Alcatel-Lucent is launching a cloud-based ecosystem where developers build applications on enterprise API’s that are distributed by service providers. The platform builds on the company’s application suite announced in December.
The news points to the almost unstoppable wave of new development for the mobile market and the growing importance for enterprises to expose API’s to developers so they may create applications that reach deeper into vertical markets.
The news also shows the surging value for application developers, arguably one of the most important communities for the enterprise and service providers to embrace.
The platform is intended to create a place for the enterprise to realize the benefits that come when exposing API’s. There has been some resistance on the part of the enterprise to expose API’s. Concern has focused on security and what we perceive as a general lack of understanding about what API’s can do.
For developers, it seems like a no brainer to be part of a community where APi’s are aggregated and distributed via service providers, such as carriers. It’s a bundling model that gives the developer better distribution. At least that is how the theory works. For a model like this one to work will require a deep availability of API’s that developers can use to develop and test applications.The key is in what services are provided the developer. To start, Alcatel-Lucent will provide a dashboard to track applications they have created after they been distributed on the service provider network.
Third party application developers are enjoying what may be remembered as a golden age. They are as sought after as any community.
The Alcatel news is a case in point. It is platforms like this that creates a market for developers in a variety of ways. Developers can work with enterprise customers and sell the applications through large carriers. And it’s not just Alcatel that is reaching out to developers. Every carrier on the planet is courting developers. iPhone developers, Android developers – you can go on and on with examples.
