Telecom & Technology Consulting
Until recently, CIOs were solely responsible for running the technology side of the company. Now, they’re tasked with creating business models that can grow revenue.
This change is due to the exponential explosion of Application Programmer Interfaces (APIs). As such, IT leaders must change their perspectives. Instead of purely being overseers of the company’s technology landscape, they have to put on a sales hat and assess how technology can expand the business.
Why the shift? Companies increasingly need to develop new business models to compete, and APIs help with that mission. With APIs, you can connect disparate systems and platforms, meaning there’s a sharing of data and tasks, which allows you to create entirely new services and apps. And that’s how you create new business models.
Of course, CIOs must be prudent and closely assess this strategy before taking the API route to growth. APIs, although generally mainstream at this point, have different degrees of quality and reliability. Be sure that whatever APIs you develop, they are based on real-world customer needs and market demands.
Since we’re constantly consulting and collaborating with CIOs, we’ve witnessed a number of trends. First, companies are increasingly paying more attention to unique API consumption strategies. That means having the ability to quickly coordinate various APIs into new business models.
“Quickly” is the key idea due to increased competition and ever-shifting customer needs. Bringing together APIs and integrating the final solution can be complex and time-consuming. It’s even more challenging when completing the task with legacy systems.
We’ve also noticed that APIs are fostering omnichannel selling and buying. In fact, the most sophisticated APIs are being deployed by retail organizations who want to provide a seamless and consistent shopping experience across the web, mobile, and in-store channels.
Overall, our clients seem to find that the most useful APIs map precisely with the demographics and buying patterns of their customers. Indeed, customer needs must be the basis for all API development. But it’s not just about human psychology. The API development must also consider the devices customers use, be they laptop, smartphone and tablet.
Not only does this rigorous development process create accurate APIs – ones which serve real-world needs – it also means you’re able to develop them a lot faster. As a result, you have a quicker way to launch new business models, providing more potential for revenue and eliminating hurdles to growth.
