What Exactly is the API Economy?

A dive into better defining buzzwords in the technology industry

If you work in technology, you may hear the phrase “API Economy” thrown around a lot... It has become one of those buzzwords similar to “Digital Transformation.” It is used so frequently that it has become something that means everything and nothing, all at once…

I was recently interviewing a candidate who wanted to join RapidAPI and he asked me the question “What is your definition of the API Economy?” I admittedly did not have a great, concise answer for them…

I was initially taken aback by the fact I did not have a well-thought-out answer. I began thinking about it a lot more and tried to come up with a definition I liked, this blog is a result of that process.

Supporting Definitions

I want to make sure that we have a baseline of definitions for other supporting terms as a starting point for speaking about the API Economy.

What is an API?

If you are not familiar with an API, it stands for “Application Programming Interface.” You can essentially think of it as a standard way for two computer systems to communicate with each other.