Open APIs increasingly required for RFPs as industry adoption matures
Industry use of Open APIs is maturing, making conformance with them an increasingly important requirement in requests for proposals (RFP), according to the results of TM Forum’s latest communication service provider and vendor API adoption assessment reports (CAAR/VAAR).
26 Jul 2021
Open APIs increasingly required for RFPs as industry adoption matures
Industry use of Open APIs is maturing, making conformance with them an increasingly important requirement in requests for proposals (RFP), according to the results of TM Forum’s latest communication service provider and vendor API adoption assessment reports (CAAR/VAAR). Open APIs reduce CSPs’ integration costs and time to market by enabling interoperability of components within telecom IT systems and networks. CSPs can also use Open APIs to monetize their IT and network capabilities by exposing them to partners using platform-based business models. TM Forum provides more than 50 Open APIs to support IT transformation and end-to-end management of complex digital services. Every few months the Forum undertakes an industry survey to gauge how closely vendors’ portfolios align with its Open APIs and the extent to which CSPs are using them in their systems.
Targeted API deployment
The latest CAAR/VAAR survey shows a marked uptick in the maturity of Open API adoption. In particular, more CSPs and suppliers have moved out of the initial experimentation phase, shown in the bottom left of the chart below, towards a focused, targeted deployment of Open APIs, illustrated by the middle portion of the graph.
There is also sustained growth in the number of companies that have achieved widespread, mature Open API deployment, either across a significant percentage of their product portfolio for vendors, or within IT systems for CSPs.
Open API maturity CSPs and vendors combined, end of Q2
The weighted average score across all respondents to the survey lies at 49% maturity (measured by conformance with Open API standards) and 68% intent (measured by plans and progress towards conformance).
The results continue the trend towards the top right quadrant seen in previous surveys dating back to 2019 (see the chart below).
Progression towards Open API adoption
The survey responses also indicate that around 60% of industry RFPs now include a mandatory request for conformance with TM Forum Open APIs.
To date, 91 of the world’s leading CSPs and technology ecosystem participants have signed the Open API Manifesto and the 19 CSP signatories have agreed to position TM Forum Open APIs as a preferred requirement in their IT RFPs.
Rapid Open API certification growth
“It’s a very encouraging picture that shows the industry is crossing the chasm with Open API adoption. This aligns closely with the increasing demand we are seeing for Open API certification,” says Andy Tiller, TM Forum’s Executive Vice President, Member Innovation.
Indeed, in the second quarter of 2021 the number of Open API certifications nearly doubled, as did the number of companies involved in certification.
Open API certifications achieved by TM Forum member companies
There are several reasons CSPs are adopting Open APIs as revealed by the recent TM Forum report ‘How to lead in the Open API economy’. A major consideration is reducing the cost of integration and complexity. Many operators surveyed for the report said they spend about 80% of their IT budgets on integration and customization, leaving only 20% for innovation. CSPs are also using Open APIs to help them adopt cloud native technology and offer new 5G services. Suppliers, meanwhile, are seeking to help customers and gain a competitive edge.
