I am spending time talking to more API providers, and API service providers, about the challenges they are facing, while reaching out to potential customers, thanks to the support of my partners Cloud Elements. One of the conversation I had last week was with Diego Oppenheimer (@doppenhe) of Algorithmia (@algorithmia), who shared with me the challenges he faces in getting senior engineers to realize the potential of APIs, and the value API driven platforms like Algorithmia bring to the table.
Diego expressed that the biggest thing they face is convincing their engineer, senior dev, and other tech-focused consumers, that Algorithmia isn't just something new they need to add to their existing stack, and that it is more about enabling what is already in place. While some folks will benefit from discovering entirely new algorithmic approaches on Algorithmia's marketplace, the biggest impact will come from the platform's approach to defining, scaling, and stabilizing the algorithms developers and IT folks are already putting to work.
These are the content, data, and other resources you are already putting to work, the algorithms in your business life that already have relevance in your operations. I'm constantly working to focus on the fact that APIs are all about making these resources better defined, accessible and more discoverable, but when you also leverage what's being called "serverless" approaches like Algorithmia, you are also making them more scalable, more stable, and usable as well.
Diego said he's always trying to reassure senior tech folks of the fact that they aren't pointing out that they don't have the skills needed to define, deploy, and scale the bits of code (algorithms) that are making all of our worlds go around. It is about employing APIs, the cloud, and making your existing algorithms more agile, flexible, and scalable, augmenting your existing world with tangible benefits--ultimately making you better at what you are already doing.
I've talked about this concept before within my own operations. As the API Evangelist I will not scale what I do, unless I can find a service that augments what I already do, justifying an added costs only by truly achieving relevance in my daily operations. Little API driven algorithmic nuggets is how I do this. All you have to do as an APi service provider and enabler, is convince me of the tangible benefit you deliver in my operations, and your products, services, and tooling will naturally become more relevant.
