If you're just thinking "a shop that develops APIs", that is the same as "a shop that writes code". You are not offering the client anything tangible they can identify. Unless you restrict your clients to software houses without the time or expertise to write their own APIs, the larger non-developer world of clients has no idea what you are offering.
I write APIs. I specialize in them, but for a specific purpose. I develop 3d animation technologies and then expose them via an API. I then license use of that API to 3rd parties, hosting the servers in both cloud and colocation. That is something tangible they can grasp. This is after spinning my wheels for a while trying to do what you seem to be thinking.
Well, by your definition then, "a shop that develops APIs" is the same as "a shop that writes code" is the same as "a shop that makes websites" is the same as "a shop that makes apps". Come on now! Clearly, it would be a shop that writes code. And at that, a shop that's specialized at being excellent at figuring out APIs for clients. I don't think this would be geared towards software houses, or companies with their own dev teams, I think this might be geared towards aspiring businesses who don't necessarily want to be a dominant player in the market, but would rather be more accessible to its users.
It strikes me that quite possibly one of the next channels that businesses might want to exploit are having their data available programmatically. Which is why I'm wondering whether that's one of the next market opportunities.
Comments
If you're just thinking "a shop that develops APIs", that is the same as "a shop that writes code". You are not offering the client anything tangible they can identify. Unless you restrict your clients to software houses without the time or expertise to write their own APIs, the larger non-developer world of clients has no idea what you are offering.
I write APIs. I specialize in them, but for a specific purpose. I develop 3d animation technologies and then expose them via an API. I then license use of that API to 3rd parties, hosting the servers in both cloud and colocation. That is something tangible they can grasp. This is after spinning my wheels for a while trying to do what you seem to be thinking.
Well, by your definition then, "a shop that develops APIs" is the same as "a shop that writes code" is the same as "a shop that makes websites" is the same as "a shop that makes apps". Come on now! Clearly, it would be a shop that writes code. And at that, a shop that's specialized at being excellent at figuring out APIs for clients. I don't think this would be geared towards software houses, or companies with their own dev teams, I think this might be geared towards aspiring businesses who don't necessarily want to be a dominant player in the market, but would rather be more accessible to its users.
It strikes me that quite possibly one of the next channels that businesses might want to exploit are having their data available programmatically. Which is why I'm wondering whether that's one of the next market opportunities.