APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) enable different software applications to communicate with each other and are a crucial part of modern software development. As businesses rely more on APIs to securely share data and functionality, proper API management has become essential.
API management platforms help organizations manage the entire API lifecycle – from creation, documentation, testing to publishing, analyzing usage and performance. Choosing the right solution can boost developer productivity, increase API adoption, provide robust security and deliver valuable business insights.
In this comprehensive guide, we will discuss the top 7 API management tools to consider in 2024 along with their key capabilities.
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There are around 190 API management solutions available currently with diverse capabilities catering to different needs. To help close this information gap, we will introduce the top 7 platforms based on research and first-hand experience implementing these solutions for clients.
1. IBM API Connect
IBM API Connect is an end-to-end hybrid API management solution helping large enterprises securely expose APIs to internal teams, partners and external developers while gaining operational control and valuable insights into API usage.
Key Features
- API Manager to create, run and manage APIs throughout their lifecycle
- Self-service API portal for simplified discoverability and sharing
- API gateway to handle security, traffic control and apply policies
- Analytics dashboard for real-time and historical API monitoring and reporting
- SDKs and tools for streamlined API development and testing
- On-premises, cloud and hybrid deployment options
IBM API Connect spans the entire API lifecycle – from initial API creation, documentation, testing to publishing, management and eventual retirement. Its developer portal makes it straightforward to share APIs internally across teams and externally with partners in a controlled manner.
The API gateway provides comprehensive security with authentication, SSL, OAuth and API keys to prevent misuse. It also handles critical traffic control aspects like rate limiting, quotas and load balancing to ensure API availability. The analytics dashboard offers much-needed visibility in the form of real-time and historical insights into API usage, adoption patterns and performance.
API Connect integrates seamlessly with other IBM solutions like IBM DataPower gateway for enhanced security and unified management across APIs and microservices. It can be deployed fully on-premises, on IBM Cloud or using a hybrid model – providing flexibility for diverse enterprise environments. Pricing is customized based on usage tiers and specific requirements.
Overall, IBM API Connect is an enterprise-grade solution purpose-built for full lifecycle API management across different environments. Its extensive capabilities have made IBM a popular choice managing over 30 billion API calls per month for many large organizations as per latest reports.
2. Apigee API Management
Apigee, now part of Google Cloud, is a full-lifecycle API management platform that helps organizations securely publish APIs at scale, accelerate app development and gain deep insights into API usage and traffic patterns.
Key Features
- API gateway to handle security, traffic and policies
- Developer portal for simplified API discovery and onboarding
- Monetization capabilities to charge developers for API usage
- Powerful analytics providing clear visibility into all API traffic
- End-to-end API creation, publishing and lifecycle management
- Deployment flexibility on Apigee cloud or on-premises
Apigee takes an API-first approach to help businesses securely expose data and functionality as APIs and accelerate app development by easily onboarding external developers. Its self-service developer portal makes APIs easily discoverable and consumable for internal and external developers.
The API gateway handles security, traffic throttling, content transformations, caching and more while insulating backend systems. This allows Apigee users to deploy APIs confidently knowing the gateway will protect backend services and data. Apigee analytics provides incredibly detailed visibility into API program performance – adoption, usage, latency, errors etc.
Apigee supports flexible monetization capabilities to create customized API products, apply sophisticated rate limiting and quotas policies, and charge developers based on API usage volume or other metrics. It manages the entire API lifecycle from inception to retirement.
Apigee is available as a full SaaS platform on Google Cloud or can be deployed in a hybrid model. Pricing is primarily based on the number of active developers using APIs per month. Overall, Apigee is a proven, scalable API management solution used by leading enterprises to securely expose APIs to 1000s of developers.
3. Microsoft Azure API Management
Microsoft Azure API Management is a hybrid, multi-cloud API management service. It enables teams to consistently manage APIs across cloud, on-premises and hybrid environments through easy API gateways creation and modernization of legacy backends.
