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Martin Gontovnikas, a.k.a Gonto, is a software engineer at heart who moved to the ‘dark side’ and became VP of Marketing at Auth0. He considers himself lucky to have found a way to combine his two passions and apply his engineering thinking model to marketing. Gonto’s analytical thinking is a huge driver of his data-driven approach to marketing strategy and experimental design. He is based in the Bay area, and in his spare time, can be found eating gourmet food at the best new restaurants, visiting every local brewery he can find, or traveling the globe in search of new experiences.

Former SVP of Marketing and Growth at Auth0

Martin Gontovnikas

We’re living in the API economy. Here’s how it can work for you.

In the mid-2010s, the acronym “API” graduated from a piece of technical jargon used by developers to a term passed around boardrooms. As early as 2016, [Gartner declared](https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/welcome-to-the-api-economy/) that “we live in the API economy.” Shortly after, the expression “API-first” followed the same course, but many people who use this expression still don’t know what it means.

Essentially, API-first architecture is an approach to software design that centers the API in order to create applications that can easily interface with one another. API-first creates ecosystems of applications that are modular, reusable, and extensible, like Lego blocks.

If you’re not a developer, you don’t need to grasp the finer points of the “[HTML5 vs. Native debate,](https://www.leaseweb.com/labs/2013/10/api-first-architecture-fat-vs-thin-server-debate/)” but you do need to understand the impact that is going API-first can have on your business and your bottom line.

## What Is API-First Design?

To understand the Value of an API-first strategy, first, we need a working API definition.

### API 101

API stands for “application programming interface.” It’s a piece of code that acts as a go-between for two heterogeneous pieces of software. An API acts as a mediator or translator between two parties, passing requests and responses back and forth while exposing only the code necessary to complete the transaction.

![api-101](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/7kqCpc2bC5KwXcxvT3p0Kt/60e2c7fca4261e2aa0d183c3b17faae3/api-101)

An API is often compared to a waiter at a restaurant, communicating orders between the diner (which might be an internet browser) and the kitchen (the back-end services the diner is trying to access). The API takes this order to the kitchen and brings the requested dish back on a neatly organized plate. This system is good for the diner (who doesn’t need to walk to the kitchen/load a new webpage), and it’s good for the restaurant (which doesn’t want customers looking at its secret recipes/proprietary code).

[Social logins](https://auth0.com/learn/social-login/) are a common use case for APIs. When you implement social login, users can authenticate through an identity provider like Google, Apple, or Facebook with a single click. The API facilitates the whole, invisible interaction between your login screen and the social provider who confirms this user’s identity.

![social-providers](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/5xb5T1z986ue58ss0iQTwe/fe48650ec1e99ed688660101a483d78c/social-providers)

### API-First Development

An API-first approach means thinking of an API as the most important user for an application. That might sound strange at first, but it makes intuitive sense, given how much crucial work the API does in communicating between applications.

API-first is a different approach from “code-first,” in which developers design an application’s functionality and then insert the API at the end. That code-first approach can be problematic if your application isn’t structured in a way that makes it easy for the API to access data. Going back to the restaurant analogy, API-first architecture means you design your restaurant so the waiter can navigate it with ease, rather than putting 15 flights of stairs between the kitchen and the dining room.

In API-first design, your development team works on API design before the rest of the application. As developer Joyce Lin wrote in [_Better Practices_](https://medium.com/better-practices/api-first-software-development-for-modern-organizations-fdbfba9a66d3), “By introducing new features as an independent service accessed by API, the rest of the app can be stitched together, along with any other future apps.” To accomplish this, any successful API-first strategy hinges on creating excellent API documentation all teams can use. This makes for a better developer experience and ensures the design of the API is treated as a valuable company resource.

That ability to easily stitch together different apps and features is essential in our cloud-based, interconnected world, in which few business processes work in isolation, and users demand rich experiences across all platforms and devices.

## How an API-First Approach Affects Your Bottom Line

The issue of API-first architecture can seem abstract from a business point of view, especially since APIs are designed to be unobtrusive rather than flashy. But focusing on APIs can have a direct impact on your business in the form of improved customer experiences, decreased development costs, and a better, more innovative product.

### Faster Time to Market

An API-first architecture speeds up the development process because APIs are modular and reusable. Your in-house team doesn’t have to code every functionality from scratch or try to integrate two fundamentally different applications. Instead, they start with integration in mind and work from there. APIs help facilitate the use of microservices, which are standalone features you can plug into any application.

