Across industry sectors, the boundaries of the traditional enterprise are blurring, as organizations open up their on-premise data and application functionality to partner organizations, the Web, mobile apps, smart devices and the cloud. APIs (application programming interfaces) form the foundation of this new open enterprise, allowing enterprises to reuse their existing information assets across organizational boundaries.

OAuth is an emerging Web standard for authorizing limited access to applications and data. It is designed so that users can grant restricted access to resources they own—such as pictures residing on a site like Flickr or SmugMug—to a third-party client like a photo printing site. In the past, it was common to ask the user to share their username and password with the client, a deceptively simple request masking unacceptable security risk. In contrast to this, OAuth promotes a least privilege model, allowing a user to grant limited access to their applications and data by issuing a token with limited capability.

The application programming interface (API) may be an old concept but it is one that is undergoing a transformation as, driven by mobile and cloud requirements, more and more organizations are opening their information assets to external developers.

Today, 75% of Twitter traffic and 65% of Salesforce.com traffic comes through APIs. But APIs are not just for the social Web. According to ProgrammableWeb.com, the number of open APIs being offered publicly over the Internet now exceeds 2000—up from just 32 in 2005. Opening APIs up to outside developers enables many technology start-ups to become platforms, by fostering developer communities tied to their core data or application resources. This translates into new reach (think Twitter’s rapid growth), revenue (think Salesforce.com’s AppExchange) or end user retention (think Facebook).

OAuth puts the user in control of delegating access to an API. This allows one service to integrate with another service on behalf of that user. The same social Web providers who popularized the pattern of exposing an API to enable third-party developers to enrich their platforms were the first ones to apply such delegated authorization mechanisms. OAuth was defined in 2006, to standardize mechanisms of this kind.

Since the early days of computing, developers have struggled to make applications communicate. Specialized protocols, such as COM+, CORBA, and even SOAP, emerged over the years, but none were sufficient to meet the need for scale, simplicity, and cross-language functionality.

APIs are the technology behind this approach. APIs allow developers to create an open architecture for sharing functionality and data between applications. APIs are like windows into an application—a direct conduit that leads straight into the core functionality and data residing in the heart of the app.

Opening APIs to developers outside the enterprise can enable the creation of apps that add value in innovative and often unexpected ways –without the enterprise having to invest directly in app development. However, this will only happen when the enterprise can grow an ecosystem of visionary developers creating cutting edge apps that provide consumers with something of real value.

In this eBook, we will provide a detailed overview of five key ways smart enterprises attract and nurture top third-party developer talent.

The best practice for API security architecture is to separate out API implementation and API security into distinct tiers. Under this model, an API developer can focus completely on the application domain, ensuring that each API is well designed and promotes integration between different apps. CA API Gateway provides the API security administrator with complete control over access control, threat detection, confidentiality, integrity and audit across every API the organization publishes.

Mobile technology is revolutionizing the corporate IT landscape. Enterprises want to leverage mobile to maximize employee productivity, efficiency and availability. Meanwhile, employees are already taking the initiative by using their own personal mobile devices for business purposes. For enterprises, the benefits of enterprise mobility and the reality of the “bring-your-own-device” (BYOD) movement are becoming impossible to ignore.

Wie wäre es, wenn Sie bei der Bereitstellung von Anwendungen Ihren Zeitrahmen VERKÜRZEN und Anwendungen um 25 bis 50 Prozent schneller, hochwertiger und mit weniger Aufwand bereitstellen könnten? Wie wäre es, wenn Sie Ihren Zeitrahmen VERKÜRZEN und einen Investitionsertrag von 100 Prozent bereits bei der Bereitstellung Ihrer nächsten Anwendung erzielen könnten? Wie wäre es, wenn Sie Aufgaben verkürzen könnten und DevOps endlich Realität wäre?

In der Application Economy ist jedes Unternehmen ein Softwareunternehmen. Daher wird DevOps auch schnell zu einer der wichtigsten Disziplinen in Ihrem Unternehmen werden. Der Fokus von DevOps liegt auf der Verbesserung der Qualität und beschleunigten Bereitstellung von Anwendungen auf dem Markt. Und dazu ist eine enge Zusammenarbeit zwischen Development und Operations erforderlich.

The CA Clarity PPL Estimated Benefits Calculator provides a quick way to gauge some of the potential financial benefits with CA Clarity at your organization.

Click on this download to learn more.