The Evolution of the API Developer Community & How to Effectively Reach Its Diverse Segments

1. The evolution of the global developer population
2. Behindtheboom
3. Developers as decision makers
4. Mature versus emerging development sectors: the differing developer profiles
5. Reaching the diverse developer personas: to segment or not to segment?

Transcript

2. WHO DEVELOPERS ARE WHERE THEY ARE GOING WHAT THEY BUY Developer population sizing Developer segmentation We help the world understand developers Why developers are adopting competitor products – and how you can fix that Emerging platforms – augmented & virtual reality, machine learning We survey 30,000+ developers annually – across web, mobile, IoT, cloud, Machine Learning, AR/VR, games and desktop – to help companies understand who developers are, what they buy and where they are going next.
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4. KEY FIGURES 10 DEVELOPER DEVELOPMENT AREAS 30,000+ DEVELOPERS ANNUALLY 2 SURVEY WAVES ANNUALLY 18 GLOBAL WAVES TO DATE 159 COUNTRIES REACHED 40+ RESEARCH STUDIES PER YEAR 87+ PARTNERS & CHANNELS FOR GLOBAL REACH SLASHDATA RESEARCH Mobile Desktop Industrial IoT Cloud Web Games Augmented & Virtual Reality Machine Learning & Data Science Consumer Electronics Apps/extensions for 3rd party ecosystems
5. 5 THE EVOLUTION OF THE API DEVELOPER COMMUNITY, AND HOW TO EFFECTIVELY REACH ITS DIVERSE SEGMENTS 1. The evolution of the global developer population 2. Behind the boom 3. Developers as decision makers 4. Mature versus emerging development sectors: the differing developer profiles 5. Reaching the diverse developer personas: to segment or not to segment? 6. Conclusion AGENDA
6. 6 THE EVOLUTION OF THE API DEVELOPER COMMUNITY, AND HOW TO EFFECTIVELY REACH ITS DIVERSE SEGMENTS 14,7 M 15,7 M 16,9 M 18,9 M 18,3 M 20,4 M Q2 2017 Q4 2017 Q2 2018 Q4 2018 Q2 2019 Q4 2019 Growth of the global developer population, Q2 2017 to Q4 2019 We predict the developer population will exceed 22M by the end of 2020. The developer community has grown by 11% in 6 months, by 30% in 2 years. 1. The evolution of the global developer population +30%
7. 7 THE EVOLUTION OF THE API DEVELOPER COMMUNITY, AND HOW TO EFFECTIVELY REACH ITS DIVERSE SEGMENTS 17,5 M 14,7 M 13,8 M 13,3 M 12,8 M 9,3 M 5,7 M 4,1 M 3,2 M 2,2 M Web apps Backend services Mobile apps ML, AI, and Data Science Desktop apps Games AR/VR Industrial IoT Consumer electronics devices Apps/extensions for 3rd party ecosystems Software sectors and their communities in Q4 2019 2.6 sectors of involvement on average +46% +20% 67% of developers are involved in at least 2 software sectors 1. The evolution of the global developer population +34% +35% +25%
8. 8 THE EVOLUTION OF THE API DEVELOPER COMMUNITY, AND HOW TO EFFECTIVELY REACH ITS DIVERSE SEGMENTS 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Containers Database as a Service Cloud Platform as a Service Server app performance management & monitoring Container orchestration tools & management platforms SaaS systems Cloud functions or serverless architecture Cloud monitoring services Private cloud software platform Data processing services Virtual machines IaaS Legacy enterprise systems Q2 2018 Q4 2018 Q2 2019 Q4 2019 Cloud technologies used by backend developers % of backend developers using each technology (2Q18 n=5,733 | 4Q18 n=4,422 | 2Q19 n=4,096 | 4Q19 n=4,179) +23pp +13pp +7pp +7pp 2. Behind the boom: cloud technologies Containers, container orchestration tools, serverless architectures, and DBaaS have surged +9pp
9. 9 THE EVOLUTION OF THE API DEVELOPER COMMUNITY, AND HOW TO EFFECTIVELY REACH ITS DIVERSE SEGMENTS 63% 27% 25% 25% 20% 15% 14% 12% 6% I am learning / studying data science / machine learning I use ML algorithms in the context of data exploration, analysis & reporting I consume 3rd party APIs (e.g. Vision API, Speech API, Recommendations API) I train & deploy ML algorithms in my app / project / product I do ML/AI research - either commercial or academic I train models for others in my team to use/deploy I deploy models that data scientists in our team have built I build machine learning frameworks I am a teacher / professor teaching AI, ML or data science related subjects Involvement in machine learning / data science / AI % of machine learning / AI developers (Q4 2019 n=4,276) I am learning / studying data science / machine learning I use ML algorithms in the context of data exploration, analysis & reporting I consume 3rd party APIs (e.g. Vision API, Speech API, Recommendations API) I train & deploy ML algorithms in my app / project / product I do ML/AI research - either commercial or academic I train models for others in my team to use/deploy I deploy models that data scientists in our team have built I build machine learning frameworks I am a teacher / professor teaching AI, ML or data science related subjects 2. Behind the boom: the case of machine learning APIs 1 in 4 ML developers & data scientists consume 3rd party APIs
