API of the Week: Context.IO

Context.IO is an API for e-mail, giving developers the ability to use e-mail as a platform. Context.IO aims to replace complex sequences of IMAP requests with simple API calls.

The first 100 readers to sign-up using the code RWW100 will be admitted to the private beta. The API will be opened to more developers next month.

Sponsor

It was created by DokDok (one of our enterprise startups to watch in 2011), which used the same API to build its attachment management app. 'Up to now, 'email integration' in CRM or productivity apps meant adding an obscure BCC on outgoing emails and forwarding incoming emails; a manual, repetitive and error-prone process,' says DokDok founder Bruno Morency.

Use cases include integrating e-mail with other applications, such as CRM (like DokDok's integration with Highrise), document management systems, calendars and to-do lists.

We've covered the concept of e-mail as a platform a few times in the past. GMailr, an unofficial JavaScript API for Gmail, is another example of an open platform for e-mail innovation.