I am spending time understanding how API providers have invested in their open source offerings. Mapping out which leading API providers have dedicated pages for showcasing not only the open source they are building, but also the open source tools they are putting to work within their platforms. As I do with all of my API research I am looking to learn as much as I can from the approach of existing API leaders, and distill it down as part of the stories I tell, and work I'm doing at Postman and with partners.
To help me get an understanding of what is happening, I took a sampling of top API providers from my database, and got to work profiling their apporach to showcasing the open source they build and put to use--here is what I'm seeing at first glance.
Stripe
Twilio
Netflix
Dropbox
Microsoft
Uber
Lyft
Box
Paypal
Salesforce
Shopify
Adobe
Hubspot
Intuit
Tableau
These 20 API providers offer up a bunch of lessons for me when it comes to showcasing open source as part of their operations. Next I will be going through each of these pages and documenting the common building blocks in use, and assemble a master list of elements other API providers should think about when it comes to showcasing their open source offerings. Helping demonstrate that API providers aren't just about APIs, and they also actively invest in giving back with open source.
I have always tracked on open source pages for the API I profile, but it hasn't really been a priority. I'm going to bump it up in priority, and eventually publish an industry guide for other API providers to use when planning their own open source showcase. I know that many of my readers would rather have a checklist they can use when planning their own efforts, and have a list of links to click on when looking for inspiration from API providers they already respect.