Platforms break open!
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One of the wonderful things that has happened since I wrote the Open API whitepaper way back in January, is that finally, vendors are realizing how important openness really is, and are beginning to implement things in a big way.
Two new initiatives have come to light in the last couple of days, one from Kintera, called “Connect” , and the other from Convio, called “Open“. They are both worth having a look at, especially if you are considering either implementing a web application platform, or if you are a consultant type looking for ways to integrate data for your clients.
At first blush, although Kintera officially got out the door first, announcing Connect weeks ago, and delivering the APIs and docs on Friday, their play is a good start, but Convio, announcing Open tomorrow, appears to be ahead in terms of providing real openness. Here’s a quick overview of both initiatives. You make your own conclusions.
Kintera’s Connect has an API that can do some very important things. It allows you to access 16 entities within the Kintera application, including lots of data about contacts, plus data about appointments and tasks. The API is SOAP. One of my favorite quotes in the Connect documentation is this one: “As long as you can invoke the API over HTTP, your application can be Microsoft, HP, IBM, Novell, Oracle, even Sun-based. (emphasis mine) ” ooooooh… During the NTEN call on Connect, they had mentioned that they were only going to publish sample code in C# and Java. It appears, from perusing the documentation, that someone in Kintera saw the light, and included PHP code.
In any event, Kintera’s API goes a long way to help organizations be freed from yet another data silo, and they are free.
Convio has, seemingly, gotten some serious Web 2.0 religion. Open has 3 components, APIs, Database Connectors, and Extensions. The geek in me thinks the Convio APIs are wicked cool, since they allow you to do client programming via AJAX, as well as more standard server-based programming. They work by REST via POST, or JSON. Their code on the server-based method examples only include PHP at this point (the client based method code examples are in the expected HTML and Javascript.)
Database Connectors are specific tools to help people connect Convio and specific apps, including Blackbaud’s Raiser’s edge, and … Salesforce! Extensions are ways to connect the Convio app to other Web 2.0 apps out there. They’ve got this great Facebook application - basically a template that allows an organization to create their own Facebook app. Extensions also include the pantheon of Web 2.0 gods: Flickr, RSS, Google, etc.
Convio’s APIs and Extensions are free, but the Database connectors have consulting costs associated with them, and that makes sense to me.
Bottom line: Kintera takes some important steps to open up their application. Convio takes more, bigger steps that appear to eclipse what Kintera has done. But I think time will tell. I have some advice for both companies, though:
- Keep going - it’s looking more and more like not only are people expecting the ability to mash their data and other data more, it’s also looking like a pretty good business model. Create and foster developer and user communities in the same way that Salesforce and open source communities do. Speaking of communities …
- Open up beyond your “partners” - Really getting involved in writing apps for either platform requires that people become official partners of the companies. You’re going to get a much more vibrant developer community involved in developing new stuff for your platforms if you eliminate hurdles. What’s to lose?
- Deliver, don’t just hype - of course, marketing is important, but when the rubber really has to meet the road, be there with more than vaporware. Both companies are making strides, but people want to look under the hood, fast! It would be nice if the announcement and the delivery weren’t so far apart (we waited a long time for the Kintera docs after the NTEN call - they should have either postponed the call, or gotten the docs done sooner.) Speaking of Kintera …
- Kintera: try to catch up - Of course, the big 800 pound gorilla has become Salesforce - and their platform is becoming what people are measuring against. The Kintera API looks, quite honestly, seriously wimpy in comparison to either Convio or Salesforce. But then again, they are better than Blackbaud, which still has no open APIs (that is, ones that are free), let alone anything else. (”Johnnie, can you spell ‘data silo’?” … “b … l … a … c …”)
