Stringing along programs and APIs?
January 10th, 2008 by John Reeve
The idea of a mashable web, a woven strand of APIs, is a good one, and we’ve seen a lot of great projects as a result. But how well does this idea translate to running a business? Is it effective to run your business using several different applications that require several different logins? What is the benefit of tracking your time in one app, your tasks in another, and invoicing in one more?
Some will argue that the availability of APIs allows you to seamlessly string together these various applications into a package that is a perfect fit for our business. The problem with that is most small business owners are focused on running a business. They don’t have the time, or the technical expertise, to establish an archipelago of web-based productivity applications.
As we’ve developed Intervals, we’ve discovered many small businesses like our own; companies struggling to find one application that does just enough, but not too much, and offers a workflow proven to be effective by other small businesses.
Our experience as small business owners, and invaluable feedback from our customers, has helped us to continue perfecting the Intervals workflow. We embrace the idea that process is one of community, and that Intervals is a tool for gaining new perspective and intelligence from our personal business data. Intervals would benefit greatly from an API, and we do plan on implementing one soon.
Tags: api, mashup, Small Business
