In the past software companies have always been closed minded when it comes to collaborating with other software companies. Don’t get me wrong, I understand the value in intellectual property, and as a business we have to maintain trade secrets in order to differentiate ourselves from the competition. Unfortunately the “It’s mine!” mentality has not only handicapped software providers from reaching their full potential, but it has also limited our choices as consumers.
Thank goodness for the free thinkers of the open source movement that proved that sharing ideas and software could not only make money, but could provide the consumer with more options. Oh yeah, did I mention better software? This same movement has also transpired to the software as a service (SaaS) providers in the form of an API.
An application programming interface (API) is an interface implemented by a provider of software which enables it to interact with other software providers. Basically it allows access to a black box that can then be integrated into other applications.
SmartFile will never be in the email marketing business, and email marketing companies will never be in the file sharing business. But wouldn’t be nice if we could share code to allow the email marketing company to share files within their application and allow us to send emails through ours? That is the power of collaboration. Allowing each company to focus on their core competency, and presenting a better value proposition to the customer.
SmartFile just released our API and we are committed to allowing consumers and business’s alike to integrate what we do well into what you do well.