10. 10 THE EVOLUTION OF THE API DEVELOPER COMMUNITY, AND HOW TO EFFECTIVELY REACH ITS DIVERSE SEGMENTS 27% 22% 15% 11% 11% 7% 5% 21% 20% 19% 6% 8% 12% 10% To build new ML or AI- based products / applications / chatbots To add AI/ML functionality to my existing applications / products To improve my organisations processes (e.g. sales, customer services, quality control) To contribute to the research around AI/ML To increase my chances of securing profitable projects as a contractor To conduct medical or other scientific research AI/ML / data science is part of my university degree - I didnt choose to take it Consuming 3rd party APIs All other ML developers & data scientists Main reason to use ML / data science / AI % of machine learning / AI developers and data scientists (Q4 2019 n=2,322) 2. Behind the boom: the case of machine learning APIs ML API users, more than others, build new products or add functionality to existing ones
11. 11 THE EVOLUTION OF THE API DEVELOPER COMMUNITY, AND HOW TO EFFECTIVELY REACH ITS DIVERSE SEGMENTS 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Software products and services, SaaS (incl. web development, games and other apps) Q2 2018 Q4 2018 Q2 2019 Q4 2019 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% Health, medical, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals Transportation and logistics Financial services, banking and insurance Data analytics / Business intelligence (BI) products and services Energy (incl. oil, gas, electricity, and water) Industry in which active % of professional developers (2Q18 n=5,030 | 4Q18 n=6,520 | 2Q19 n=5,091 | 4Q19 n=5,296) 2. Behind the boom: penetrating the verticals Developers are moving into the non-tech industries
12. 12 THE EVOLUTION OF THE API DEVELOPER COMMUNITY, AND HOW TO EFFECTIVELY REACH ITS DIVERSE SEGMENTS 10% 19% 41% 45% 24% 20% 10% 9% We are not buying any tools or components Not involved in selection/purchase decisions Buying as an individual, for my own use Making recommendations or influencing decision makers Responsible for specifications Making the final selection decision for team/company tools Approving expenses on tools & components Approving the overall team budget for developer tools Involvement in selecting and buying developer tools or components % of developers (Q4 2019 n=5,963) 3. Developers as influencers and decision makers 71% of developers are involved in tooling decisions
13. 13 THE EVOLUTION OF THE API DEVELOPER COMMUNITY, AND HOW TO EFFECTIVELY REACH ITS DIVERSE SEGMENTS 24% 14% 15% 19% 12% 9% 7% 18% 18% 16% 15% 14% 13% 12% 24% 25% 24% 20% 23% 23% 23% 33% 43% 44% 46% 51% 55% 57% Games Machine learning / AI Mobile apps Consumer electronics devices Desktop apps Apps/extensions for 3rd party ecosystems Backend Services < 1 year 1-2 years 3-5 years 6+ years Experience in software development: Experience in software development by area of development % of developers (n=17,252) 4. Mature versus emerging development sectors: the differing developer profiles The least experienced leap-frog into the emerging sectors
14. 14 THE EVOLUTION OF THE API DEVELOPER COMMUNITY, AND HOW TO EFFECTIVELY REACH ITS DIVERSE SEGMENTS 11% 5% 7% 5% 5% 3% 3% 2% 35% 37% 30% 30% 25% 26% 25% 23% 29% 28% 27% 31% 29% 35% 27% 37% 16% 18% 24% 20% 22% 22% 24% 23% 7% 8% 9% 10% 12% 9% 13% 10% 3% 4% 4% 4% 7% 4% 8% 4% Games Machine learning / AI Virtual Reality Augmented Reality Desktop apps Web apps / Software as a Service Industrial IoT Backend Services Under 18 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55 or above Developer age by area of involvement % of developers (n=17,218) Age group: 4. Mature versus emerging development sectors: the differing developer profiles Nearly half of ML/AI developers are below 25 years of age
