API economy
How can you transform ideas into revenue?
With secure, open networks that enable next-generation apps and value creation.
The API economy is a game-changing force, offering organizations unparalleled connectivity, data exchange and innovation potential that can significantly boost profitability.
APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) are the backbone of the economic paradigm known as the API economy. The API economy can positively impact your organization’s profitability by creating new value propositions, enhancing customer experiences, and enabling business innovation. A comprehensive API strategy will produce value, from the outside in, for digital organizations and their ecosystem partners.
APIs expose data, services, and transactions, enabling assets to be shared and reused and leveraging internal and external creativity to spark new products and services as well as enhance existing ones. So far, APIs have been used to integrate various network capabilities (functions and applications) across layers to deploy, manage and efficiently operate networks. Their utility has evolved to provide unprecedented connections and data exchange for a wide range of applications, independent of their platforms, data formats, or underlying technology. The innovative capacity of APIs makes them an essential component of solutions that influence the organization's bottom line, leading to efficiency, growth, and innovation.
Ninety-two percent of business investments in APIs will increase or stay the same over the coming year, according to Postman’s 2023 State of the API Report.
APIs are seen positively by 56% of IT decision-makers as assets that help firms create better digital experiences and products, according to Postman’s 2023 State of the API Report.
About two-thirds of API professionals say they will use generative AI in their job, according to Postman’s 2023 State of the API Report.
Service providers
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When developers call network applications through APIs and combine them with application logic, they can address new use cases, boost innovation and create new value for customers. In turn, this creates stickiness between the user, the application, and the network, extending network value beyond traditional usage. Here is where a network-powered ecosystem can expand your developer ecosystem to deliver more value leveraging the full value, of your network.
5G networks have numerous features that cater to the requirements of Industry 4.0 applications, including remote inspection using drones, public safety, automated terrestrial vehicles, supply chains driven by digital twins, adaptable manufacturing systems, and maintenance utilizing mixed reality. developing ecosystem that will deliver more value to consumers, we are assisting businesses in realizing the full value of their network.
CAMARA is a Linux Foundation open-source project to define, develop and test Telco APIs. CAMARA works in close collaboration with the GSMA Operator Platform Group to align API requirements and publish API definitions and APIs. GSMA Open Gateway is a framework of common network APIs designed to provide universal access to operator networks for developers.
Global spending on OpenRAN-compliant RIC (RAN Intelligent Controller) platforms, xApps and rApps, will reach nearly $600 million by the end of 2025, according to a new report by SNS Telecom & IT. The market research and consulting firm estimates that global spending on RIC platforms, xApps, and rApps will reach $120 million in 2023 as initial implementations move from field trials to production-grade deployments. With commercial maturity, the submarket is further expected to quintuple to nearly $600 million by the end of 2025.
APIs will expand your critical channels that may provide direct access to sensitive IP that may not otherwise be at risk. APIs connect sophisticated ecosystems and processes supported by multiple interactions, endpoints and diverse technology footprints. A comprehensive API security strategy will be needed.
Developer communities are expanding to consist of traditional human programmers, human programmers aided by AI coding assistants, low-code or no-code human prompts, AutoML engineers, and automatic code generators. APIs can extend network programmability to all types of existing and future developer communities.
GSMA and 3GPP are laying the foundation for the IMS Data Channel, which will make possible the fast development of new web apps, such as advanced supplementary services, avatars, AR capabilities, and content sharing, that can be used in conjunction with a voice or video call, thus revolutionizing the phone call. The apps do not need to be standardized or interop tested while still being able to be used between parties on different CSPs without pre-installing or pre-registering for the apps.
Priorities
- To foster a thriving developer ecosystem, it is imperative to provide standardized, straightforward, and consolidated APIs that cover all network layer capabilities. This is preferable to having a range of diverse, complex, and numerous APIs.
- Service providers should look into evolving the traditional stack to an integrated everything-as-a-service ecosystem and adopting an API-driven delivery model to increase revenue and reduce costs.
- Cyber-risk considerations should be at the heart of your integration and API strategies. Build your APIs and programs with security in mind as a solid cornerstone for the applications they enable. A secure design ensures your API code and infrastructure are appropriately hardened.
- Build a comprehensive developer portal to share your APIs with app developers, which enables easy onboarding and API discovery.
- Consider scope control to manage API-level authentication and access management.
- Develop a plan for API ecosystem management that will help create, secure, manage and monetize your APIs throughout their entire lifecycle.
Enterprises
Get the insights
When developers call network applications through APIs and combine them with application logic, they can address new use cases, boost innovation and create new value for customers. In turn, this creates stickiness between the user, the application, and the network, extending network value beyond traditional usage. Here is where a network-powered ecosystem can expand your developer ecosystem to deliver more value leveraging the full value, of your network.
5G networks have numerous features that cater to the requirements of Industry 4.0 applications, including remote inspection using drones, public safety, automated terrestrial vehicles, supply chains driven by digital twins, adaptable manufacturing systems, and maintenance utilizing mixed reality. developing ecosystem that will deliver more value to consumers, we are assisting businesses in realizing the full value of their network.
