Postman’s APIs to deliver the next wave of innovations: Leading the SaaS revolution from the front along with AWS

The de facto norm for creating and integrating contemporary apps has been and continues to be application programming interfaces, or APIs. Simply defined, APIs allow software to communicate with other software, which frees up more developers to work on creating more applications faster and innovating better.


Although businesses have been using APIs for a while, there’s been a shift in the way these interfaces are viewed within organizations. Today, many competitive, forward-thinking companies view APIs as software products that enable developers to open up new digital business models and prospects rather than merely as an integration tool to link programmes and data. To give us a broader perspective on this, Abhinav Asthana, CEO and Founder of Postman spoke with Felipe LaMaitre, Director of Developer Relations at AWS, as part of the SaaS Scions web series by Business Insider India to further elaborate on this.


Then a Software engineer, Abhinav Asthana launched Postman in 2012 as a side project with the intention of making API testing easier. Today, Postman has more than 25 million registered users and 75,000 open APIs, making it the largest public API hub in the world.


Driving factors behind Postman’s success

Postman’s popularity can be attributed to the numerous small measures that the company undertook. Asthana's advice to fellow founders is to create a support network of colleagues within the workplace as well as family and friends outside of the business. This serves as the main driving force behind continued building. He reiterates that it is crucial to wait, consider, and list the pros and cons while developing,


Asthana acknowledges the simplicity of creating software but advises founders to focus on product development rather than being consumed by operational aspects. “Software is much simpler to create because it doesn't require a significant initial expenditure. You only need a computer, the internet, free time, and some talent. To top it off, there are a tonne of materials online, some of which are even offered by AWS. Instead of getting so preoccupied with the operational aspects of beginning a business, such as seeking capital, setting up an office, and so forth, founders shouldn’t neglect what is most important at this time–developing the product,” he says.


Balancing simplicity and complexity in software


When asked how to keep things simple in a commercial world when markets and consumer needs are becoming increasingly complex, Asthana says it is "difficult to achieve." The term "software" in general is as wide as the ocean, with an equally enormous scope for improvement. One may always add new features and submit updates, but this leads to a slew of newer challenges. "Every update or upgrade is a component that must be carefully maintained, and the most difficult aspect is balancing all of the components." He notes the importance of introducing new features and simultaneously removing outdated, ineffective ones.



APIs as the next big wave in SaaS


APIs have been called the "next big SaaS wave." The software revolution began slowly, but in recent years it has skyrocketed, with the shift to software as a service, or SaaS, becoming the fastest-growing part of data. Asthana adds to this by saying, “Two decades ago, this industry was severely underserved on a global scale, with developers bearing the brunt of this". In actuality, however, APIs serve as the fundamental units of software, and since the early 2000s, developers have yearned for a better developer experience, including tools that make designing, documenting, and testing APIs more streamlined. As opposed to writing raw code, developers spend more time working with APIs. As a result, both tech and non-tech businesses have gone digital. Today he says, “APIs are essential abstractions in important industries including banking, healthcare, retail, and others. All of our aspirations for technology two decades ago have been surpassed by this”. However, the buck doesn’t stop here, more needs to be learned and developed, and Postman will play a crucial part in the expanding API business.


Postman’s role in expanding the API business

Lastly, Asthana spoke about how Postman is working on building and maturing the API market. “We currently work on two levels, informing leadership of the value of APIs for businesses. We also manage developer relations, a programme that is entirely devoted to developers and provides them with practical tools that they can apply right away in their line of work,” he said. He continued, “A student programme run by Postman links peers and the market with students who are open to using software services. Additionally, a lab is available for testing and simulation. All of this is covered by our curriculum for developer education.”


"The second level is the executive education programme, which primarily works on getting executives together to produce educational content in the form of books and white papers,” says Asthana.


The rapid growth of SaaS, exemplified by the success of Postman, underscores the transformative power of cloud-based software solutions. APIs have emerged as the critical component of modern software development. All knowledge workers will need an elementary knowledge of API. API embodies knowledge and enables us to use the digital tools at our disposal for efficiency while being informed, obtaining verified, trustworthy information, and staying up-to-date.


Disclaimer: This article is generated and published by the Insider Studios team. You can get in touch with them on insiderstudios@businessinsider.in