Key Features
- Unified API gateway across Azure cloud, on-prem and hybrid
- Developer portal for simplified API sharing and discovery
- Valuable analytics providing visibility into API traffic and usage
- Streamlined API creation, publishing and lifecycle management
- Caching, transformations, rate limiting and quotas
- Tight integration with other Azure services like App Gateway
Azure API Management acts as a single unified API gateway across Azure cloud, on-premises infrastructure and hybrid environments. This consolidated gateway handles security, access control, policies, transformations, caching and more regardless of where your APIs are hosted.
The self-service developer portal makes APIs easily discoverable and consumable for internal developers or external partners. Detailed analytics provide great visibility into API adoption patterns, usage trends, performance etc. Additional capabilities include HTTP caching, protocols transformation, rate limiting, quotas and revisions management.
Azure API Management integrates seamlessly with other Azure services like Azure Application Gateway and Power Platform. It offers additional benefits like the ability to modernize legacy SOAP services with REST APIs easily. Pricing is based on flexible usage tiers measured by the number of API calls.
Overall, Azure API Management is a great choice for organizations looking to manage APIs spread across diverse environments under a unified governance model and API gateway. It is used by 85% of Fortune 500 companies as per Microsoft.
4. Kong API Management
Kong is a scalable full lifecycle API management platform focused on multi-cloud flexibility and microservices support. It helps modernize infrastructure and accelerate application delivery for organizations using APIs, microservices and legacy systems.
Key Features
- Unified API gateway for security, traffic control and policies
- Self-service developer portal for easy API sharing and discovery
- Monitoring dashboard providing health, performance and usage insights
- API creation, publication and documentation
- Granular role-based access control (RBAC) and ownership
- Extensive support for microservices and Kubernetes
Kong offers a unified control plane to manage APIs and microservices across diverse infrastructure – cloud, on-premises, containers, serverless etc. This makes it easy to use Kong for all your APIs regardless of where they are hosted.
Its self-service developer portal simplifies sharing APIs with internal developer teams or providing access to external partners. Granular role-based access control (RBAC) and ownership enable flexible access management.
The Kong API gateway secures APIs while handling cross-cutting concerns like authentication, rate limiting, transformations, logging etc. The Kong Manager provides valuable usage insights, monitoring and analytics.
Kong enables comprehensive API creation including publishing, documentation, mocking, testing and security policy management. It can be deployed fully on-premises or in the cloud for maximum flexibility. Kong is used by leading companies like Yahoo! and PayPal to manage over 250 billion API requests per month as per their reports.
Overall, Kong excels in multi-cloud API management with extensive microservices support using Kubernetes. Its flexibility makes it suitable for modern API-driven and cloud-native architectures.
5. MuleSoft Anypoint Platform
MuleSoft Anypoint Platform is an API-led integration platform providing full lifecycle API management capabilities for SOAP, REST, and other API formats. It helps organizations integrate applications and expose data easily using well-governed APIs.
Key Features
- Unified API gateway to manage any API, microservices and systems
- Developer portal for simplified API discovery and consumption
- Embedded analytics dashboard providing visibility into API traffic
- Streamlined API creation, publication, management and governance
- Accelerated delivery using CI/CD integration with GitHub, Jenkins etc.
- Extensive support for legacy systems, microservices, third-party APIs
Anypoint Platform offers a flexible API gateway to manage APIs, microservices and legacy systems together on a single pane of glass. Its self-service developer portal simplifies discovering and consuming APIs for internal or external usage.
The embedded API analytics offer detailed visibility into API program performance – traffic patterns, adoption metrics, latency, errors etc. Anypoint Platform integrates with CI/CD tools like GitHub, BitBucket and Jenkins for accelerated API delivery and updates.
It provides extensive connectivity support for integrating legacy systems like databases, mainframes, ERPs etc along with newer technologies using adapters and connectors. MuleSoft customers like Coca-Cola, McDonald‘s, Visa use it to manage thousands of APIs and integrations as per reports.
Overall, MuleSoft Anypoint Platform is ideal for organizations seeking an API-first approach to integration across legacy and modern environments using a unified gateway.
6. Workato
Workato is a leading integration and automation platform providing easy to use APIs, connectors and built-in integration capabilities for enterprises. Its API management enables organizations to securely share APIs and other integrations.
