APIs let you package the data and functionality housed in your systems so it can easily be used by other applications and services or in new ways. Creating these kinds of APIs allows you to deliver digital transformation more quickly and to get more value out of your existing data and capabilities.
But in order to release this value without compromising the security of your existing data and systems, and to help developers to easily find relevant APIs and use them correctly, you need to manage your APIs properly. APIs exposed without the proper controls, security protections, developer considerations and visibility mechanisms can become a liability that puts corporate and customer data at risk.
Choosing the right API management solution
According to industry analysts Gartner, a full lifecycle API management solution should support the planning, design, implementation, testing, publication, operation, consumption, versioning and retirement of APIs. In its most recent evaluation of API Management solutions, Gartner put Google’s Apigee offering firmly in the “leaders” magic quadrant. In fact, Gartner gave Apigee the top score when it came to current ability to execute.
So why did Apigee score so highly? Here are 6 of the ways Apigee provides organisations with robust API management.
1. Help developers find and use the APIs they need
Apigee lets you publish APIs to customisable portals so that developers can quickly and easily find and test APIs, get API keys to authenticate their access, and gain an understanding of the implications of using each API, including rate limits and pricing.
You can provide reference documentation, as well as control which APIs each developer can see, depending on factors such as whether they work for your own organisation, for a partner or for a customer organisation with access to premium features.
2. Help developers design and code new APIs
Apigee enables developers to easily create new API proxies, the interfaces that allow others to interact with data or functions in the backend system. It allows developers to customise API behaviour using code, to visually configure or code policies such as rate limiting or security, and to transform to and from any protocol.
3. Ensure your APIs are secure
Apigee provides the tools to consistently enforce security best practices and governance policies across all your APIs. You can protect your data with OAuth 2.0, SAML, two-way TLS and encryption, as well as add multiple layers to your API security with approaches such as Cloud Armor, CMEK and IAM.
4. Monitor your APIs and understand how they’re being used
Apigee’s monitoring tools keep an eye on how your APIs are performing and enable you to diagnose issues with availability and performance in just a few clicks. Apigee also lets you apply the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to predict API traffic patterns, detect anomalies in real-time, and protect against malicious bot attacks.
5. Choose where to deploy your APIs
With Apigee, you can host your APIs on premise, in the cloud or in a hybrid configuration. That lets you place your API gateways closer to your traffic and makes it easier to leverage your existing compliance, governance and security infrastructures
6. Monetise your APIs
Apigee gives you everything you need to develop a revenue stream from your APIs. You can create and configure a broad range of API packages and revenue models, and then easily link them to developer portals and payment gateways. Naturally, Apigee provides detailed reporting to help you manage your monetisation efforts.
Finally, in addition to the technical capabilities of the solution, Apigee also scored highly in Gartner’s evaluation because of Google’s strong support for customers working on digital transformation. According to Gartner, customers often view Google’s Apigee team as a strategic partner that understands the business requirements for digital transformation as well as the technology.
Working with a Google Cloud Platform Premier Partner
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If you’d like to find out more about moving to the cloud and how Google Cloud could help you, why not take a look at some of our customer success stories or browse our resources. Needless to say, please get in touch with our team if you'd like more practical support and guidance.
