The global open API market size was valued at USD 3.66 billion in 2023. It is expected to reach USD 25.04 billion in 2032, growing at a CAGR of 23.83% over the forecast period (2024-32). The emergence of the API economy, where organizations monetize their digital assets and capabilities through APIs, drives the demand for Open APIs as a means to facilitate seamless integration and collaboration.
Open Application Programming Interface (API) or external API is a form of application programming interface available to third-party developers without or limited restrictions. An API's interface is a system that allows two or more software programs to communicate and interact without encountering any communication issues. The open API facilitates the integration of the API with related services and open-source data for application development.
Third-party developers can access open API owing to its design. For developers, a technology with an open API is quite helpful. It offers guidelines for the communication between software applications. Developers need to create less code using an open API to let various software applications function together without any issues.
Demand for open API is growing as they are created to be easily accessed by a larger population of web and mobile developers. An open API's ability to be used by developers working for the organization that released it and developers working for other organizations that want to enroll for connectivity to the interface is one of the critical features promoting the market. Digital market players use API technologies to achieve their individual business goals and subsequently generate customer value, which in turn helps them increase their open API market share.
As an intermediary between data consumers and internal and external machines or users, API is crucial in enabling enterprises to adopt data-driven decision-making. APIs support a data-first strategy to increase flexibility overall and enhance user experience. Data first monitoring is a data-driven technique API solutions use to verify that data is safeguarded and that users are authentic. Users must produce valid signatures to prove their identity. Maintaining system security is another strategy to ensure a data-driven approach is taken. As a result, businesses focus on prioritizing data privacy and security. API tools can identify network weaknesses. Data first ecosystem is provided through API solutions. They offer a platform for organizing and administering all devices and apps and showing a single, integrated ecosystem.
Data production, processing, and consumption are all expanding exponentially. Although part of this data is structured, most information is either unstructured or semi-structured, increasing the data's complexity and variety. To deal with this issue, organizations invest in technologies and systems that can handle the volume and variety of data. It becomes more difficult for businesses to create a digital and linked ecosystem that would assist a broad range of consumers when each system offers a different means to access the data it has, with APIs being the most common alternative. As a result, the API platform promotes the development of new APIs based on new data sets and enables data-driven decision-making and data management.
The increasing emphasis on creating goods and services focused on the consumer's needs is another primary reason driving the demand for open APIs. Companies worldwide are working harder to comprehend client needs and effectively provide them. Large and, small & medium-scale businesses (SMEs) are attempting to measure the client requirement and satisfy them accordingly, given the increased intensity of competition in all industries. Additionally, a significant factor fueling the growth of the open API market during the anticipated time is the rise in the number of independent mobile applications. SaaS and hybrid cloud-based API deployments are increasing.
It becomes crucial for a company to evaluate an API's quality, adaptability, and reliability when deploying API solutions in the current infrastructure. A skilled developer with solid software development knowledge and the most recent trends in open API and related technologies is needed to implement an error-free API environment. It will therefore take a lot of time and money to hire and train a highly qualified specialist. A solid infrastructure and skills are also needed to deploy these solutions when connecting open API with various platforms. The implementation of Open API is more expensive, and third-party apps' security vulnerabilities and ambiguity are other significant obstacles impeding the market's expansion.
More than 90% of developers surveyed by Rapid API anticipate that API usage will remain the same or rise over the next few years. The need for open APIs is expanding because they provide developers more power to create cutting-edge features and services. According to the same poll, 4% more open APIs in 2021 than in 2020. The open API's ability to offer granular access to data and system functionality in a secure, managed, and the reasonably priced way is the primary factor driving demand in various sectors. The need for APIs that serve as a bridge between end-user and server is growing as the world's commerce becomes more digital. This creates opportunities for the market.
Study Period | 2020-2032 | CAGR | 23.83% |
Historical Period | 2020-2022 | Forecast Period | 2024-2032 |
Base Year | 2023 | Base Year Market Size | USD 3.66 billion |
Forecast Year | 2032 | Forecast Year Market Size | USD 25.04 billion |
Largest Market | North America | Fastest Growing Market | Europe |
Region-wise, the global open API market comprises North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa.
North America will advance significantly over the forecast period, acquiring the largest market share. This is attributed to the growing need for API in the healthcare industry. Patient-centric care is a developing value-based strategy for healthcare services that has led to more excellent care quality, better outcomes, and higher patient satisfaction. In recent years, greater emphasis has been placed on providing patient-centered healthcare through application programming interfaces. The emergence of a wide range of services, including wearable medical equipment and remote patient monitoring, has stoked the need for healthcare API solutions.
Enterprises in North America employ open APIs to take advantage of the continually changing freelance developers, providing a plethora of open API market opportunities as it allows for the creation of creative apps that can benefit their core operations. Furthermore, because open APIs can accelerate the production of new ideas without requiring direct investments in development efforts, regional demand for them has also contributed to their acceptance in the business world.
Another significant aspect supporting the need for the North American application programming interface market is the urgency of developing business models. APIs are the essential components that let various platforms, systems, and applications connect and share data. Customizing and designing graphical user interfaces require application programming interfaces. Additionally, cloud platform providers offer a variety of specified APIs and work closely with developer partners to optimize the performance of applications.
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The global open API market is segmented based on type and application.
The market is further segmented by Product into Web API, Local API, and Program API.
The Web API segment will make substantial progress and ultimately have the most significant market share over the forecast period. This may be attributed to the benefits of web application programming interfaces (API), which include how simple it is to use, how HTTP protocols are utilized to gain access to it, and how it can be implemented into any application, including web-based applications, mobile applications, and desktop applications. Web application programming interfaces (APIs) facilitate communication between different software systems. Salesforce made the first web application programming interface (API) available to the general public in 2000. Since then, the core architecture of the web API has not changed significantly, but its diversity has increased.
Local APIs are hosted and accessed within an organization's internal network. They offer internal applications and systems secure access to data and functionality. Enterprises that require the ability to regulate access to sensitive data and systems strictly may benefit from local APIs. Although less extensively adopted than Web APIs, the Local API segment remains a significant component of the broader Open API market. The market is further segmented by application into media and entertainment, government, education and financial institutions, BFSI, IT and telecommunication, healthcare and life sciences, and others.
The market is further segmented by Application into Media and Entertainment, Government, Education and Financial Institutions, BFSI, IT and Telecommunication, Healthcare and Life Sciences, and Others.
The information technology and telecommunications sector will progress substantially and maintain the highest market share over the forecast period. APIs of several forms are utilized in the telecommunications and information technology industries to ease device interaction. A shift from systems based on hardware to those based on software is now taking place in the telecommunications industry. The adoption of application programming interfaces (APIs) by telecom companies is being encouraged due to the tremendous development in demand for internet access via mobile devices over the past few years. Open application programming interfaces (APIs) are becoming increasingly popular among telecom companies because of their potential to broaden their customer base and increase revenue.
The media and entertainment sector is experiencing substantial growth in the Open API market. Open APIs facilitate the seamless incorporation of content across various platforms and devices, allowing media companies to provide a more engaging and personalized user experience. The exchange of data and functionality between multiple media applications, websites, and services is facilitated by open APIs. This enables the development of innovative services and features that improve consumers' overall media consumption experience.