Key Features
- API gateway for security, rate limiting and access control
- Developer portal to easily publish and share APIs
- Granular access policies and API key management
- API usage analytics and monitoring
- Discoverable API catalog with documentation
- Connectors to easily integrate APIs into downstream workflows
Workato enables organizations to quickly create APIs, publish them via self-service developer portal and monitor API usage. The API gateway handles security, rate limits, quotas and access policies centrally.
It provides a discoverable API catalog with documentation to makes it easy for users to find and integrate the APIs they need. Workato gives administrators complete visibility into API adoption, performance, usage patterns and more.
Hundreds of pre-built connectors make it simple for developers to invoke APIs as part of workflows and business processes managed in Workato. For example, call a weather API and push data to Salesforce CRM automatically.
Workato is used by innovative companies like Broadcom, Comcast and Box to automate workflows across applications using APIs and integration. It provides extensive control over APIs alongside Workato‘s automation capabilities.
Overall, Workato greatly simplifies API management, system integration and workflow automation for modern IT environments.
7. Dell Boomi AtomSphere
Dell Boomi AtomSphere is a unified, cloud-based integration Platform-as-a-Service (iPaaS) that enables organizations to connect applications, manage APIs and automate workflows across systems.
Key Features
- Centralized API gateway to secure, control and monitor APIs
- Developer portal for easy discoverability of APIs
- Granular access control policies and API key management
- Valuable API usage analytics and monitoring
- API creation, publication, documentation and versioning
- Seamless connectivity to integrate APIs into workflows
Boomi API Management provides a secure and scalable API gateway to protect backend systems while managing traffic. Granular policies and OAuth tokens enable access control for internal or external consumers.
The self-service developer portal accelerates API consumption across developer teams. Discoverability is enhanced through the portal‘s API catalog with documentation and examples.
Boomi excels in API creation enabling teams to develop APIs from various protocols – SOAP, REST, JSON, OData, GraphQL, XML etc. It manages the entire API lifecycle with versioning capabilities.
Seamless connectors integrate APIs into downstream processes across ERPs, databases, SaaS applications etc. Comprehensive monitoring provides visibility into adoption, performance and usage.
Dell Boomi touts over 8000 customers worldwide including leaders like LinkedIn, eBay and Cisco. Its flexible cloud platform simplifies integration, workflow automation and API management.
Overall, Boomi is a proven iPaaS that enables organizations to unlock data and services using well-governed APIs that drive automation and innovation.
Key Factors to Consider When Selecting an API Management Solution
While evaluating options, keep the criteria below in mind based on your specific requirements:
- Deployment models supported: SaaS, public/private cloud, on-premises, hybrid
- Developer experience and productivity: API discoverability, testing, docs, onboarding
- Security capabilities: Authentication, SSL, OAuth/OpenID Connect, API keys
- Analytics & monitoring: API traffic visibility, performance trends, usage metrics
- Gateway features: Caching, transformations, orchestration, rate limiting, quotas
- Ecosystem support: Existing systems, legacy, microservices, third-party APIs, webhooks
- Pricing model: Subscriptions based on features used, number of APIs, usage volume
- Scalability: Ability to handle high traffic volumes and large-scale deployments
- Ease of use: User experience for admins, developers and consumers
- Vendor lock-in: Ability to migrate or switch solutions easily
Carefully evaluate which capabilities are most important for your API program‘s needs and environment. Shortlist vendors that best meet those criteria and perform POC testing before final selection.
Conclusion
APIs enable organizations to securely open up data and services for internal teams, partners and third-party developers while gaining improved visibility and control. Feature-rich API management platforms like the ones discussed here provide the capabilities needed to successfully govern large-scale API programs.
Leading solutions from vendors like IBM, Google Cloud, Microsoft, Kong, MuleSoft, Workato and Boomi excel in full lifecycle API management across diverse infrastructure environments. Each caters to different needs around scale, security, extensibility etc.
Assess your API management requirements, shortlist vendors that fit your needs and perform hands-on POC testing. This will ensure you select the ideal solution fitting both your immediate and future API governance goals while providing maximum value.