Early this month, SmartBear Software released Ready! API TestServer, an automated API testing solution to allow developers to find bugs faster and speed the delivery of APIs. Around the same time, the company also announced a major upgrade to SwaggerHub, its API lifecycle management hub. The company provides tools for collaborative development, functional testing, performance testing, and performance monitoring across APIs, mobile, web and desktop. Moreover, they help software teams create great apps and APIs by ensuring quality throughout every step of the lifecycle.

We thought they would be a great candidate for the API of the week. Here is that interview.

What APIs do you have available?

• Ready! API TestServer: a server-based API testing framework
  Once installed, it provides a RESTful API for queueing and executing test activities
• SwaggerHub: a design and collaboration platform for modern, RESTful APIs
  Add, modify, and manage API definitions through the SwaggerHub Registry
• AlertSite: hosted, global web application and API monitoring service
  Manage and report on monitoring activities via the AlertSite REST API

What are the benefits/ solutions they help provide?

Our APIs provide programmable access to core API design, testing, and monitoring capabilities of both our hosted and server-based solutions.

What new business opportunities do they potentially open up for your partners?

We partner with both professional service providers and other ISVs. Our professional services partners use these APIs to integrate our solutions into their clients’ enterprise architecture, opening up opportunities to better meet the unique challenges and requirements of these organizations. Our ISV partners also use these APIs to build their own tools, integrations, and processes around our API design, testing, and monitoring capabilities, enhancing their strategy and freeing them to focus on their own core business.

Why should developers/ decision makers choose to be part of your ecosystem?

With over 4 million users in the SmartBear community, developers and decision makers have a wealth of knowledge and support to help them out. Our tools are award-winning, easy to use, and quick to see ROI from. We support a wide range of technologies and approaches to API delivery, continuously improving our own technologies and to meet future challenges.

What are some of the cooler solutions that have been developed using your APIs?

We just recently launched Ready! API TestServer which allows for open source technologies such as integration of Cucumber/Gherkin Behavior-Driven Development for APIs. We also think that the inline collaboration capabilities over API designs in SwaggerHub which we have been releasing are true breakthroughs in how organizations can rapidly transform to meet the new programmable economy, and others in the community have innovated around the core technology as well.

How do you market your API’s?

We provide both free and commercial tools through subscription. We regularly contribute to the API community with both open source technologies (such as the OADF and SoapUI), deliver insight and thought leadership content through presentations, webinars, and e-books. We encourage our vibrant technical community to do so as well.

Who is the “customer” for your API’s?

Our primary audiences are software development, quality engineering, and IT operations teams in all kinds of organizations and locations around the world. We reach a wide variety of technical professionals with the broad spectrum of our tools, spanning from GUI-based desktop tools to code-driven solutions.

We partner with both professional service providers and other ISVs. Our professional services partners use these APIs to integrate our solutions into their clients’ enterprise architecture, opening up opportunities to better meet the unique challenges and requirements of these organizations. Our ISV partners also use these APIs to build their own tools, integrations, and processes around our API design, testing, and monitoring capabilities, enhancing their strategy and freeing them to focus on their own core business.

Why should developers/ decision makers choose to be part of your ecosystem?

With over 4 million users in the SmartBear community, developers and decision makers have a wealth of knowledge and support to help them out. Our tools are award-winning, easy to use, and quick to see ROI from. We support a wide range of technologies and approaches to API delivery, continuously improving our own technologies and to meet future challenges.

What are some of the cooler solutions that have been developed using your APIs?

We just recently launched Ready! API TestServer which allows for open source technologies such as integration of Cucumber/Gherkin Behavior-Driven Development for APIs. We also think that the inline collaboration capabilities over API designs in SwaggerHub which we have been releasing are true breakthroughs in how organizations can rapidly transform to meet the new programmable economy, and others in the community have innovated around the core technology as well.

How do you market your API’s?

We provide both free and commercial tools through subscription. We regularly contribute to the API community with both open source technologies (such as the OADF and SoapUI), deliver insight and thought leadership content through presentations, webinars, and e-books. We encourage our vibrant technical community to do so as well.

Who is the “customer” for your API’s?

Our primary audiences are software development, quality engineering, and IT operations teams in all kinds of organizations and locations around the world. We reach a wide variety of technical professionals with the broad spectrum of our tools, spanning from GUI-based desktop tools to code-driven solutions.

Come see SmartBear Software in-person at All About The API. The event will feature a variety of intensive hack‐a‐thons, in‐depth company‐focused workshops helping attendees understand the value propositions from key vendors, powerful keynotes, daily and nightly networking opportunities plus an exhibit hall full of companies demonstrating the latest innovations in today’s market place. Every business has to pay attention to the new opportunities they are presenting or potentially be displaced. We hope to see you July 18-21 2016 in Las Vegas!