
Support
Whether a company uses an API that is free or a paid subscription
support of the product should be considered.
Many companies offering free APIs such as Flickr did not offer prompt
support. Rather they offer a wiki and a
problem reporting form (O’Sullivan, 2009).
Implications for IT
Using APIs can be a strategic advantage for any companies. Using APIs requires that the entire IT staff
from management to testers must learn a different way of doing business. APIs rely on outside parties to do their
work. IT teams must learn how to form a
relationship with API providers.
Governance
Leadership among companies that use APIs must keep a portfolio of
APIs that is able to help the company gain a strategic advantage over the
competition. Leaders at these
organizations need to know the factors that make a strong API portfolio. Factors such as cost, latency, security, and
contracts are important factors in having a strong API portfolio.
Cost
Using APIs can have a large cost advantage over traditional
software developer efforts (Truitt,
2009). Paid APIs are generally built
on a pay-as-you-go. This type of system
can be a great benefit for companies that are starting out. Traditionally a company that is starting what
they to purchase servers, server space, IT staff to mention servers, user
licenses, and a number of other capital intensive products.
Using APIs allows companies to pay for their systems as money
comes at. By paying for only what they
need companies are able to better evaluate the costs effectiveness of the
API. Many API companies offer a no-cost
trial of their product. This allows
companies to develop software risk and cost free. By eliminating the large amount of capital
needed to start a project companies are putting themselves better able to
implement projects and pay for them with operational costs.
API
providers typically have a server farm that allows them to scale their products
rapidly. For many companies there is a
cost barrier to implementing a server farm.
Internet
companies especially can have a large amount of fluctuating data (Waxer, 2009). For these companies to remain operational
during spikes in traffic they traditionally needed excess server capacity. It is not uncommon for websites to receive 10
times the traffic they receive due to a front page story on a site like
digg.com. Company that
do not use APIs would need 10 times the amount of excess capacity that
they experience on a daily basis. This
may mean that they have 10 times the amount of servers and 10 times the server
space. This can be incredibly cost
ineffective for these types of companies.
APIs provide a solution to this problem.
APIs automatically scale when may be too and the client is only charged
for what they use. This allows companies
to seamlessly handle 10 times their typical traffic without incurring
performance issues and costs concerns.
One
important factor to businesses that APIs provide is the ability to integrate
their products offering with other websites.
E-commerce websites are able to post their products on Google shopping
and Amazon through APIs (McCreary, 2009). Companies are finding that developing
relationships collaborative relationships with API providers can help them
increase their revenues.
Legal Ramifications
While using APIs can give companies a strategic advantage, APIs
are not suitable for every organization.
When using an API that is involved with records management companies
must look at regulatory laws that govern the control of information. The health and financial industries are
wrought with regulatory laws that may make it impractical to use APIs.
Companies looking into using APIs for data storage should make
sure that the service provider has a plan for backup, replication, and disaster
recovery. Audit controls are another
important factor in choosing a company to store data. Internal theft happens at many
companies. Audit control can help
companies track potential embezzlement.
FRCP Related to
Discovery
The US Federal Rules Regulatory Procedures (FRCP) states that companies that are in
civil trials must be able to provide all electronically stored information (Gatewood,
2009). Companies that store their
data in the cloud with services such as Amazons SimpleDB must look at whether
or not they are able to quickly get a copy of all of their data. Amazons SimpleDB does allow quering of its
database but has a row limit of 5000 results (Amazon n.d.). This could create a
large burden for a company trying to retrieve all the data from its databases
stored in SimpleDB. A company that is
expecting it may face civil trials may wish to think about storing data in a
more traditional database.
Regulatory
Requirements
Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is subject to
regulations on how it is stored and delivered to people. These regulations vary by country. The place
that hosts the server and where the data is stored is usually subject to the
laws within that country (Gatewood, 2009).
API
distributors often have several data centers around the
world. These data centers help prevent
against regional disasters and also can be used for increased demand within a
certain region. Companies that send PII
to API servers are subject to laws in the countries that those servers are
housed.
SOX
The Sarbanes-Oxley act of
2002 made transparency in accounting mandatory for many organizations. These companies must provide a way of locking
share holders out of financial information during certain times (Gatewood,
2009). Many APIs rely on a single user
name and password to access the data.
For companies that need to lock down access during certain times this
may not be possible with API providers. Sarbanes-Oxley
also requires that companies audit the access of data by people. Companies also need to be able to remove people’s
access that no longer works at the company.
With its username password combination data housed in the cloud may not
have the capacity.
Research Opportunities
Current research in the area of APIs has been limited to cost
benefit analysis and risk reward analysis.
Most of these analyses are done through qualitative methodologies. There exist research opportunities in this
field for quantitative analysis.
Researchers could, for example, analyze the cost savings of companies
that have switched from traditional software development is to cut
getting. Researchers can also look at
the overall development time it takes companies to develop standard projects
and project using APIs.
Conclusion
Using APIs as part of a software development project comes with
risks and benefits. Understanding the
benefits and risks are key to making API use
decisions. APIs come with the promise of
faster software development and decreased development cost and time. APIs can also help companies integrate with
partners more easily. In today's
business world partnerships and synergy can make or break a company. APIs allows a company to easily port its
software to many other platforms such as smart phones and game consoles.
There are risks also associated with using APIs. Companies that wish to store PII or financial
data using an API may be at risk of violating laws and having an insecure
website. Companies using APIs must be
able to quantify the risks and keep an API portfolio. Company should understand the contracts for
APIs when choosing a API provider. These contracts should have the same
requirements that a business would need internally if it were developing a
project. Backups and disaster recovery
must be considered before deciding on a API provider.
Companies must also look at their own internal architecture to see
if having an external API would cause slowdowns on their network. APIs require that companies send data across
the Internet. If the company does not
have a fast internal network this may cause an unacceptable level of delay when
running applications.
References
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Luthria, H., & Rabhi, F.
(2009). Service Oriented Computing in Practice – An Agenda forResearch into
the Factors Influencing the OrganizationalAdoption of Service Oriented
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Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 4(1), 39-56.
McCreary, B. (2009). Web collaboration
- How it is impacting business.
American Journal of Business, 24(9), 7-9.
Microsoft (n.d.). Windows Azure platform. Retrieved
November 5, 2009, from http://www.microsoft.com/windowsazure/
O’Sullivan, D. (2009). The Internet
cloud with a silver lining.
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Smith, R. (2009). Computing in the
cloud. Research Technology Management, 52(5), 65-68.
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