API push paying off for Australian businesses

The adoption of APIs in Australia continues at pace with half of businesses having an API strategy already in place, according to a survey. Another third (32 per cent) will implement one this year.

A third of Australian IT chiefs, questioned in a Mulesoft commissioned survey published today, said API related activity had generated up to $6.5m in revenue for their companies. Ten per cent said it had pulled in up to $13m.

APIs have been embraced by Australian organisations of all sizes in recent years from start-ups developing new platform or mobile businesses to more established companies using APIs to leverage core business data and capabilities. Others are adopting hybrid cloud models for application sourcing.

The likes of Sydney start-up Airtasker – now in a phase of hypergrowth – added messaging and call functionality to its platform with the help of Twilio APIs. In December, Qantas made its homegrown API gateway and management platform live. It is now considering whether to open up its APIs beyond internal developers and partners.

Telstra gave its software teams a mandate to take an API-first approach to development whenever possible, after launching its first public API in 2015.

The majority (69 per cent) of the 101 Australian survey respondents said the integration of new software with existing, legacy systems was the main driver for their API strategy. A desire for business teams to self-serve IT and enabling innovation, were the next most common motives (47 and 41 per cent respectively).

Nearly all (94 per cent) of the Australian tech leaders surveyed reported that their API strategy gave them the ability to release new products and services faster.

On top, down under

Australia is significantly ahead of the global average when it comes to API adoption, according to the survey. While an average 22 per cent of those surveyed globally say they generate more than half of their company’s total revenue through APIs and activities directly related to API implementation, that figure rose to 28 per cent in Australia.

Nearly three quarters (71 per cent) of Australian respondents whose companies had adopted an API strategy had seen an increase in productivity, compared to 64 per cent globally.

Of those organisations without a dedicated strategy, 44 per cent blamed a misalignment between IT and the wider business who “didn’t understand the impact” of APIs.