Unlocking business value from network APIs: Collaboration, standards and real-world demand

As network APIs move from technical discussions to real business conversations, the telecom industry is facing a pivotal moment. After years of fragmented efforts, operators are now working to build a truly collaborative API ecosystem that not only exposes network capabilities but also creates tangible value for enterprises and end users.

In a recent session moderated by Guy Daniels from TelecomTV, industry leaders shared candid views on what success should look like for the API business and how telcos must rethink collaboration, standards and customer engagement to realise the market’s full potential.

Speakers:

• Geoff Hollingworth, CMO, Rakuten Symphony
• Henry Calvert, Head of Networks, GSMA
• Alexandra Reichl, VP, Mobile & API Services, Liberty Global
• Peter Arbitter, CCO, Aduna
  
  

Watch the full interview here.

Business outcomes, not APIs, must drive the conversation

One clear theme from the discussion was that APIs are only a means to an end. The real opportunity lies in solving critical business problems for enterprises and consumers. Fraud prevention has emerged as one such area where telcos have a unique role to play, thanks to their rich data and network insights.

The leaders noted that success has little to do with the APIs themselves. What matters is whether the industry can deliver something the world truly values. In the case of fraud prevention, telcos are uniquely positioned to orchestrate online safety at scale. 

Learning from past mistakes, building for the future

Lack of standardization, fragmented approaches and a poor developer experience are the key barriers to telco success today. However, positivity is reinforced with the industry’s unified efforts to overcome these challenges, supported by initiatives like Open Gateway and CAMARA.

Aduna itself is a good example of this new spirit of collaboration. The joint venture brings together some of the leading telcos to offer harmonized APIs across markets. While challenges remain, such as the need for true cross-operator alignment, the leaders emphasized that telcos must now move fast and embrace standards, even when they are not their own.

Key takeaways

• Instead of building APIs in the hope that demand will follow, telcos need to understand the pain points enterprises face and co-create solutions with them. Fraud prevention and age verification are strong early use cases, but there is also growing interest in communications quality APIs that support more reliable customer experiences.
• Global enterprises, such as those in the fintech space, need consistent APIs across multiple markets. If operators can align around this demand and deliver APIs that enterprises can trust, adoption will follow naturally.
• Understanding customer KPIs (such as banks’ desire to reduce false positives in fraud detection) is key to delivering measurable value. Without this alignment, even the best-engineered APIs will struggle to gain traction.
• Telcos alone may not have the relationships needed to bring these solutions to enterprise customers. System integrators will play a vital role in bridging that gap. As Arbitter explained, many telcos are used to engaging with procurement departments, but delivering API-driven solutions requires deeper connections with sales, marketing and operations teams.
• While developer engagement remains important, developers are not the ultimate customers of APIs. Enterprises and their decision-makers are. Developers must be supported with the right tools and documentation, but telcos should focus their business conversations on the outcomes their APIs can enable.

• Anti-fraud use cases will likely dominate the next wave of API adoption, but the potential extends far beyond that. Hyper-personalisation in retail, improved communications quality, and new forms of trusted digital interactions are all on the horizon.

“We have a massive opportunity to play a role in the future that orchestrates safety online, and I don't think anybody else can do it.”

-Geoff Hollingworth, Rakuten Symphony CMO

Stay tuned for more insights from industry leaders on the future of telecom and technology. Follow us on LinkedIn for updates on upcoming discussions.