API Management

API management refers to the process of publishing and managing application programming interfaces (APIs). Commonly this is achieved through the use of a software application known as an API management system or solution.
Background
API management systems were first developed in response to the increasing use of Web APIs (a term closely linked with Web services). These XML and JSON-based protocols and associated standards had become the preferred method for opening up applications and services to third-party developers. Vendors of Internet applications and cloud computing services began publishing Web APIs, allowing outside developers to create new applications designed to integrate with the vendors' offerings. A major motivation for this was the increasingly widespread adoption of mobile devices. As more applications became available across diverse mobile operating systems like Apple's iOS and Google's Android, there was a growing need for integration with third-party applications built upon Web APIs.
History
The birth of API management as a software category can be traced back to 2006, when Mashery launched what has been identified as the first commercial API management solution. Since that time, a number of other vendors have launched API management solutions, notable examples being Apigee and 3scale. In October 2009, Jim Zuber, writing for Quality Logic Community commented that: "An... indicator of the growth of Web APIs is the number of venture capital funded companies that focus on helping companies manage their Web API offerings."
By the early 2010s, API management was still considered to be a minor niche in the enterprise software market but - given the rapid growth in API publishing - it seemed set to become a more prominent and widely understood category. As Sam Ramji of Apigee commented in December 2010: "(I)t currently is a niche, but it looks like a niche that is crossing the chasm and becoming mainstream." In June 2011 alone, two new API management products were launched: SOA Software's Atmosphere and Layer 7's API Portal with the Vordel API Server announced in 2012.
Increasingly, API Management requirements are converging with the related field of SOA governance, as both deal with management of programmatic interfaces. This is evidenced by the fact that in both 2009 and 2011 Gartner included API Management vendors in its Magic Quadrant for SOA Governance. Similarly, API Management capability was an evaluation criteria in the 2011 Forrester Wave for SOA Application Gateways.
Common tasks and required functionality
API management systems exist primarily to help API publishers make it simple to create new applications based on the APIs they publish. Providing third-party developers with the desired level of simplicity is a complex matter. API management systems address this complexity by managing and automating common tasks.
Common tasks associated with the process of API management include:
* Governing access to and usage of APIs
* Metering access and usage of APIs
* Securing APIs against abuse or attack
* Helping developers discover APIs
* Monetizing APIs
* API Development Lifecycle
* API Transformation
* API Delivery
* Implementing OAuth
The functionality of an API management solution will seek to address some or all of these tasks. API Management solutions can be located on-premise or in the cloud, however, for many enterprises, an on-premise API Management product is deemed important.
Key vendors
*
* Apiary.io
* Apigee
* InfoChimps
* Kasabi
*
* Managed Methods CloudGate
* Mashape
* Mashery
* SOA Software
* Socrata
* WebServius
*
* Vordel

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu