Comments on: Pre-Open API Debate Warmup Show! http://www.nonprofittechblog.org/pre-open-api-debate-warmup-show Confessions of a Non-Profit Executive Director Sat, 13 Mar 2010 11:46:18 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: geilhufe http://www.nonprofittechblog.org/pre-open-api-debate-warmup-show/comment-page-1#comment-369 geilhufe Fri, 20 Oct 2006 20:10:48 +0000 http://www.nonprofittechblog.org/pre-open-api-debate-warmup-show#comment-369 Sometimes there is a little naiveté in these API discussions. From the CRM perspective, as pointed out above, the standard business model is to lock in customers. Basically "own" their data, but eliminate the barriers to using the data in the central data store. This is Saleforce's model, and it doesn't hurt the NPO sector as long as they continue to donate their product. Basically the analog to Microsoft's NPO donations program. The missing piece which Salesforce and the Open Souce guys get is the concept of ecology. When people buy software from a broad range of distributors, they have readier access to all of the various tools. Blackbaud is unlikely to publish a directory of all the tools avaliable for their platform and encourage a ecology of vendors... it would cut into their business model a bit much. Similarly, Salesforce will never let anyone else use their code. It cuts into their business model to much. IMHO, the discussion about APIs isn't about technology, it is a discussion about business models. Sometimes there is a little naiveté in these API discussions. From the CRM perspective, as pointed out above, the standard business model is to lock in customers. Basically “own” their data, but eliminate the barriers to using the data in the central data store.

This is Saleforce’s model, and it doesn’t hurt the NPO sector as long as they continue to donate their product. Basically the analog to Microsoft’s NPO donations program.

The missing piece which Salesforce and the Open Souce guys get is the concept of ecology. When people buy software from a broad range of distributors, they have readier access to all of the various tools.

Blackbaud is unlikely to publish a directory of all the tools avaliable for their platform and encourage a ecology of vendors… it would cut into their business model a bit much.

Similarly, Salesforce will never let anyone else use their code. It cuts into their business model to much. IMHO, the discussion about APIs isn’t about technology, it is a discussion about business models.

]]> By: davidzeidman http://www.nonprofittechblog.org/pre-open-api-debate-warmup-show/comment-page-1#comment-363 davidzeidman Thu, 19 Oct 2006 10:26:18 +0000 http://www.nonprofittechblog.org/pre-open-api-debate-warmup-show#comment-363 The free plug-ins are on my site (I would love to hear about any others out there) http://www.zeidman.info/download.htm 1. No, the API is by no means free or low cost. 2. It uses COM based technology so you can write plug-ins in VB6, C++, VB.NET, C#, etc. So not web standards. 3. It is far from well documented. However if you own the API then you have access to BB's knowledgbase where there is good example code. So not really all that "Open" David Zeidman Zeidman Development http://www.zeidman.info The free plug-ins are on my site (I would love to hear about any others out there)

http://www.zeidman.info/download.htm

1. No, the API is by no means free or low cost.
2. It uses COM based technology so you can write plug-ins in VB6, C++, VB.NET, C#, etc. So not web standards.
3. It is far from well documented. However if you own the API then you have access to BB’s knowledgbase where there is good example code.

So not really all that “Open”

David Zeidman
Zeidman Development
http://www.zeidman.info

]]> By: abenamer http://www.nonprofittechblog.org/pre-open-api-debate-warmup-show/comment-page-1#comment-358 abenamer Wed, 18 Oct 2006 17:02:09 +0000 http://www.nonprofittechblog.org/pre-open-api-debate-warmup-show#comment-358 Hey -- shoot us all a link to those free Blackbaud plug-ins! Open APIs probably should be: 1. Free or low-cost 2. Using web standards (XML, PHP or some other open-source language, I'd love it to be in Ruby) 3. Be very well-documented If all those three existed for a Blackbaud API, that would be awesome! Hey — shoot us all a link to those free Blackbaud plug-ins! Open APIs probably should be:

1. Free or low-cost
2. Using web standards (XML, PHP or some other open-source language, I’d love it to be in Ruby)
3. Be very well-documented

If all those three existed for a Blackbaud API, that would be awesome!