Once the new API is built or purchased, your front-end and back-end teams can work on their own parts of the application simultaneously, instead of waiting on each other. That’s because these features don’t all have to build on one another; they just have to plug into the same API.

Faster time to market is a huge competitive advantage for most companies, so saving development time means huge financial benefits. That holds true whether your team is building an API or purchasing a third-party one. For example, [Auth0’s customers](https://auth0.com/customers/) regularly report releasing weeks or months earlier than they would have if they’d attempted to code their own identity solution in-house.

### Improved Customer Experience

API-first development started gaining traction when developers wanted to create fully functional user interfaces on mobile devices. API-first and mobile-first are interconnected design principles based on users’ desire to have rich, omnichannel experiences.

APIs improve CX by reducing friction, like social logins, a Google Calendar integration, so users don’t forget appointments or a Stripe integration that saves users from having to enter their payment information to make a purchase. APIs seamlessly connect different tools, which enables delightful user experiences.

As [Segment said](https://segment.com/blog/why-we-re-transitioning-to-api-first/) when they announced their transition to API-first, “In this networked world, customer experience is the only true competitive advantage.”

### More Adaptable, Innovative Products

API-first architecture opens the door to innovation by making it easier for your developers to add new functionalities and easier for outside applications to embed your services. For instance, [_HBR reports_](https://hbr.org/2015/01/the-strategic-value-of-apis) that when Walgreens opened its photo-printing services to third-party APIs&mdash;allowing customers to print photos from their phones or social media accounts&mdash;it earned six times more revenue per customer for digital users than for in-person users.

![value_of_api-first-separator](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/1hLQoWjegBsHbP6vt4gPkq/8218f9cda487106ab0aa43a42457a06e/value_of_api-first-separator)

## Success Stories of API-First Companies

Many of the biggest Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) names in this generation of tech are API-first companies. Stripe, Plaid, and Segment have all earned valuations of over a billion dollars with API-first platforms.

For many of these companies, the API itself is the product. Take the example of Twilio, an early leader in the API-first movement. Twilio’s product is an API that integrates phone capabilities into apps like Uber, which, by all accounts, was a nightmarishly difficult challenge for many developers. Then Twilio CEO, [Jeff Lawson, made his pitch to investors](https://avc.com/2016/06/best-seed-pitch-ever/), saying, “We have taken the entire messy and complex world of telephony and reduced it to five API calls.”

That concept was an immediate hit. To quote the [ReadMe blog](https://blog.readme.com/on-the-origins-of-api-first-companies/): “The ability to outsource a small functionality was a game-changer for tech startups that wouldn’t have been able to build out the software on their own. Companies like GroupMe, Lyft, and Shopify were only able to take off because they no longer had this huge technical barrier keeping them from building the product they dreamed of.”

Of course, Auth0 itself is another example of a company that [achieved unicorn status](https://auth0.com/blog/so-you-want-to-be-a-unicorn/) on the strength of its API. Like any Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS) platform, when you purchase Auth0, you’re purchasing access to our APIs, which facilitate transactions between users logging in and the databases that hold information about them.

## You Can Try API-First, No Matter Your Company’s Stage

If you’re thinking, “Wow, I’m sold on this whole API-first development idea, but I can’t afford to overhaul all my systems,” you can breathe easy. Transitioning to an API-first approach doesn’t require refactoring your existing applications. It just means embracing a different mindset going forward.

As [McKinsey](https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/what-it-really-takes-to-capture-the-value-of-apis) noted in their report on APIs, “Value doesn’t need to come from creating something new. Businesses can also use APIs to improve functionality or add new features to existing products and services.”

The beauty of API-first design is that it allows developers to play and experiment—often with open-source software—so you can get an idea of what APIs will provide the biggest ROI. Want to learn more about Auth0’s approach to API-first or let your team try our tool? [Contact us](http://auth0.com/contact-us) today.

<include src="asides/AboutAuth0" />

The Business Value of API-First Design

auziros:jeana-tahnk

Jeana has been in the tech industry for 15+ years, both as a communications professional and writer. As Director of Global Communications at Auth0, she works with her internal team and external agencies to amplify the company's visibility worldwide and establish its leadership in the identity industry. When she is not working, she can most likely be found on a field watching one of her three kids playing sports, or cleaning up after her one-year-old retriever who chews everything.

