I’ve seen this scenario play out over and over during my time as the API Evangelist. When I worked at the Department of Veterans Affairs doing API, Web Service, and data inventory during the Obama administration, the contractors like Deloitte knew where all the WSDLs were. So they had the power. I have advised numerous product people over the years to become more API aware and savvy, resulting in them accumulating more power in their position, which resulted in moving up the ladder.

If you know where the APIs are, you end up with more control in your workplace. If you know the people who own these APIs, you end up with more control in your workplace. It isn’t something that just happens overnight. You have to do the work. Discover APIs. Reverse engineer APIs. Onboard with APIs. Document API. Talk to people about their APIs. Ask questions. Over time, if you document your processes well enough and keep doing the work, you will begin to accumulate knowledge how the technical, business, and political systems work around the internal and external integrations that power your business.

APIs are the invisible pipes, glue, and connective tissue, depending on what metaphoric approach you want to take. Those who are in tune with this liminal space in between our businesses and the applications we depend on accumulate the power and control associated with these business activities and within these applications. This has been the reality since mobile applications emerged 15+ years ago, and it is even more real with the obfuscation that has emerged around artificial intelligence applications. If you want to be at the center of what is actually happening today, and tomorrow, and outlast this moment—focus on the API knowledge.