Week nine of Google Cloud Next ‘20: OnAir is in the books—and what a week it was! From Google Cloud GM/VP Amit Zavery’s keynote to product announcements to customer demos to Google SVP Urs Hölzle presentation and Q&A, we explored multiple ways enterprises are leveraging APIs and no-code application development to accelerate their digital transformations. There was a lot to absorb, so let’s take a look back.
Innovation is a topic of conversation in almost every enterprise, but a related topic that sometimes goes under-discussed is co-innovation—that is, the idea that enterprises can unlock a lot of powerful business innovation by partnering outside the organization. Often called a digital ecosystems strategy, this tactic involves different participants sharing data, functionality, and other digital assets for symbiotic benefit.
2020 has been among the most disruptive years business leaders have ever confronted, with many enterprises absorbing several years of digital transformation over just a few months. These ongoing efforts have not been easy, with numerous organizations finding their existing resources and workflows won’t scale and don’t allow them to move quickly or responsively enough. They need to rethink how transformation occurs and how different parts of the workforce can participate.
Our recent CIO survey with Oxford Economics contained a few takeaways that stood out to me: most companies are using API-first strategies, and those most committed to this concept report faster innovation and greater value from business partnerships. Even so, the survey indicates that a healthy minority of enterprises still think of APIs in integration-first terms.
Over the last several years, as digital services and interfaces have become the primary way businesses interact with their customers, maintaining ‘business as usual’ has demanded digital transformation. In difficult times such as these, however, it may be tempting to put digital transformation projects on pause until budget surpluses return. This is a mistake.
APIs are a critical component of any enterprise’s digital transformation strategy. They can drive customer engagement, accelerate time to market of new services, power innovation and unlock new business opportunities. Therefore, choosing the right API management platform is critical to running a successful API program, and research from industry analyst firms like Forrester Research can help enterprises evaluate and choose the right solution.
Worldwide, businesses are adapting to the new market conditions by transforming their current operating models to meet the new consumer demands and improve productivity, all while still focusing on achieving growth. In this new era, taking an outside-in approach to digital business ecosystems can help organizations harness their existing resources and relationships to drive new innovations and efficiency.