Senior Director, Global Communications

Jeana Tahnk

Concerns of a breach prompting global retailers to invest in advanced identity management

**BELLEVUE, Wash. – April 2, 2019 –** [Auth0](https://auth0.com/), a global leader in Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS), today announced key findings on how retailers are approaching data security and customer experience in light of widespread data breaches and cyber attacks. Based on a survey of nearly 100 global retailers and case study examples collected by Internet Retailer, the report highlights how the age-old battle of security vs. customer experience is now being solved with modern identity management technology. More details from the 2019 Retail Data Security Report can be found [here](http://info.auth0.com/IdentityinRetailReport.html).

Retailers are in constant competition with each other to increase revenues, maintain customer loyalty, and offer the best user experience possible. But according to the survey, security comes first, with 35 percent of respondents ranking “securing customer and employee data” as their highest priority. Next comes the shopping experience for their consumers, with 29 percent of retailers citing “increasing conversion rates” as their second priority.

Security vs. customer experience has been a longstanding challenge in retail, but retailers no longer have to choose one over the other, thanks to today's modern approach to identity and authentication, like Auth0. With a single, centralized system for shopper identities, a retailer can reduce risk with extra layers of authentication, easily capture data to understand consumer preferences, and personalize the end-to-end experience.

The high costs of a breach are spurring retailers to invest heavily in identity, especially given that one in seven retailers surveyed had experienced a data breach in the past year. Nearly three-fourths of retailers (72 percent) cited multi-factor authentication as the top strategy to combat a data breach, followed by stronger passwords (53 percent), and step-up authentication based on user behavior (37 percent).

"Retailers are rarely experts in identity management, nor should they be. Implementing any authentication technology can be incredibly complex, and that's where an identity specialist like Auth0 can help," said Dave Wilner, Chief Revenue Officer at Auth0. "We're proud to provide retailers around the world with a universal identity solution that not only removes the burden of worrying about security, but also enables them to provide a much better shopping experience to their customers."

To read the full report, please visit: <http://info.auth0.com/IdentityinRetailReport.html>.

### **Media Contacts:**

Kasia Hall 
Matter for Auth0 
[khall@matternow.com](mailto:khall@matternow.com) 
971-246-7898


Mark Fowler 
Racepoint Global for Auth0, EMEA 
[auth0@racepointglobal.com](mailto:auth0@racepointglobal.com) 
+44 (0) 77 1124 4113

Securing Customer Data Tops List of Retailer Priorities, According to Survey By Internet Retailer

fedemolina

Marketing Lead @ Decentraland

Federico Molina

Intuitive design, interface, and simple layouts are key to keeping people on your site. Is your login experience driving users away?

<div class="alert alert-info alert-icon">
 
 Forrester Consulting analysis determines that using Auth0 can yield a 548% ROI and $3.7M in identity-related savings. Read the full report: <a href="https://resources.auth0.com/forrester-tei-research-case-study/">Total Economic Impact of Auth0</a>.
</div>

---
About [60% of users have admitted to reusing passwords](https://www.passwordboss.com/password-habits-survey-part-1/) to avoid having to remember multiple sign ins. Logging in to a site is so annoying for most people they're willing to compromise their security to make it easier. 

Your company's login is the first impression of its services. For customers, the login experience is a proxy for how your product and customer service will fare later. If your login is inconvenient, unclear, takes too long, sticky or clunky, you could be losing customers who will never come back. 

Below are some examples of counterintuitive logins as well as solutions to ease the login process for your customers.

## The Login Form Should Be Easy to Navigate

Users have to pick one login pathway from a list of 34 options just to enter the website for the health care solution provider McKesson. This company offers 34 different login pages on 34 separate sites, when it could just be one easy login that funnels you to the right place.

A login like this is daunting for customers.

![Bad Login UX Example](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/2AwMN3xXgxAOYpebUAnK9Y/03307fdec4e419cfd30332b6cd2b4078/bad-login-example)

Having too many steps to your login process will turn customers off and they might move on to a competing site.

Loyalty programs, in particular, are notorious for having too many steps required for logging in. On the first page for many of these sites, customers have to input their username and passwords. From there they may have to answer security questions or log in again through their bank, credit card, or other partners to be authenticated.

Logging in should be as easy as entering a password or, ideally, clicking a button. There shouldn't be too many steps and there also shouldn't be winding pathways to get to the login page itself. 

Auth0 offers [Passwordless login](https://auth0.com/passwordless) which is both secure and fast. It uses email or SMS to authenticate customers and moves them quickly into the site. By clicking on a magic link, users can fly past the login panel to enter the site. It's more intuitive and secure than a wall of login options all leading to different sites. 


