Developer Programs and APIs in the News – Volume 1, Number 6

by David I | Oct 28, 2016 | APIs, Developer Programs News, Developer Relations, DevRelate |

In today’s interconnected world, companies in all industries need to publish APIs and cultivate a developer community to access and use them. To be competitive today, attracting and supporting developers is essential. The key to cultivating a vibrant developer community that uses your APIs and supports your platform is a good developer relations program. “Developer Programs and APIs in the News” is a series of news items from developer programs around the world.

Developer Programs and APIs in the News

Facebook – October 27 – Improving Facebook Login on TV and Android. “Today, we’re introducing a faster and easier Facebook Login experience to the big screen. Previously, people needed to enter a confirmation code on their phone or browser to log in with Facebook on their TV. Now, the SDK can communicate directly with the Facebook app over the same wireless network, letting people sign in to their TV with just a few taps.”
Uber – October 26 – Introducing the Driver API. “More than 1.5 million people across the globe drive on the Uber platform. Hundreds of engineers, product managers, and designers at Uber are working hard every day to make the experience more enjoyable and rewarding for drivers from all walks of life — whether they drive just a few hours or five days a week. By leveraging driver profile data, trip data, earnings, and more, developers can create new apps and services that make driving with Uber more productive and fun.” The Uber blog post mentions partners that are already using the API including Jobcase, ShopYourWay, Sherpashare, Stride and ActiveHours.
IBM & Slack – October 26 – Slack, IBM Partner to Bring Watson to Developers. “Drawing on the power of Slack’s digital workplace and the cognitive computing capabilities of Watson, developers will be able to create more offerings — including bots and other conversational inferences — that will transform the platform’s user experience. Developers can easily access the range of Watson services — such as Conversation, Sentiment Analysis or speech APIs — and build powerful new tools for the platform with this enhanced cognitive functionality.”
Advanced Web Ranking – October 26 – AWR Cloud Release: Developer API v2. “With the new version of the API, we aimed to extend the data provided for your projects. In addition to keyword ranking positions, now you can automatically get information from the Google Search Console account, as well as the Visibility values that AWR Cloud computes based on the keywords and search engines you’re tracking.”
IBM – October 25 – IBM Unleashes the Power of Machine Learning with Watson-enabled Data Platform. “The platform delivers the world’s fastest data ingestion engine and cognitive-powered decision-making to data professionals, allowing them to collaborate in the IBM Cloud, with the services they prefer. IBM is also making IBM Watson Machine Learning Service available – making machine learning simple with an intuitive, self-service interface.”
Mastercard, GM & IBM – October 25 – Mastercard Joins Onstar Go, the Auto Industry’s First Cognitive Mobility Platform Delivered by IBM and General Motors. “This breakthrough collaboration will bring Masterpass secure, payment technology and Mastercard Digital Enablement Services (MDES) to a new cognitive mobility platform called OnStar Go, which will be embedded across many GM vehicles starting in 2017. ”
Ellie Mae – October 24 – Ellie Mae Announces the Encompass Lending Platform. “Ellie Mae, a leading provider of innovative on-demand software solutions and services for the residential mortgage industry, today announced the launch of Ellie Mae’s Encompass Lending Platform™. The Encompass Lending Platform gives customers, partners and independent software vendors a secure, scalable platform plus a suite of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) and developer resources to enable them to extend Encompass with new functionality, easily integrate Encompass with external systems and data, and build custom applications in the cloud.”
Google, Visa & Mastercard – October 24 – Android Pay partners with Visa and Mastercard to bring simple checkout to more places online. “Android Pay users will soon be able to pay on hundreds of thousands of new sites where Visa Checkout or Masterpass are accepted using their preferred device authentication method – like fingerprint recognition. No longer will users have to remember multiple usernames and passwords in order to checkout, saving them time and hassle.”
eBay – October 19 – Introducing new eBay Sell and Buy APIs. “The new APIs are an example of how eBay is leveraging technology to accelerate and disrupt commerce. “With these APIs, developers can rapidly create an integration and help accelerate buying from eBay anywhere, anytime. To me, that’s true disruption – and, it’s a leap forward for eBay developers,” said Frederick. All of these APIs use the latest technology such as OAuth authentication, JSON payloads and RESTful design principles.”
Symphony Software Foundation – October 18 – The Symphony Software Foundation is Open for Business. “The Foundation hosts open source development of the Symphony platform, bots, apps, and integrations on the Symphony Platform and open source technologies common to the financial services industry. With the Open Developer Platform, the Foundation will provide community contributors and Foundation member organizations with open development access to the Symphony API, as well as best-of-breed development tools and lifecycle, to promote a seamless developer experience.”
YouMail – October 11 – YouMail Launches Robocall API. “YouMail has the technology to identify known robocallers and scammers. In an effort to empower others to combat robocalls, YouMail has released a new API that provides access to a growing database of phone numbers so that carriers, private branch exchange providers, and third party developers have the technology to identify robocallers as well.”
Wayfair – October 5 – Wayfair Opens 3D Model API to Developer Community. “Wayfair Inc., one of the world’s largest online destinations for home furnishings and décor, today announced the launch of its first-party 3D Model API. Developed by Wayfair Next, the company’s in-house research and development team, the platform enables access to more than 10,000 3D furniture and décor models, allowing developers to integrate more realistic content into their applications.”
NCR – September 26 – NCR Unveils Open API Developer Portal for Digital Banking Customers. “The portal provides self-service access to digital banking APIs, the Software Development Kit (SDK) and third-party software connections developed by Digital Insight, an NCR company, to provide developers at financial institutions with the data and services required to create and seamlessly integrate custom applications that complement their existing digital banking functionality.”

Send me your Developer Programs News!

If you have news about your Developer Relations Program, send me an email about the news. Send to davidi@evansdata.com