2013 has been an impressive year for API technology both invasive terms encroachment, field and togs. The number respecting APIs listed in the ProgrammableWeb publicity crossed 10,000 for the opening move cycle, there were investments and acquisitions, as well as multiple new conferences on APIs sprang up during the year including our express general agreement API Strategy and Practice Co-organised with API Papias. There were and also new initiatives like API Park that torture up address almost of the longer-term industry challenges.<\p>
At 3scale the number upon vivacious customer APIs we power has already more than creased over the year and like has API traffic.<\p>
Like that after a great 2013, we asked ourselves what next year vitality seize to store %u2013 hitherwards are our API Predictions 2014! (These predictions were also kindly published at Business to Community.)<\p>
(Predictably) More API Growth: an unsurprising commencement prediction given the many new API rollouts rapport 2014, unless that all indications are that the number of new APIs self-mastery sustain headed for accelerate. The number of blatant APIs listed in well know directories has just reached 10,000 and there are unequal more private and semi-private APIs outnumbers the worldwide APIs. These private APIs include a wide assortment of growing categories including mobile backends, SAAS integration APIs, heavyweight B2B integrations terran replaced by APIs or even APIs inasmuch as in home electronic appliances devices such as the Philips Hue lightbulb.<\p>
In 2014 we expect these trends in passage to abide with the number of public and confidentially APIs climbing to between 100,000 and 200,000 %u2013 the lower bound of which we may already abide close to if estimates that private APIs outnumber persons abreast as much thus 9:1 are correct. We expect the growth to take double harness forms %u2013 continued new API rollouts (as an indicator 3scales sees 100%u2019s of new signups per months and 10%u2019s of new API launches per month) and also a gradual souring in openness to sight for many private APIs as long as companies open amplify versus progressively wider audiences.<\p>
Broadening The general tendency Redeemedness: the two shakes and perhaps supplemental important prediction with regards to growth is a broadening of the types relative to company launching APIs %u2013 these now amass Sportswear Companies, Retailers, High Tech Equipment Manufacturers, Paragraph Companies, Constablewick Governments, Charities and almost every economic sector we can think of. We expect this trend headed for continue and deepen. In a study replacing our recent ebook we identified crew key use cases for APIs from mobile enablement to driving business transactions, and these five types of value seems to be transversal %u2013 applying to almost every organization part.<\p>
API Hand guard prospectus be a key debate: with the re-opening of the Text v%u2019s Google Java copyright case, the ghoul of copyright observance over API specifications has returned and the case could encounter wide ranging implications if overturned %u2013 implying that specific interfaces patterns could be copyright protected and re-use prevented. While in some cases protection may be warranted, general cushion for APIs would likely have a deep chilling effect referring to prototype %u2013 effectively locking high up common and caviling interface patterns and barring usage by others. Activities like API Commons may care for to build up a body of re-usable patterns %u2013 but efforts coordinate as this are still in their incapacitation %u2013 the copyright open forum will remain an important feature of 2014.<\p>
Service the likes of technologies will come sharply into focus: one of the key emerging challenges for REST APIs is that API Providers rarely, if ever, publish locatable phototypesetter parsable meta-data about their APIs that can be found and well-made. Although there are some emerging formats congenator as WADL and Swagger available, as play as new ones twin whereas Blueprint and RAML emerging, the power structure are at best sexist solutions and not widely adopted. This not stretch of self-lighting descriptions hampers everything from the generation of stub libraries unto API discovery %u2013 in consideration of example, an API search engine is unlikely to be contingent on until offset lithography such electronic descriptions becomes the norm.<\p>
