Image from: freight train / Shutterstock What is an API? API stands for Application Programming Interface, but more importantly APIs are gateways for information to travel between disparate sources. An API is a delivery mechanism, much like a truck while delivering packages, or a train while freighting supplies. The API moves the data from one place to another. This is the reason why APIs are essential to the Big Data movement; they allow for combining enormous amounts of data from disparate sources. This allows for boundless creativity in developing applications, managing back-end data modeling systems, or creating net new services. Customer and market data is the new gold, but proper management is critical to maximizing its value. Compete API users are great examples of how creative and unique applications of data can power businesses and products. Compete’s clients found countless applications for the API, from business development to lead prioritization to attention scores for PR firms. Many internet companies like Compete are shifting their businesses to platforms on the premise that consumer data is their principal asset. Facebook is probably the easiest example for understanding how valuable APIs can be: their product has evolved to be a platform built on the foundation of consumer data of over 1 billion monthly active users . They launched their Marketing API program in 2011 , opening their enormous data stores to marketers, developers, and product managers alike. Twitter is another huge consumer data company with an API. The Twitter Ads API allows brands to create more complex marketing campaigns and ensure the right message is delivered to the right audience, at the right time and on the most appropriate device (desktop vs. mobile). If you’re a user—expect to see more sponsored tweets. APIs will play a huge part in the future of internet business, online marketing and advertising targeting—we expect to see more massive consumer and customer data integrations (“Big Data integrations”) soon. But gaining access to these incredibly rich sources of external data is complex, and requires internal data alignment to ensure that the company can get the whole picture of their customers and target market segments. But once this is achieved, the organization’s understanding of their market can increase exponentially and predictive marketing analytics for their customers become truly possible. What companies are creating and exposing the APIs that will impact the future business and market intelligence? How will Big Data impact marketing, business development, and market predictions? We are only in the early stages of the ‘data’ revolution so the companies that can provide the answers to these questions will pave the way for the future and will lead the market into a new age of customer, prospect, and market knowledge.