## Customers Will Leave if Logging On Requires Too Many Steps

When you try to log into [Starwood Preferred Guests' Guest Loyalty Program](http://www.starwoodhotels.com/preferredguest/index.html?language=en_US) via multiple devices you have to answer annoying security questions.

![SPG Loyalty Program Login](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/2nuPyD6Lq1jxBwL1gkugPt/6888a61b9f24f867f731bbb2000b3816/spg-login)

![SPG Loyalty Program login with many security questions](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/Bu9k8zg8JZgT9AB5dbZ3f/ccb5f7d36bf308c009c695a60beada47/spg-security-questions)

Pages that take longer than three seconds to load can result in a [7% reduction in conversions](https://blog.kissmetrics.com/loading-time/). That's just loading. When customers have to spend longer than a few seconds logging in, there's a good chance they'll leave too. Security questions like Starwood's can frustrate customers so much they bounce from the page.

Banks and credit cards often have lengthy login processes in order to authenticate users. They'll also ask security questions or require extra passwords. And while security is important for these services, there are more customer-centric ways of providing a secure login and digestible user interface. 

[Single Sign On](https://auth0.com/blog/what-is-and-how-does-single-sign-on-work/) (SSO), for example, automatically links logins through federated identity so users can log in from multiple devices and across different domains. Federated identity provides a single access pathway across multiple systems through a variety of enterprise sources. SSO authenticates and authorizes users so they can enter the site quickly without having to deal with a series of security questions while still keeping the process safe from hacking.

## Unclear Signage Confuses and Frustrates Users

It's not clear where the login is for SSLPrivateProxy, shown below. Is it “Getting Started,” “Login,” or “Register”? Any of these, which are all located in the upper left-hand corner, could be entry points for the site. 

![SSL Private Proxy shows an unclear login experience](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/34niRJ0OtvYQ9RVvMZtL3t/d12960fcbee23c39bdf2d978a4f0c250/sslprivateproxy-unclear-login)

![SSL Private Proxy showing login for clients](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/77Ar74cytGPKbyzociMzM/5ffb8005512318ee9b602e8abb32f8aa/sslprivateproxy-login-for-clients)

Counterintuitive design for login panels can frustrate customers and waste their time. The login panel should be front and center on the landing page. Or, if not center, at least easily accessible as soon as the customer enters the website. 

Customers have to spend an extra second deciding which one to click on. And even from there, instead of a small [login widget](https://auth0.com/how-it-works), which hovers upon a click over the landing page, customers are taken to a completely new page to log in. This login wastes time and might even prompt some customers to leave or avoid using the site.

## Easy Login Keeps Customers Happy and Boosts Company Growth

Login is only the gateway for your website, it isn't even your product. And, yet, when the login design, interface, and experience is complicated or annoying, customers have to spend time carefully considering how they will sign in. This doesn't count the actual logging in which may include trying multiple passwords, password resets, or new registration. 

Clean and easy login can not only boost the user's experience, but it can lead to drive MRR. Customers love [social login](https://auth0.com/learn/social-login/) so much it's even [driving growth and conversion rates](https://auth0.com/blog/how-to-use-social-login-to-drive-your-apps-growth/) for many companies who have employed it. One company reported that [social logins lead to a 40-60% increase](https://www.quora.com/What-impact-does-social-login-have-on-conversion-rates) in conversion rates for them. Some said they saw a whopping 130% increase in conversions due to social login.

Social login has the dual effect of making your site easier to enter and use while also making the whole design look cleaner. Clean design actively invites customers in, making them more likely to spend time on your site and trust your company's products.

## Aside: Auth0 Login Widget

Our Lock widget is a beautifully designed, all-in-one, embeddable login box for your apps. It provides sign up, sign in, password reset, and other features that are ready to go. The widget’s styles can be easily customized to line up with your brand, and you can use one of our pre-made themes to help. Unlock the power of a good login experience with Auth0 Lock. Try our live demo in the [Auth0 Lock](https://auth0.com/lock) page.

![Auth0 Login Widget"](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/6JbvTf3oNiN8D2OyFpUoka/ddbf2f9d2741964186381c240aca0c44/what-is-social-login-1)

## Focusing on Your User's Experience Will Keep Them Coming Back

Login is the gateway to your whole website and your product beyond that. If customers feel like there are any roadblocks to them entering your website, they'll move on to another. 

There shouldn't be any obstacles for customers to enter your site beyond basic authentication. They shouldn't even have to do more than press a button to be allowed in.

By making login easier for customers with passwordless login, social login, or SSO, companies can actually boost business overall. It's a win all around.

"customer-experience"