Google I/O: New APIs help streamline workflows
As part of its ongoing efforts to bolster its enterprise business, Google is introducing a series of APIs that will help make users more productive.
With the new Sheets API, developers can push data from their app to Sheets. When it's updated in Sheets, it will be pulled back into the app in real time. A Slides API allows developers to export business data. Lastly, the Classroom API lets developers sync grades and assignment data between apps and Classroom.
Typical workflows involve multiple apps stitched together with functions like copying and pasting, explained Ritcha Ranjan, a product manager on the Google Apps team.
"We saw that as an opportunity where Google Apps could come in and really make a concrete difference for users," she told reporters at a presentation on the sidelines of the Google I/O conference.
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Google has several partners already using the APIs, including Salesforce, SAP Anywhere, Prosperworks and Trello.
ProsperWorks' founder and CEO Jon Lee said in a statement that with the new Google Slides API, ProsperWorks users will be able to automate the creation of presentations by easily merging their CRM data with Google Slides.
"ProsperWorks is committed to streamlining the workflow of fast-growing businesses and this integration will allow us to further eliminate and automate cumbersome manual tasks," he said. "We are thrilled to be one of the first companies chosen to access the Google Slides API and look forward to introducing this to our customers."
Diane Greene, Google's senior vice president of cloud, said in a blog post that Google is "committed to delivering the tools and technologies that help businesses improve productivity, securely connect information across platforms and power new workflows,"
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Greene added that in her meetings with potential customers, she's been surprised at "how much the Fortune 1,000 wants to have a dual approach to the cloud... to have two cloud vendors."
Clients already using Amazon Web Services are "coming to us," she said. "We're quite enterprise ready, and people are seeing that, they're seeing our strengths."