APIs have been influential in ushering in a new era of business development, dubbed
BizDev 2.0. APIs empower new types of relationship to be built between a business and its partners or openly by public developers.
Self-Service application platforms move this business development forward and introduces a third player into the game, platform partners.
Platforms like
Google Apps, and Box.net not only deliver APIs, they provide a self-service application development environment, a place where third party businesses can access their users, and add value to their platform.
Forward thinking businesses can bring their own APIs, and communities development power to these environments and create applications tailored specifically for Box.net or Google Apps Business, Government, Education and Non-Profit users.
In some cases businesses can even create white label applications that other service providers quickly deploy their own branded applications on Box.net OpenBox, or Google Apps Marketplace. Adding a potentially new wholesale layer to these API communities.
APIs with aSelf-Service Application Platform introduces new forms of business development where businesses can leverage their own APIs, the APIs of others, even bundle them together to build applications that can reach entirely new audiences via platform partners.
