When you think of finance companies, and how they implement technology, the first word that is likely to spring to mind is probably not going to be open; surely if any industry is going to keep things secure and closed off, then its financial services, no?
No. Visa has created a global stir by announcing that it is opening its global network, giving software developers access to the company’s payments technology so they can create new applications and solutions. The Visa Developer platform provides access to hundreds of Visa APIs and software development kits for some of the company’s most popular payment products and capabilities.
Needless to say, this announcement generated considerably more headlines than is normal for a company announcing a software development platform. But the managers at Visa haven’t taken leave of their senses – far from it.
By making its APIs available to the global software developer community, Visa is hoping to enable creation of new applications quickly and easily and unleashing the creativity of marketers and software developers alike. New applications that build on existing loyalty programs, managing credit and debit card transactions, introducing new mobile payment platforms directly linked to Visa, are some of many more opportunities that the company is creating by simply becoming more “open.”
Here at Avaya, we have long understood the importance of “openness” – and its potential to transform how we do business. And – like Visa – we understand how opening up our technology to the global software developer community allows us to tap new sources of innovation and creativity.
Avaya’s Engagement Development Platform (EDP) is the latest demonstration of our commitment to openness. EDP is a software development platform that gives people the tools to build their own communication apps on our infrastructure – we recognized that our customers want faster software development times, they want the ability to do it themselves, and they want greater control over their enterprise communications experience.
Now, companies, partners, business analysts, and ISVs, can integrate voice, video, text, email and mobility seamlessly into business applications. To date, hundreds of new customized applications have been built using the EDP portfolio – which also includes Avaya Snap-in modules, and the AvayaLive™ Collaboratory to make software development even easier. When used independently, or as part of a communications workflow, application developers can simply snap-in code modules and immediately integrate new functions.
The key to EDP’s success lies in the wider software developer community –this community is at the heart of the innovation drive; being part of the enterprise, whether public or private, means they are the ones who understand the needs of their business and are able to translate those needs quickly and easily into smart applications that work.
That is something that Visa understands and we get it as well – by being open, both companies are unleashing a wave of innovation greater than we could achieve by being closed, and it is going to transform the way we all communicate and do business.
