Axway's Emmelyn Wang shows you how to use API design patterns to carry out digital agility for the business problems you’re trying to solve. Designing APIs that transform your business are crucial for thriving in the API Platform Ecosystem landscape.

1. API and Platform
Transformation Patterns to Power Your Business
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2. Hey Ya’ll! I’m from here.
Image Credit: texasheartspecialist.org

3. Choose
Your Own
Adventure
How did I get here? Non-traditional career path:
(Design and Build) API Support, Tech Writing, Influence
Design, Learn Patterns | 2014 Moved to DFW to lead
technical marketing in commerce/distribution
(Consume APIs)

4. “A catalyst is a substance that speeds up the
rate of a chemical reaction but is not
consumed during the course of the reaction.”
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Catalysts are a spin off of the Center of Innovation or
Excellence type of team distributed across the world. We help
break down any silos or barriers both internally and as we
serve customers.

5. Over 11,000 companies trust us from financial institutions to healthcare

6. Thoughtfully
expose to
the world
Internal
applications,
customizations
for customers
and partners
“We Don’t Have
Public-facing APIs”
Image Credit: https://pixabay.com/users/MoteOo-466065

7. World's Biggest Data Breaches & Hacks
Select losses greater than 30,000 records (updated 1st Feb 2019)
How to overturn “Sorry we do not have a public API?” Are you sure? Do you
have a mobile app? A website? All of those applications are built with APIs.
How to prevent these kinds of breaches (not the only aspect) – design APIs
and platforms with security in mind initially.
Image / Media Source: David McCandless https://informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/worlds-biggest-data-breaches-hacks/

8. What are you trying to do? (Jobs to be Done Concept)
Did you know that you can create and make an API call
in less than 10 minutes?
Where should I start?
Small businesses, SMB’s, and Start ups can compete with
enterprises by using APIs and their respective platforms.
It’s a great place to start to understand the possibilities of
integrations.

9. lifewingmate
The control and flow patterns of data, functionality,
and resources determine how quickly the API shapes
the landscape and vice versa.
- Emmelyn Wang
B2B Scenarios - To succeed, realize that digital cannot replace the
relational human element. Experience quality relies on each layer.
That’s how you build sustainably. Resources include the people and
culture aspect of building APIs.

10. Project
Program
Platform
Ecosystem
Economy
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Landscape

11. Coworking and Office Space
Partnerships
Social Home
Experience
Business
Networking
Social Wellness
Experience
Business
Development
Events
Creator
Community
Coding
School
Labs
Incubator
Meet Up
platform
Ecosystem
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Programs
Image: High level, simple depiction of WeWork’s platforms, communities, ecosystems, economy, landscape

12. Powered by
APIs

13. Regarding the Landscape diagram earlier: Everything isn’t equal : APIs are the “glue”

14. Network Bridging
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Combine the ability to reduce risk and get the most benefit
from several network effects for your platform…sustainability
“As the most successful platforms connect across more and
more markets, they’re becoming increasingly effective at tying
together industries.” -HBR

15. The Amazon Economy
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16. The Amazon Economy
The 7-Eleven Economy
Managed distribution for fresh food, order fulfillment, supply chain strategy
Franchise model with HQ and 7 Eleven & Holdings tightly coupled with Japanese origins and Tech Partnerships
Compete directly with Amazon so use other cloud computing technologies
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What business are they NOT in?

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Afterthought
The more mission critical
core business use cases
are centered around an
API, the more thought
will be put into the API
design.
Justified
The more a core
business stems from the
API (internal and/or
external), the more
thought should be laser
focused on API design.
Confident
The more value the API
exposes in a diverse
way, the more the
business relies on API
design and execution as
a core advantage.
Maturity Digital Businesses that rely on platforms to automate their
economy must focus on API design as their core advantage.
Maturity: Its an afterthought to it caught our attention to we can’t survive without it.

18. The more complete the
Platform and Ecosystem
experience, the higher the
Market Position
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Pixabay | Image Credit: DavidbyDesign

19. Platform Maturity
Leads to Healthy
Ecosystem
Engagement
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The WeWork ecosystem blends hospitality,
community, and service into the coworking and
office space business model disrupting the model
entirely. Fosters business development from
within.
Platform Traits
Consistency experienced globally,
serving locally. Balanced digital onboarding
with human interaction.
One card. One app. One way.
WeWork Labs Nurtures start ups through
incubation and acceleration. With founders and
organizations from the start as a retention
mechanism for the journey as they grow.
Supports the Gig Economy and Digital Nomads.
Focuses on Creators.
In-between and expansion options for
enterprises.