CAMARA is a Linux Foundation open-source project to define, develop and test Telco APIs. CAMARA works in close collaboration with the GSMA Operator Platform Group to align API requirements and publish API definitions and APIs. GSMA Open Gateway is a framework of common network APIs designed to provide universal access to operator networks for developers.
Global spending on OpenRAN-compliant RIC (RAN Intelligent Controller) platforms, xApps and rApps, will reach nearly $600 million by the end of 2025, according to a new report by SNS Telecom & IT. The market research and consulting firm estimates that global spending on RIC platforms, xApps, and rApps will reach $120 million in 2023 as initial implementations move from field trials to production-grade deployments. With commercial maturity, the submarket is further expected to quintuple to nearly $600 million by the end of 2025.
APIs will expand your critical channels that may provide direct access to sensitive IP that may not otherwise be at risk. APIs connect sophisticated ecosystems and processes supported by multiple interactions, endpoints and diverse technology footprints. A comprehensive API security strategy will be needed.
Developer communities are expanding to consist of traditional human programmers, human programmers aided by AI coding assistants, low-code or no-code human prompts, AutoML engineers, and automatic code generators. APIs can extend network programmability to all types of existing and future developer communities.
GSMA and 3GPP are laying the foundation for the IMS Data Channel, which will make possible the fast development of new web apps, such as advanced supplementary services, avatars, AR capabilities, and content sharing, that can be used in conjunction with a voice or video call, thus revolutionizing the phone call. The apps do not need to be standardized or interop tested while still being able to be used between parties on different CSPs without pre-installing or pre-registering for the apps.
Priorities
- To foster a thriving developer ecosystem, it is imperative to provide standardized, straightforward, and consolidated APIs that cover all network layer capabilities. This is preferable to having a range of diverse, complex, and numerous APIs.
- Service providers should look into evolving the traditional stack to an integrated everything-as-a-service ecosystem and adopting an API-driven delivery model to increase revenue and reduce costs.
- Cyber-risk considerations should be at the heart of your integration and API strategies. Build your APIs and programs with security in mind as a solid cornerstone for the applications they enable. A secure design ensures your API code and infrastructure are appropriately hardened.
- Build a comprehensive developer portal to share your APIs with app developers, which enables easy onboarding and API discovery.
- Consider scope control to manage API-level authentication and access management.
- Develop a plan for API ecosystem management that will help create, secure, manage and monetize your APIs throughout their entire lifecycle.
Get the insights
Enterprises and industries are expanding their digital ecosystems with APIs for developers to build new applications and digital services.
Technologies like computer vision, facial recognition, and large language models provide market-dominating capabilities that vastly improve user experiences and productivity and enable new services not possible before.
APIs will expand your critical channels that may provide direct access to sensitive IP that may not otherwise be at risk. APIs connect sophisticated ecosystems and processes supported by multiple interactions, endpoints, and diverse technology footprints. A comprehensive API security strategy will be needed.
Developer communities are expanding to consist of traditional human programmers, human programmers aided by AI coding assistants, low-code or no-code human prompts, AutoML engineers and automatic code generators. APIs can extend network programmability to all types of existing and future developer communities.
GSMA and 3GPP are laying the foundation for the IMS Data Channel, which will make possible the fast development of new web apps, such as advanced supplementary services, avatars, AR capabilities, and content sharing, that can be used in conjunction with a voice or video call, thus revolutionizing B2C and B2B phone calls. The apps do not need to be standardized or interop tested while still being able to work between parties without pre-installing or pre-registering for the apps.
Start planning
- Build your API strategy. First, set your business goals to guide your go-to-market and technical decisions. Carefully plan your API development and management plan to help address the needs of your developers, applications, users and business in a cohesive manner.
- Consider user features and functionality, release control, authorization and authentication, security testing and management and support tools.
- Consider where your data is being exposed, whether it is local, remote, or in a cloud. Infrastructure considerations include networking requirements and policies, security, and regulatory requirements that a business must meet.
- Continuously watch API trends (e.g., API architectures and stacks) and evolve accordingly to meet developer needs.
- Consider creating a developer community for the use of your APIs. This developer community may support traditional human programmers, human programmers aided by AI coding assistants, low-code or no-code human prompts and AutoML engineers.
What's next?
We are at the forefront of the API economy with our groundbreaking 'Network as Code' offering, which transforms the network into a truly programmable entity.
We are adapting to an ever-changing technology environment and continuously innovating our products, services and practices. We are helping companies unlock the potential of their network’s value by helping to simplify and abstract network capabilities to make them a part of applications and services developed through the innovation of an expanding ecosystem that will bring greater value to customers.
Our envisioned architectural framework for 2030 is centered around the concept of network digital twins. These twins have the potential to consolidate and streamline a wide array of APIs, offering a meaningful solution to empower the developer ecosystem.
