Alcatel-Lucent has acquired ProgrammableWeb, a company that provides a repository for Web APIs (application programming interfaces) used by application developers. Alca-Lu says it made the investment to build a bridge between service providers, enterprises, and application developers to accelerate the creation of Web, mobile and multimedia apps.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. But Laura Merling, VP of global developer strategy with Alcatel Lucent, said the integration of ProgrammableWeb is effective immediately, and the ProgrammableWeb offices will remain in Seattle.

Web APIs enable developers to create new applications, leveraging various kinds of content and functionality. ProgrammableWeb maintains a repository of over 2,000 Web APIs, which are regularly accessed by a community of hundreds of thousands of developers.

The acquisition is "directly in line with our app enablement strategy," said Merling. To date, Alcatel-Lucent has established an open API service and a developer platform.

“If you look at any organization that launches an API, you quickly realize that the one thing the most successful APIs have in common is a vibrant developer ecosystem,” said Merling. “Our goal is to protect the uniqueness and independence of ProgrammableWeb as an API repository and developer resource, while adding beneficial technologies and service provider relationships to the mix.”

-Linda Hardesty

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