AT&T Launches Enterprise-Focused API Program

DALLAS, Sept. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T*, already the leading carrier deploying network Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to developers,¹ today announced it has launched an enterprise-focused API program that allows enterprise customers, wholesale collaborators and solution providers to innovate using AT&T network APIs.      

Led by industry thought leader Laura Merling, VP of Ecosystem Development and Platform Solutions, AT&T is pursuing a telecommunications industry API opportunity expected to grow to $157 billion in global revenues by 2018.²

APIs are software interfaces that provide access to data and core functions within AT&T's network. By opening up its APIs to customers, AT&T believes it can help them meet three key challenges: do more without spending more; harness technology to gain competitive advantage; and support their ability to create and deploy applications that can be used on almost any device around the world.

"Working closely with our ecosystem of enterprise customers and solution providers, we have jointly identified core network capabilities that allow all of us to create differentiated services and solutions," said Andy Geisse, CEO, AT&T Business Solutions. "We expect our work to result in a proliferation of innovative solutions that will help enterprise customers innovate, grow and become more productive."

Some examples of how enterprises can use AT&T APIs include:

• Content formatting: Using APIs, video content from a company's video library stored in the cloud can be easily optimized in near real-time for users to watch on almost any device and network.
• Communications services: To bring more efficiency and productivity to business operations, businesses can use APIs to automate voice and video calls, integrating speech and video services into applications.

New Jersey-based Ancero, a provider of managed services and communications, sees AT&T's API approach as a true enabler for its transformation. "Automating processes using open APIs helps us serve our customers faster and with a higher degree of accuracy, which not only reduces cost and inefficiency, but even more importantly, also helps us increase customer satisfaction," said Robert Hogg, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Ancero, LLC.

The new API program complements AT&T's consumer developer program, which has consistently been rated best by Evans Data Corporation.³ Across all of AT&T's API programs, the company now generates more than 7.8 billion API calls per month – a number unmatched by any other telecommunication carrier.⁴

Extending APIs to enterprises is part of a broader evolution in the way AT&T collaborates with business customers and third party technology companies. AT&T is rethinking its own operations, creating an ecosystem and platforms to drive enterprise innovation. For example, the company recently forged a global strategic alliance with CSC to develop next-generation technology solutions for enterprises; launched a joint cloud service with IBM; and has jointly launched enterprise mobility solutions with companies such as Antenna Software, Axeda Corporation and MobileIron.

¹ Evans Data Corporation, 2012, 'Mobile Development Survey Volume II'

² Mind Commerce, September 2013, 'Telecom Network API Marketplace: Strategy, Ecosystem, Players and Forecasts 2013 – 2018'

³ Evans Data Corporation, 2012, 'Mobile Development Survey Volume II'

⁴ ProgrammableWeb, May 23, 2012, 'Which APIs are handling billions of requests per day?' http://blog.programmableweb.com/2012/05/23/which-apis-are-handling-billions-of-requests-per-day/

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is a premier communications holding company and one of the most honored companies in the world. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and internationally. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation's fastest and most reliable 4G LTE network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet, voice and cloud-based services. A leader in mobile Internet, AT&T also offers the best wireless coverage worldwide of any U.S. carrier, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries.  It also offers advanced TV service with the AT&T U-verse^® brand. The company's suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world.

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4G LTE speed claim based on national carriers' average 4G LTE download speeds. Reliability claim based on data transfer completion rates on nationwide 4G LTE networks. 4G LTE availability varies.

SOURCE AT&T Inc.