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.' 😉

Brain in a gravitational well, surrounded by concentric circles, with blue lines extending from the brain.
By Bill Doerrfeld December 8, 2025
My latest for InfoWorld breaks down 10 MCP servers powering next-gen devops workflows, from GitHub and Atlassian to AWS and Pulumi.
Man speaking at
By Bill Doerrfeld December 2, 2025
Excited to share my talk from Nordic APIs' Platform Summit 2025. As the opening talk of the event, I wanted to address the elephant in the room head-on: MCP.
Panel discussion on stage with five speakers and audience in front of a blue screen with speaker names.
By Bill Doerrfeld December 1, 2025
Watch all the great API talks, keynotes, and panel discussions from this year's Nordic APIs Platform Summit, now available on YouTube.
Open source flag leaddev directorplus doerrfeld Block
By Bill Doerrfeld November 28, 2025
Block's open source initiative is helping to build brand reputation, attract talent, boost partnerships, guide internal open source best practices, and aid long-term system reliability.
How CIOs are getting a return from AI
By Bill Doerrfeld November 26, 2025
Achieving ROI with AI requires a mix of strong leadership stewardship upfront, shifting the talent framework, and embedding proper monitoring and governance throughout the lifecycle.
Knowledge base for AI agents
By Bill Doerrfeld November 24, 2025
I recently explored what goes into creating a solid AI agent knowledge base — from the types of data it should contain to the retrieval mechanisms and architecture patterns that support reliable agentic behavior.
linkedin ai assistant hiring agent
By Bill Doerrfeld October 31, 2025
I recently spoke with LinkedIn VP of Engineering Prashanthi Padmanabhan about the making of their Hiring Assistant, an agent recruiters are using to optimize the applicant selection process.
How to fail at platfom engineering
By Bill Doerrfeld October 22, 2025
How do you fail at platform engineering? Make it 100% UI-first. Don't market it. Survey no one. Measure success by who's onboarded. And just copy what others are doing.
Platform summit conference nordic apis stockholm bill doerrfeld
By Bill Doerrfeld October 21, 2025
This year's Platform Summit felt reinvigorated, with many new motivations and areas to discuss. Of course, AI agents and MCP stole the show.
Colorful hot air balloons against a bright blue sky.
By Bill Doerrfeld September 26, 2025
For my latest DirectorPlus edition, I interviewed Thomas Johnson, co-founder and CTO of Multiplayer, about lessons learned releasing their MCP server.