One thing we have learned from helping API providers begin to use Streamdata.io services, is that not everyone is ready for streaming of their APIs using Server-Sent Events (SSE). It isn’t that they do not have data or content that would benefit from being delivered in real time, it is usually because they aren’t as far along in their API journey as they should be. There is still much work that needs to be done when it comes to defining, designing, deploying, managing, monitoring, and governing their APIs, before the concept of event-driven architecture can be fully realized within across their API operations.
When we approach some API providers about our services, the thought of what we do is often a boolean decision. They either need streaming services or they don’t. When API providers say no, they don’t need to stream data or content, and respond to their consumers more efficiently, and responding to specific events, it isn’t that they don’t need it–it is that they aren’t ready for it. Many of these providers are just getting started on their API journey, and they may not have simple JSON responses for many of their APIs, and almost always are missing webhooks, and other signs of a more mature API platform, that helps move them beyond just basic request and responses around CRUD APIs, towards a more event-driven reality.
Here at Streamdata.io we don’t see API providers as needing us or not needing us. We seem them as ready for our streaming services, or not ready for our streaming services. This is why we are working with many of our customers to help them better define their API journey from design to management, and often times even helping craft their API governance strategy. Streamdata.io isn’t just about proxying an API and turning into a stream, it is about helping streamline how API providers are putting their APIs to work for them, and their partners. Before some of our customers can proxy their APIs with Streamdata.io, they have to learn to define, design, and expose simple APIs, and manage them using common solutions like Kong. We are spending more time investing in these areas of the API lifecycle alongside our customers, helping prepare them for the next phase of their API evolution, where API consumption is more about responding to events, than just about serving up resources.
If you have taken a look at Streamdata.io, and aren’t sure if you are ready for what we have to offer, please still reach out. We’d love to talk about where you are at, and better understand the data, content, algorithms, and other resources you have available. I’m guessing we can help you think differently about your API lifecycle, and see more of the real time events that are already occurring via your platform. Streamdata.io excels at proxying your existing JSON APIs and turning them into streams within a couple minutes, but we are also very good at helping you step back, take a look at your entire infrastructure, and begin to see your operations through an event-driven lens, helping you understand what might be next for you in your API journey.