The world's biggest online auction site has transformed itself into a development platform thanks to Web services, according to the head of its developer program.
In his keynote presentation at the Web Services Edge 2005 show on Tuesday, Matt Ackley, senior director of the eBay Developers Program, described how 42% of the product listings on eBay.com now come in through the company's Web services application programming interfaces (APIs). This is "leveling the playing field" for businesses of all sizes, he said.
EBay's online product forms are good for individuals looking to sell items collecting dust in their basements; however, many eBay sellers are fairly sizable businesses for whom it is impractical to fill out a form for every item they list. This drove eBay to create its Web services APIs in 2000. The APIs were initially only accessible to a closed network of developers, but were eventually opened up to the community in 2003.
By making eBay accessible through Web services, developers are empowered to build custom, third-party applications that leverage eBay's functionality.
