Apigee’s I Love APIs 2014 Conference Notes
My notes and takeaways on Apigee’s I Love APIs 2014 conference in San Francisco
Last week, Apigee hosted its I Love APIs 2014 (#ILoveAPIs) conference in San Francisco at Fort Mason. Below are my key takeaways and general observations from the day and a half I attended.
This was Apigee’s second year hosting the conference, and attendance appeared to have roughly doubled compared to the prior year. My sources estimated approximately 1,600 registered attendees, making it one of the larger API-focused conferences I have attended. The overarching message remained consistent: companies must pursue digital transformation, and APIs are a critical enabler for accelerating that journey.
This year, there was also noticeably more emphasis on how APIs can help address big data challenges and support predictive applications. That direction was reflected in the announcement of Apigee Insights and the big data session track. Insights is a predictive actions platform designed to help enterprises increase revenue and customer satisfaction by powering adaptive applications that anticipate customer needs.
Apigee also demonstrated a predictive application using Insights. The demo featured an iPhone shopping app that delivered marketing offers based on user behavior. The demonstration used Apigee 127, a model-first toolkit for building enterprise APIs in Node.js on a laptop. The session also included a demonstration of a data scientist using RClient to build predictive models.
One of the sessions I attended was “Adaptive Applications: Reimagine the Future” within the big data track, presented by Mike Gualtieri of Forrester Research. He made several strong points. He noted that 30% of business decision-makers remain confused about big data, and that big data should be understood as “data++” — all available data, not just unstructured information. He also emphasized that binary data is often overlooked. According to his research, only 12% of enterprises are unlocking the full potential of data because of poor data quality. His core message was that predictive analytics represents the next major wave of innovation. Netflix’s recommendation engine is a strong example of predictive analytics in action. Adaptive applications anticipate customer intent, and APIs serve as the mechanism through which predictive capabilities are delivered. He also stressed that SOA, API, and data warehouse teams must be aligned to create the foundation for predictive application development. He recommended looking at Apache Mahout, Weka, machine learning libraries, and the R language for statistical computing and graphics.
One of the aspects I appreciated most was the dedicated business track at the conference, which is not something you often see at API events. In my view, this is a critical component for companies and for the industry as a whole, especially during the early stages of enterprise API adoption.
Industry analysts continue to predict that by 2020 there will be 50 billion connected devices worldwide. Against that backdrop, Apigee made a strong case that companies need a Chief Digital Officer (CDO) to serve as executive sponsor and champion for digital transformation. In some organizations, this may be a new role; in others, it may be an expanded responsibility for an existing C-level leader. More importantly, it is someone who can communicate the opportunities of digital transformation rather than focusing only on the risks, and who can help educate the broader management team on what the transformation means for the business.
Apigee also introduced something unique during the keynote: the Digital Accelerator Awards. These awards recognized customers who are leading the way in digital transformation. Some of the winners included Pearson, Walgreens, and McCormick.
In a panel discussion with Walgreens, Accenture, and Tradier, the speakers noted that industries are increasingly using APIs to leapfrog more advanced competitors and create advantages that may not have been possible otherwise. Their recommendation was to focus less on cost and more on business value and return on investment.
Another panel, “Digital Transformation: Beyond the Bits”, again emphasized the importance of the CDO and the role of ROI. The panelists suggested that the CDO is not only needed to align the executive team, but also to help establish governance models that allow the business to prioritize and adopt the transformation journey effectively.
In the panel discussion Digital Pioneers, featuring Edmond Mesrobian of Expedia, Jerry Wolfe of McCormick, and Joe Tobolski of Cognizant, the conversation focused on innovation and enterprise adoption. The cost of experimentation is falling, which makes it easier to test new ideas quickly. At the same time, experimentation must be paired with fast feedback loops and measurable outcomes. Ideas that seemed experimental a year ago may now be highly relevant, since customers are adapting quickly. One of the major challenges ahead is getting analytics into APIs and making models callable. Companies will need to prove value through results. They will also need talent that is curious, passionate, and motivated to solve business problems rather than simply execute IT work. Bringing developers into the conversation helps empower them and improves the organization’s ability to innovate. The challenge for many companies will be to pivot and scale effectively in the new digital economy. Those who invest wisely are likely to see the greatest returns.
The final session I attended was on Hypermedia within the API track. LL Bean presented its use of hypermedia and shared that it has been evolving its API catalog since 2003. Their goal was to improve developer usability through hypermedia. However, the implementation introduced additional testing complexity and required a shift to behavior-driven development (BDD). The hypermedia specification is still evolving, and broader tool support will be needed to encourage adoption, including hypermedia browsers.
Overall, this was an excellent conference produced by Apigee. The event brought together a highly engaged group of API developers and business leaders eager to learn and share ideas. Fort Mason is a strong venue, although many sessions were difficult to hear because the rooms were separated only by large curtains, allowing noise to carry between spaces. Arriving early and sitting near the front helped. Apigee is growing, the API market is growing, and more companies are looking for a competitive edge. That is a strong recipe for continued success. I am looking forward to next year’s conference.