I have been having conversations with a lot of folks about API integration, consumption, and automation as I work to build Naftiko. I entered into these conversations with folks in the early part of this summer without much empathy for people doing artificial intelligence, and have come out the other side with a lot more empathy for what is happening and where we are headed. I still strongly feel that AI is overhyped and overblown and obfuscate some very dangerous realities around labor, climate change, and copyright, but as I’ve learned more, I’ve softened the edge on how I talk with folks about this moment we are in, and specifically regarding how we are going to address what is next without jeopardizing what we already have built.
Here is what I am hearing that has shifted my response towards this moment in technology.
- We’ve invested a lot in our API infrastructure over time and we need to build on it and not throw it away.
- We started using SaaS so that we could move faster, and now that we have hundreds we don’t move.
- Leadership has told us that we MUST be adapting to artificial intelligence or we will be losing our jobs.
- We need to automate anything possible because we need to be doing more with fewer people & resources.
- It is impossible to “see” and observe all of the services, APIs, and AI is being used across each team.
- We can’t find anything and the amount of code, artifacts, and documentation available keeps increasing.
- We have a lot of valuable data that we can’t always properly put to use because it isn’t in the right place.
- We are working to “platformitize” our operations so that we can better support teams with shared services.
- There is a lot of pressure to optimize operations so we can deliver more efficiently across business domains.
- The gap between the business groups and the engineering groups continues to be massive and untenable.
- The pressure to more rapidly produce high quality code exceeds reality and the skills present on our teams.
- We use a lot of open-source and are told to use more of it, but don’t always have time to contribute back.
- We are actively using OpenAPI, AsyncAPI, JSON Schema, and now MCP, but don’t use in any strategic way.
- There is a strong mandate to standardize everything we do, but there isn’t a lot of guidance on how to do it.
- The security and compliance risk is pushing us to invest in governance but we don’t even know where to start.
- There is a significant skills shortage and gap—we don’t have the API knowledge we need, let alone AI skills.
- We are still getting a handle on cloud and API sprawl, and artificial intelligence doesn’t seem to be helping.
- I do not have a lot of control over decisions that impact my group or team, but am increasingly accountable.
- There is a lot of uncertainty in the world and we are afraid of losing our jobs, healthcare, and well-being.
Oooof. Yeah, I get it. There is a lot in motion. There are a lot of potentially conflicting mandates. While I don’t agree with 90% of the use cases being put forth for artificial intelligence, I get that most people don’t actually have a say in what their priorities are at the organizational level. They are just doing the best they can with what they have, and could use some help doing a little better here and there, while freeing up some time to think about the strategy. Hearing all of this has softened the edges of my rhetoric around artificial intelligence, pushing me towards being more supportive of MCP, A2A, semantics, workflows, and other things in service of this very AI moment we find ourselves in.
I don’t care if someone wants to do EDI, SOAP, REST, GraphQL, Webhooks, Websockets, JDBC, ODBC, FTP, MCP, or A2A—I want to help them be successful. I am in the integration, consumption, and governance business. I don’t want to shame folks for the irrationality of the market. If you have a mandate to do MCP—I want to help understand what you are needing. From the technical bits to the business bits. This list represents the aggregation of people I am talking with right now. If you fit this profile—I’d love to chat. I am looking for public podcast as well as private discussions. Feel free to just ping me at [email protected] if you have something you’d like to share. I am really enjoying the discussions I am having with people-—I learn so much.