]]> By: davidzeidman http://www.nonprofittechblog.org/pre-open-api-debate-warmup-show/comment-page-1#comment-357 davidzeidman Wed, 18 Oct 2006 15:46:05 +0000 http://www.nonprofittechblog.org/pre-open-api-debate-warmup-show#comment-357 Blackbaud do have APIs for their products. It is not free to develop with, you have to own a license in order to write components but you are free to use other's plug-ins in your Raiser's Edge even if you do not have a license to develop your own. The problem is that because it is not free to develop, few people are able to do so. Clearly Blackbaud do so and earn a lot of money from it but there are a number of independents who develop plug-ins too many of which are offered free. David Zeidman Zeidman Development http://www.zeidman.info Blackbaud do have APIs for their products. It is not free to develop with, you have to own a license in order to write components but you are free to use other’s plug-ins in your Raiser’s Edge even if you do not have a license to develop your own.

The problem is that because it is not free to develop, few people are able to do so. Clearly Blackbaud do so and earn a lot of money from it but there are a number of independents who develop plug-ins too many of which are offered free.

David Zeidman
Zeidman Development
http://www.zeidman.info

]]> By: abenamer http://www.nonprofittechblog.org/pre-open-api-debate-warmup-show/comment-page-1#comment-355 abenamer Wed, 18 Oct 2006 01:43:14 +0000 http://www.nonprofittechblog.org/pre-open-api-debate-warmup-show#comment-355 Everyone seems to think that the CRM vendors won't make money doing this but I believe it's more like protecting your market share. Why are Amazon and Google and Yahoo! getting so deep into market share? It's not because they want to open their silo, but because they want to increase its size, increasing the "stickiness" of their data. Imagine Blackbaud opened up their API and you started writing to it. At that point, your investment in BB has doubled, once in the data entry and again in the mashup. There's no way you would leave BB. Open APIs are a win-win for everyone except the CRM vendors are still clueless about what Internet market share will mean. All we need is for one of them to break out an API and a whole new ecology would develop around that vendor. The first vendor who does an open API gets the girl, the gold watch and everything. Everyone seems to think that the CRM vendors won’t make money doing this but I believe it’s more like protecting your market share. Why are Amazon and Google and Yahoo! getting so deep into market share? It’s not because they want to open their silo, but because they want to increase its size, increasing the “stickiness” of their data. Imagine Blackbaud opened up their API and you started writing to it. At that point, your investment in BB has doubled, once in the data entry and again in the mashup. There’s no way you would leave BB. Open APIs are a win-win for everyone except the CRM vendors are still clueless about what Internet market share will mean. All we need is for one of them to break out an API and a whole new ecology would develop around that vendor. The first vendor who does an open API gets the girl, the gold watch and everything.

]]> By: Ryan Ozimek http://www.nonprofittechblog.org/pre-open-api-debate-warmup-show/comment-page-1#comment-354 Ryan Ozimek Wed, 18 Oct 2006 00:06:16 +0000 http://www.nonprofittechblog.org/pre-open-api-debate-warmup-show#comment-354 What I'd definitely like to see is more of the proprietary vendors playing nicely with open source CMSes. I know that from the Joomla world, we're more than happy to help organizations link into these systems, but that requires some effort on the side of these big CRM businesses to make this happen. My gut instinct from a business perspective is that if open APIs that allow potential competitors (say an OSS CMS vs. the CRM vendor's CMS) to compete against the CRM vendor's complimentary offerings, it's going to be a tough sell. We'll see! What I’d definitely like to see is more of the proprietary vendors playing nicely with open source CMSes. I know that from the Joomla world, we’re more than happy to help organizations link into these systems, but that requires some effort on the side of these big CRM businesses to make this happen.

My gut instinct from a business perspective is that if open APIs that allow potential competitors (say an OSS CMS vs. the CRM vendor’s CMS) to compete against the CRM vendor’s complimentary offerings, it’s going to be a tough sell.

We’ll see!

]]>