• The API Platform for AI.

      Explore More
      Platform Runtimes
      Kong Gateway
      • Kong Cloud Gateways
      • Kong Ingress Controller
      • Kong Operator
      • Kong Gateway Plugins
      Kong AI Gateway
      Kong Event Gateway
      Kong Mesh
      Platform Core Services
      • Gateway Manager
      • Mesh Manager
      • Service Catalog
      Platform Applications
      • Developer Portal
      • API and AI Analytics
      • API Products
      Development Tools
      Kong Insomnia
      • API Design
      • API Testing and Debugging
      Self-Hosted API Management
      Kong Gateway Enterprise
      Kong Open Source Projects
      • Kong Gateway OSS
      • Kuma
      • Kong Insomnia OSS
      • Kong Community
      Get Started
      • Sign Up for Kong Konnect
      • Documentation
    • Featured
      Open Banking SolutionsMobile Application API DevelopmentBuild a Developer PlatformAPI SecurityAPI GovernanceKafka Event StreamingAI GovernanceAPI Productization
      Industry
      Financial ServicesHealthcareHigher EducationInsuranceManufacturingRetailSoftware & TechnologyTransportation
      Use Case
      API Gateway for IstioBuild on KubernetesDecentralized Load BalancingMonolith to MicroservicesObservabilityPower OpenAI ApplicationsService Mesh ConnectivityZero Trust SecuritySee all Solutions
      Demo

      Learn how to innovate faster while maintaining the highest security standards and customer trust

      Register Now
  • Customers
    • Documentation
      Kong KonnectKong GatewayKong MeshKong AI GatewayKong InsomniaPlugin Hub
      Explore
      BlogLearning CentereBooksReportsDemosCase StudiesVideos
      Events
      API SummitWebinarsUser CallsWorkshopsMeetupsSee All Events
      For Developers
      Get StartedCommunityCertificationTraining
    • Company
      About UsWhy Kong?CareersPress RoomInvestorsContact Us
      Partner
      Kong Partner Program
      Security
      Trust and Compliance
      Support
      Enterprise Support PortalProfessional ServicesDocumentation
      Press Release

      Kong Expands with New Headquarters in Downtown San Francisco

      Read More
  • Pricing
  • Login
  • Get a Demo
  • Start for Free
Blog
  • Engineering
  • Enterprise
  • Learning Center
  • Kong News
  • Product Releases
    • API Gateway
    • Service Mesh
    • Insomnia
    • Kubernetes
    • API Security
    • AI Gateway
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Enterprise
  • Digital Innovation and World-Class CX Start With Developer Empowerment
Enterprise
March 30, 2022
3 min read

Digital Innovation and World-Class CX Start With Developer Empowerment

Marco Palladino
CTO and Co-Founder

This is Part 1 of a three-part blog series that will dive into industry insights from technology leaders who are facing the next wave of digital innovation head-on.

Today, we meet again at the cusp of the next frontier. This time, it's Web3, the metaverse and boundless connectivity. Businesses everywhere are bracing for what's next while preparing for the onslaught of new-wave digital experiences. These experiences will move at hyper-speed, where consumers will expect instantaneous delivery, from getting flight alerts on your smartwatch to ordering a pizza with the tap of a finger. Businesses that drive innovation will emerge as king of the jungle, while others will face displacement.

According to our new 2022 API & Microservices Connectivity Report, 75% of technology leaders fear competitive displacement if they fail to keep pace with digital innovation, up from 62% in 2021 and 57% in 2020. In fact, 4 out of 5 predict they will go under or be absorbed by a competitor within six years if digital innovation lags, while 2 out of 5 predict an even shorter survival window of three years or less. So how does one stay ahead of the troop? It turns out the secret was in plain sight - right there in your developer team.

IT and App Modernization

Tiny Teams and Old Tech: A Modern Conundrum

Capturing the full potential for digital innovation relies heavily on seamless connectivity between applications. APIs are the backbone to this connectivity, fulfilling requests (like that pizza you ordered) in real time. Developers rely on APIs to build applications, and businesses are looking to empower developers with the tools to create unparalleled customer experiences. Bad stuff in will mean bad stuff out, and legacy architectures have long been a hurdle for developers to realize digital transformation for businesses.

Complexity of using multiple technologies (38%), reliance on legacy technologies/monolithic architectures (37%) and lack of IT automation (37%) were cited as top challenges hindering innovation. On top of this, the Great Resignation has shrunk developer teams, straining resources and productivity. According to the report, 34% of respondents cited lack of skills and talent as a drag on innovation. At this point, improving the developer experience is non-negotiable in order to enable development of futuristic applications, innovate at scale and deliver a world-class digital experience for your end user. At the end of the day, happy developers equal happy customers.

Modern Technology Adoption

Turning the Tide in Your Favor

Investing in modern tools, enabling developer efficiency and removing tech complexities are key to improving the developer experience. To create this unbeatable developer experience, technology leaders have streamlined a few priorities:

  • Improve application security (44%)
  • Improve application performance/reliability (40%)
  • Make it easier to adopt new technologies to bridge the transition to the future (40%)
  • Improve developer efficiency (39%)

By doing away with roadblocks stemming from old technology and picking solutions with built-in security and unparalleled performance, businesses enable their developers to regain critical time to focus on actually building those game-changing applications. To determine ROI on innovation, technology leaders have set some metrics for what success looks like. Here are a few things to prioritize when charting your innovation roadmap based on survey respondent data:

  • Service reliability and availability (94%)
  • Application performance and scalability (93%)
  • Risk mitigation (e.g. security, compliance, data privacy) (93%)

Of course, there is no quick-fix; keeping pace means continuous innovation. The data shows that most businesses have found that investing in modern technology has empowered their developers to deliver on the business commitments to customers. To read more about the findings from our latest 2022 API & Microservices Connectivity Report, you can:

  • Download the full report
  • Check out our infographic
  • Join the "Building a Winning Digital Experience Strategy Starts With Empowering Today’s Developers" webinar on April 14

Stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3 in this blog series, where we'll dive deeper into the trends driving these changes and look at how businesses today are enabling their developer teams to drive innovation.

Topics:Thought Leadership
Powering the API world

Increase developer productivity, security, and performance at scale with the unified platform for API management, service mesh, and ingress controller.

Sign up for Kong newsletter

Platform
Kong KonnectKong GatewayKong AI GatewayKong InsomniaDeveloper PortalGateway ManagerCloud GatewayGet a Demo
Explore More
Open Banking API SolutionsAPI Governance SolutionsIstio API Gateway IntegrationKubernetes API ManagementAPI Gateway: Build vs BuyKong vs PostmanKong vs MuleSoftKong vs Apigee
Documentation
Kong Konnect DocsKong Gateway DocsKong Mesh DocsKong AI GatewayKong Insomnia DocsKong Plugin Hub
Open Source
Kong GatewayKumaInsomniaKong Community
Company
About KongCustomersCareersPressEventsContactPricing
  • Terms•
  • Privacy•
  • Trust and Compliance
  • © Kong Inc. 2025