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Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Birth of the Web API

APIs did not start with the Web. In fact, one of the most successful API stories ever is the Microsoft Windows API, which enabled all those third-party developers to create applications for Windows, and in turn propel it to near-monopoly status in desktop operating systems. Today, though, the talk is all about Web APIs and the interconnected ecosystems they support.

Among the earliest players to embrace Web APIs were the Internet giants-to-be such as Google, Amazon, and Salesforce. They started leveraging APIs in their early days, which helped them to become the dominant online forces they are today.

“They looked at these platforms they were creating and asked themselves, how do we generate interest?” says John Rakowski, a Forrester Research analyst serving infrastructure and operations professionals. “How do we generate further partnerships with our customers and with partners out there who can help us innovate a lot quicker, who can utilize our platform to build our brand, but also to create a partner ecosystem?”
The answer was to pursue a proactive API strategy, reaching out to developers and supporting them as they created their own layers of interface and functionality on top of Google’s or Amazon’s or Salesforce’s data. The developers could be using the APIs to create applications for niche markets, or to integrate with other applications.

In addition to creating a partner ecosystem, Rakowski says that opening up a platform via APIs “also gets your brand out there and makes people aware of it very, very quickly, because they can interact with your platform, which means all-in-all, it leads to faster growth because there’s more awareness of your platform in the market.”

Source: Keynote Benchmark

You may also would like to see: 
1. ABCs of API
2. Mobile Testing Challenges for Web Applications
3. Testing Mobile Applications
4. Cloud application performance monitoring

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

The Four Types of Clouds Explained

In meteorology, you have cumulus, cirrus, stratus, and nimbus. In computing, you have private, public, hybrid, and community. Here's what each means:

Private cloud: The cloud infrastructure is operated solely for an organization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party and may exist on-premise or off-premise.

Public cloud: The cloud infrastructure is made available to the general public or a large industry group and is owned by an organization selling cloud services.

Hybrid cloud: The cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or more clouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities but are bound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting for load balancing between clouds).

Community cloud: The cloud infrastructure is shared by several organizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns (e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and compliance considerations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third party and may exist on premise or off premise.

You may also would like to see:
1. Performance monitoring for your cloud applications and services
2.  Private Cloud Monitoring