20. Prediction/Hypothesis
To protect against
networks effects,
WeWork does not offer a
developer program or
any APIs to be consumed
to protect its market
position.
However, WeWork tech
does contribute to the
open source community
to show credibility in DX.
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23. The following patterns used at scale by
enterprises and multi-national
corporations generate
Value creation and balance are keys to
market position
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24. What players does your platform attract?
Value creation and balance are keys to
market position
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25. What incentives keep platform members
engaged in the ecosystem?
Value creation and balance are keys to
market position
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26. Platform Strategy
HBR | network effects and how businesses respond
to them determine platform and ecosystem success
Clustering
Risk of Disintermediation
Vulnerability to Multi-Homing
Bridging to Multiple Networks
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27. Clustering
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28. Delicate Balance
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Due to the low cost nature of using multiple platforms or
hubs, companies such as Uber and Lyft must work to
overcome this network effect by incentivizing users and
service providers. –Summarizing/Paraphrasing HBR Authors
Vulnerability to
Multi-Homing

29. Risk of
Disintermediation
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“…network members bypass a hub and connect directly,
can be a big problem for any platform that captures value
directly from matching or by facilitating transactions.” -HBR
Value that can’t be captured by API or platform, offline is potentially lost digitally despite terms &
conditions. However, you can capture the value in other ways.

30. $30 billion
health and
fitness industry
in the U.S.
-IHRSA

31. lifewingmate

32. Ecosystem Strategy
User Acquisition via Platform
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“ClassPass membership allows
customers to hop around different
studios and build a workout routine that
is anything but, and allowing them to be
untethered to one entity … except to
ClassPass, of course.”

33. lifewingmate
Mixed Results
Brand Value Dilution or Network Effects via On Demand and Variety
Overcomes clustering network effects by
strengthening global clusters on top of local ones

34. Ecosystem Strategy
User Acquisition via Platform
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35. Ecosystem Strategy
Lock Value in the Platform
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36. Ecosystem Strategy
Lock Value in the Platform
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38. Platform Strategy
Balance Value from Digital and Human Elements
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41. Evolution of a Platform

42. Evolution of a Platform

43. Evolution of a Platform

44. Ambidexterity as Bimodal IT
Decentralized, Diverse
Navigating Network Effects
How Ecosystems Achieve Economy Status
API Culture
Confidence through Delivery and Relationships
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45. Overcome Clustering,
Disintermediation, and
Multi-Homing Network Effects
Unique Incentive
Offer value that no other platform does or will
Retain value by consistently delivering a high quality
experience whether or not you are cross-platform or
linked to other ecosystems or economies
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46. Key Takeaways
What Innovative Businesses Do Differently
Unique Incentive
Offer value that no other platform does or will
Retain value by consistently delivering a high quality
experience whether or not you are cross-platform or
linked to other ecosystems or economies
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47. Key Takeaways
What Innovative Businesses Do Differently
Readiness and Incentive
Innovative businesses navigate
ambidexterity / bimodal IT by finding reuse
opportunities and creatively navigating
network effects of their platform to enrich
their economy
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48. Key Takeaways
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Diverse API and microservices matched with
business capability and hybrid enterprise
architectures
Right types and degrees of engagement during real
scenarios digital, secure, productive JTBD
Responding to platform challenges and climate
changes to level up your business’ ecosystem(s)

49. Partner Engagement
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Relationship Driven | 360° Value Understood | Healthy
Digital processes and touch points are reflections of the
relationship
Both you and your partners understand the vision and
long-term value you both bring to each other

50. Talk to me about...
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51. For these scenarios...
PartnersIP LicensingLogisticseCommerceERP
Global
Distribution
Digital
MarketplaceBig Data
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52. Emmelyn ‘emma-leen’ Wang
王兆馨
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53. lifewingmate
Event Driven
Architecture
Value and Advantages of API Diversity and Decentralization
REST-based
Architecture
HTTP Protocol
Request / Response
Mature and widely adopted
Messaging Protocol Agnostic
Publish and subscribe, streaming, as real-time as your
business requirements need (or want to discover)
Adopted and expertise from OAS / API global community
developing best practices, tooling, and support

54. lifewingmate
Image Source: https://www.asyncapi.io/docs/getting-started/coming-from-openapi/

56. lifewingmate
Thank you

57. WORKS CITED
Ecosystem-Based Business Models | Accenture Strategy
https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/strategy/ecosystem-playbook-agility-growth
Welcome to the API Economy
https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/welcome-to-the-api-economy/
The emerging API economy is transforming the way businesses are built and operated | IPG Media Lab
https://medium.com/ipg-media-lab/what-is-the-api-economy-and-how-brands-can-benefit-from-it-b46210d0434d
Why Some Platforms Thrive and Others Don’t | HBR
https://hbr.org/2019/01/why-some-platforms-thrive-and-others-dont
Transformation (is not just about) Technology
https://hbr.org/2019/03/digital-transformation-is-not-about-technology