API First Approach
API-first, also called the API-first approach, prioritizes APIs at the beginning of the software development process, positioning APIs as the building blocks of software. API-first organizations develop APIs before writing other code, instead of treating them as afterthoughts. This lets teams construct applications with internal and external services that are delivered through APIs.
Being API-first means prioritizing the APIs that support your application and focusing on the value they can deliver to your business, rather than just scrambling to deliver a single application and creating an API as an afterthought. This forward-thinking approach allows the application to be adopted by different parts of the business for multiple uses, through the API.
Is the company API first
Do you have APIs to operate most of your data?
Do you make APIs available to your customers and partners?
Do you know how to organize and discover your APIs?
Do you have standardized processes to build APIs?
Do your APIs meet regulatory requirements?
Do you know the security risk to your API perimeter?
Steps to become API First
Take inventory of APIs: Inventory your databases, applications, and services—understand exactly how many APIs you have, and where you lack APIs.
API production insights: Understand your organization’s approach to producing APIs—identify where standard processes exist, and where they don’t.
Define boundaries: Define your business domain boundaries and map your organizational structure to those boundaries.
API platform adoption: Adopt an API platform and ensure it integrates seamlessly with your existing tools and technologies. This will make the transition smoother for your teams.
API as a Product
Let’s say you create an Order API in Boomi.
Not treated as a product → You just expose an endpoint that passes data from SAP to Salesforce. Minimal documentation, no governance, only used by one project.
Treated as a product →
Designed to serve multiple consumers (web app, mobile app, partner systems).
Published in Boomi’s API Management catalog with proper docs and testing tools.
Secured via OAuth2 with different roles (internal users vs partners).
Monitored: you know which partners are calling it, how many requests per day, error rates.
Improved over time: v1 (basic order info), v2 (order status tracking, shipment updates).
This way, the Order API becomes a reusable building block for the whole business, not just a one-off integration.
API as Product - Stripe
Stripe built its business entirely around APIs.
Audience: Developers at e-commerce companies, startups, marketplaces.
Value: Accept payments online without building your own payment infrastructure.
API as a product:
Clean, well-designed REST API with consistent resource naming (/charges, /customers, /payments).
World-class documentation with copy-paste code samples in multiple languages.
Sandbox environments for safe testing.
Versioning so integrations don’t break when they release new features.
Rich analytics so you can track payments, disputes, and refunds.
👉 Stripe’s developer experience is so good that their API itself is their product.