15. 15 THE EVOLUTION OF THE API DEVELOPER COMMUNITY, AND HOW TO EFFECTIVELY REACH ITS DIVERSE SEGMENTS Contribution to open source by age group % of developers in each age group (n=16,150) 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Under 18 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55 or above 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Under 18 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55 or above % of developers who contribute To solve an issue with an existing open source software project (bug or feature) It’s fun To improve my coding skills It makes me feel like I belong somewhere % of developers contributing to open source Reasons for contributing to open source 4. Mature versus emerging development sectors: the differing developer profiles Younger developers contribute more to open source – to learn and have fun
16. 16 THE EVOLUTION OF THE API DEVELOPER COMMUNITY, AND HOW TO EFFECTIVELY REACH ITS DIVERSE SEGMENTS 25% 29% 22% 21% 21% 18% 18% 18% 18% 16% 15% 13% 13% 10% 9% 6% We don't differentiate or segment developers Programming language Type of development Target audience (consumer, enterprise, SME, internal) Role in the organisation, level of decision power Age, experience, and/or level of education Devices, operating systems, or platforms targeted Developer motivations and goals Target industry, vertical, or app category Business model of the developer Geography (region or country) Professionals versus hobbyists or students Company size Impact to our business Usage of adjacent technologies or platforms Revenues made through development projects, services, or products How do you segment your developer audience? % of developer program leaders (n=68) 5. Reaching the diverse developer personas: to segment or not to segment? One in four developer program leaders don’t segment their audience
17. 17 THE EVOLUTION OF THE API DEVELOPER COMMUNITY, AND HOW TO EFFECTIVELY REACH ITS DIVERSE SEGMENTS 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 1Q12 1Q13 3Q13 1Q14 3Q14 1Q15 3Q15 1Q16 Blackberry OS (5/6/7) Blackberry 10 Symbian How to segment developers into personas . sdata.me/DeveloperPersonas · ©SlashData Usage of Symbian OS and Blackberry among mobile developers between 2012 and 2016 % of mobile developers (1Q12 n=1,440, 1Q13 n=5,380, 3Q14 n=10,392, 1Q15 n=7,149, 3Q15 n=7,462, 1Q16 n=11,523) 5. Reaching the diverse developer personas: to segment or not to segment? Technologies have the bad habit of becoming obsolete
18. 18 YOUNG LEARNERS YOUNG PROFESSIONALS MIDDLE STANDARDS EMERGING EXTENDERS SEASONED DECISION MAKERS INEXPERIENCED LONERS 5. Reaching the diverse developer personas: to segment or not to segment? Letting the data speak unsupervised: our 6 developer personas
19. 19 THE EVOLUTION OF THE API DEVELOPER COMMUNITY, AND HOW TO EFFECTIVELY REACH ITS DIVERSE SEGMENTS 3% 4% 4% 3% 7% 5% 9% 4% 7% 4% 6% 22% 20% 27% 24% 22% 21% 23% 68% 73% 60% 70% 67% 72% 68% Robotics Currently working on Learning about Interested in Not interested 4% 6% 10% 17% 20% 4% 10% 7% 8% 12% 15% 14% 7% 11% 11% 13% 14% 14% 12% 12% 13% 79% 73% 65% 54% 54% 77% 66% Young Learners Young Professionals Extenders Middle Standards Seasoned Decision Makers Inexperienced Loners All developers DevOps How to segment developers into personas . sdata.me/DeveloperPersonas · ©SlashData Involvement and interest in emerging technologies per developer persona % of developers within each persona (n=20,578) 5. Reaching the diverse developer personas: tto segment or not to segment? When you know that segmentation works
20. 20 THE EVOLUTION OF THE API DEVELOPER COMMUNITY, AND HOW TO EFFECTIVELY REACH ITS DIVERSE SEGMENTS 6. Conclusion Six key takeaways 1. The developer community has seen a 30% increase in the past 2 years. We expect the number of developers to surpass 22M by the end of 2020. 2. The boom in APIs, cloud technologies, and the rise of open source communities were some of the key factors behind the boom. 3. As the barriers to entry are lowered, the typical profile of the developer is diluted. There is no such thing as a typical developer. 4. Developers are influencers, 71% involved in tooling buying decisions. 5. Given the increasing diversity of the community, segmenting your audience is key to maximise the RoI of your developer outreach activities. 6. You know you have defined your personas correctly when each persona is behaving consistently and differently from the others.
21. 21 THE EVOLUTION OF THE API DEVELOPER COMMUNITY, AND HOW TO EFFECTIVELY REACH ITS DIVERSE SEGMENTS