API Strategy and API Tactic

Experts in the API Economy (API = application programming interface) have been discussing as to whether there is such a thing as an “API strategy.”

This was triggered by Daniel Jacobson’s article “Why you probably don’t need an API strategy” on The Next Web. This provoked several responses such as by Steve Willmott (“Why your API IS your Strategy”) or Blake Dournaee (“Why You Probably Need an API Strategy”).

It is to a large degree mostly a discussion about semantics of terms. Basically, a strategy is a set of planned actions to achieve a longer term goal. Because every API program should entail such a plan, it is fair to say that every API program needs a strategy (the "API strategy").

The problem very clearly arises, if the API strategy is an isolated, standalone endeavor that does not contribute to the organization’s objectives. I argue that strategies are cascaded into several levels of granularity, where at the top is the organization’s overarching strategy and several other sub-strategies (eg, technology, marketing, HR, IT, security, or API strategy) contribute to the top-level strategy. As such every sub-strategy can be considered a tactic to the higher-level strategy. Hence, also the API strategy is a tactic of the organization’s overarching strategy.

Daniel Jacobson criticizes that “if there is an API strategy then it means that API is the product in-and-of-itself.” That in itself is not the problem. An API can be the core product offering, which is fine if that is the intention and the objective of the overarching business strategy.

Al Ries and Jack Trout share a very interesting perspective in their book about "Marketing Warfare" regarding strategy and tactic: A great strategy depends on tactical capabilities of an organisation. There is no point in having a grand strategy that can never be implemented because the organization lacks the required means. It is intuitively quite understandable to focus on your strengths and capabilities as an organisation. However, an organisation is also not ill-advised to stretch its capabilities, look out and try to understand the market forces and to adapt into whichever direction these develop.

How can this be applied to APIs?

APIs can be a means to adapt to and leverage market forces. APIs and the surrounding API program can be a very fruitful tactical means to support an organization's strategy and to stretch its tactical capabilities. APIs, for instance, can be used to create a new managed channel to valuable assets.

On the 3scale blog, I wrote about building effective API programs and the role of strategy for the API. On the level of the strategy for the API, corresponding tactical means relate to choices about API technologies, business models, marketing or operations of the API. The same principles apply on this level: Understand what the organisation currently is capable of and also see where it's worth stretching.

In conclusion, the question whether an organization's API is a strategy or a tactic simply depends on the context and is a matter of abstraction level related to the cascading of strategies. I also argue that this question is actually fairly irrelevant. The much more important question is to ask: How does the API program contribute to the overarching strategy and what does an organization want to achieve?

I work for 3scale – delivering API Management solutions (@3scale on Twitter). My job involves educating markets about the value of APIs and how to implement effective API programs.

I also curate and comment articles about API strategy and technology for the API Magazine (@API_Mag on Twitter).