The Postman State of the API Report, released in October of 2024, draws insights from over 5,600 developers and API professionals, and delivers a comprehensive overview of the current API landscape and its evolving trends. The latest report emphasizes the growing importance of the API-first approach, the challenges of API collaboration, and the increasing role of APIs in driving revenue and innovation.
The report highlights a significant shift towards the API-first paradigm, with 74% of respondents adopting this approach in 2024, up from 66% in 2023. This API-first strategy prioritizes API design, streamlining integration and boosting efficiency across development teams. APIs are no longer just an afterthought; they’re the foundation of modern development, with applications now powered by an average of 26 to 50 APIs.
Organizations are recognizing that delivering high-quality APIs requires more than just an API gateway; proper tooling, enablement, and processes are essential. The API-first approach yields tangible benefits, including faster API production and quicker recovery from API failures. 63% of developers can now produce an API within a week, a significant jump from 47% the previous year.
Despite the increased speed of API production, collaboration challenges remain a significant hurdle. Issues such as documentation inconsistencies, complex requests, and unclear variables can delay both public and private API integration. 58% of developers rely on internal documentation, but 39% report that inconsistent documentation is a major roadblock.
Effective API collaboration requires addressing scattered conversations and managing API changes. 44% of developers still rely on chat tools or email for API development, which can lead to critical updates getting lost.
The report indicates a move away from the traditional single-gateway model, with nearly a third of API publishers now using multiple gateways. This reflects the growing complexity of managing APIs in diverse environments. However, the use of multiple gateways can create challenges in API discovery and observability. Integrated API management platforms are emerging to provide a consolidated view of APIs, streamline discovery, and enhance security.
APIs are increasingly seen as revenue-generating products, not just technical enablers. 62% of respondents report working with APIs that generate income, and for 21% of companies, APIs drive over 75% of their total revenue. This highlights the rise of the API-as-a-product model, where APIs are designed, developed, and marketed as strategic assets.
AI is rapidly influencing the API landscape, with AI-related traffic on the Postman platform increasing by nearly 73% in 2024. While OpenAI’s ChatGPT remains a dominant tool, developers are beginning to diversify their AI tooling, exploring options from Meta, Google, and Perplexity. The report emphasizes that quality APIs are crucial for leveraging the full potential of AI in modern software development. Security and compliance are identified as the biggest pain points in AI integration.
Companies like ETI Software are recognizing the transformative power of API-led integration. As highlighted in ETI’s webinar, connecting data and applications through APIs enables the definition and reuse of integration flows across various systems, both internal and external to the organization. This approach is crucial for digital service providers seeking to manage integration complexity across OSS, BSS, and other enterprise systems.
With APIs becoming a prime target for malicious actors, security and observability have become critical concerns. The report reveals that a surprising 27% of respondents do not use API Key Vault security tools. Organizations must prioritize API monitoring to prevent security breaches and maintain operational integrity.
API creation and management vary across organizations. While development teams often own API creation, driven by demand (48%), a significant portion (48%) also have a central team overseeing API strategy and governance. The trend is shifting towards decentralized API design, with Postman Collections becoming a key tool for enabling design-time governance.
The API ecosystem continues to experience strong global growth. Postman’s user base has grown significantly, from 25 million in 2023 to over 35 million in 2024. Postman collections are being created in 266 countries, demonstrating the widespread adoption of APIs.
APIs are used across various organizational levels, with engineers and developers making up the majority of users (71%). The report emphasizes the importance of prioritizing partner and public APIs, alongside private APIs. The rise of AI and SaaS has contributed to API sprawl, highlighting the need for a centralized hub to store all API assets. Good API documentation is crucial for adoption, with developers prioritizing it even over performance or security when choosing a public API.
API production is accelerating, with over 63% of teams now shipping APIs in less than a week. API deployment is also speeding up, with daily deployments becoming more common. However, maintaining stability in production remains a challenge, with 5% of API changes resulting in failure rates above 25%. Security testing lags behind other testing practices, leaving APIs vulnerable.
The report emphasizes the importance of effective API collaboration, highlighting the challenges developers face in this area. Developers often struggle with documentation issues, complex requests, and a lack of clarity around variables. Inconsistent onboarding processes and reliance on colleagues for explanations can also cause delays. The report highlights the need for better tools and processes to facilitate seamless API collaboration.
APIs are increasingly recognized as valuable assets that can drive revenue. 62% of respondents report working with APIs that generate income, and for 21% of companies, APIs drive over 75% of their total revenue. This highlights the importance of having a distribution portal for public APIs.
The Postman 2024 State of the API Report paints a picture of a dynamic and rapidly evolving API landscape. The shift towards API-first, the growing importance of AI, and the increasing focus on API security and monetization are key trends that will shape the future of API development. Organizations that embrace these trends and prioritize API design, governance, and collaboration will be well-positioned for success in the API-driven economy. Read the entire report here.
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