Executive interest in APIs is booming. Here's why.

Bill Doerrfeld | May 6, 2024

When I first started writing about APIs ten years ago, most executives didn't even know what APIs were. Pitching from the bottom up was a hard sell. But nowadays, the conversation has changed.


"There's no more need to convince," API Evangelist Kin Lane told me. "The trick now is how you educate, align, and keep them investing in the right areas and not getting distracted."


"Most organizations already have dozens, hundreds, or more APIs," says Adam DuVander. "They’ve had a chance to see the benefits. They’ve also noticed the downsides of API sprawl. Both of these things bring more awareness at the executive level."


My latest post on the Treblle blog looks at why there's increasing interest in API strategies at the executive level. I think leadership is realizing the operational benefits, seeing the monetization potential, and coming to terms with the need to govern a burgeoning catalog of services. There are even new roles in the c-suite emerging to oversee API strategies.


Hope people enjoy reading this one! And I hope it reflects the final nail in the coffin of articles about 'why we need APIs.' 😉

By Bill Doerrfeld February 28, 2026
While hardware usually gets the spotlight in physical AI, the real differentiator won't be hardware. It'll be the models.
By Bill Doerrfeld February 27, 2026
In the latest DirectorPlus, Workato's CTO explains how MCP-enabled integration catalyzed internal AI usage and ROI.
By Bill Doerrfeld February 18, 2026
My latest on InfoWorld reviews MCP servers from 5 major cloud providers
By Bill Doerrfeld February 18, 2026
How are organizations actually using agentic knowledge bases in practice? My article for The New Stack looks at six emerging patterns.
eBPF in Production Report
By Bill Doerrfeld February 12, 2026
My report for the eBPF Foundation explores enterprise eBPF case studies, production deployments, and real business outcomes across cloud-native environments.
Close-up of whole bean coffee Bottomless
By Bill Doerrfeld February 10, 2026
Longtime Bottomless user sharing why I love automated coffee delivery triggered by a smart scale, plus a referral link for a free first bag.
By Bill Doerrfeld February 5, 2026
MCP servers can quickly drain context windows without guardrails. Thankfully, there are ways around this, say the experts.
By Bill Doerrfeld February 4, 2026
It may seem like AI agents are suddenly doing everything across industries. But in reality, the pace of agentic AI is moving carefully, and very deliberately, in highly regulated environments like finance and banking.
By Bill Doerrfeld February 3, 2026
My latest feature for InfoWorld explores when it makes sense to scrape public web sources, and when official API integrations are the better choice for external data.
By Bill Doerrfeld January 30, 2026
What does it mean to go nano with your software updates — to "carve with a scalpel" instead of swinging a hammer? For my latest DirectorPlus piece, I caught up with Chainguard VP Dustin Kirkland to dig into that idea.