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Future trends that API Management platforms will have to face
The API Management market share is rapidly growing and it brings notable benefits to any enterprise that implements it. As business and innovation do not remain static, it’s evident that there will be new ideas, features, and ways of working related to API Management.
API Observability
Just as we have seen major shifts in development from bulky, monolithic systems whose implementation could take decades, we have seen major shifts to various services and ways of working to construct functionalities. From in-house data centers to serverless architectures. From year long development cycles to 2 week sprints and dev-ops style daily deployments. With these changes we see extreme rise in transparency and functionality observability.
API Observability is becoming increasingly important as the development landscape shifts towards various services and ways of working to construct functionalities. API Platforms are playing a crucial role in giving a better understanding of how applications are connected, what data is being exchanged and how the landscape looks. With a single place that provides an overview of all APIs created using the same standards and rules, teams have full independence in developing their APIs while having central knowledge and control. This ensures that the next business transformation project can save up to 6 months of analysis time, as experts do not have to chase down every single system and API, draw data maps and schemas just to understand how any of this works, how it can be transformed, and map existing systems and their integrations to existing processes.
In addition to providing transparency and observability, API platforms can also offer cost savings for organizations. With a centralized platform for API development and management, teams can reduce the duplication of effort and resources that can occur when different teams are developing their own APIs without coordination or oversight. This can lead to a more streamlined development process and fewer redundancies, ultimately saving time and money.
API platforms can help organizations to scale and adapt more efficiently to changing business needs. By providing a standardized approach to API development and management, organizations can reduce the time and effort required to onboard new team members, integrate new systems, and support new use cases. This can lead to faster time-to-market and greater agility, which can be crucial in today’s fast-paced business environment.
Overall, API observability and management through a centralized platform can offer significant benefits for organizations in terms of transparency, efficiency, and cost savings.
AM/ML
In everyday situations, AM/ML (Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning) applications are increasingly being used to reduce human effort. Although most of these systems are based on public APIs, AM/ML principles can also be applied to API Management platforms themselves, leading to increased productivity and efficiency. For example, AM/ML can be used for threat detection, predictive analytics, throttling, usage/scaling, and authentication and security checks. In fact, AI can even analyze data exchange between different APIs and systems to create and deploy more effective APIs or building blocks. AI-generated reports can prioritize information of interest, rather than presenting endless pages of statistics. The incorporation of AM/ML technologies can lead to significant cost savings, as well as improved security, accuracy, and efficiency in API Management platforms. By automating tasks such as threat detection and predictive analytics, companies can reduce the need for manual monitoring and intervention, saving time and money. Additionally, by optimizing API usage and scaling through AI analysis, companies can avoid unnecessary infrastructure costs and ensure they are using resources efficiently. Overall, AM/ML can help companies achieve greater efficiency and cost-effectiveness in their API management strategies.
API supply chain
Enterprise-grade API management developers consider the supply chain as one of the critical security points. It is crucial to ensure that the APIs being called are the ones intended to call, as malicious software can try to imitate an API to steal user data or run services. Built-in mechanisms are necessary to safeguard APIs. Furthermore, in connection with AM/ML tools, it is possible to analyze data patterns and request frequency to flag potential abuse of APIs and data.
Command query responsibility segregation (CQRS)
The CQRS pattern is designed to improve the performance, scalability, and security of data storage by separating read and update operations. In traditional architectures, the same data model is used for both read and update functions, which can lead to a bottleneck and a mismatch in data representations. This is especially problematic in complex applications where there are additional metadata columns or properties that are not part of the original operation. Implementing CQRS in an API management platform can help avoid these issues, making it particularly important in high-speed data environments like banking, shipment, and scientific research. By separating read and write operations, the API Management platform can prevent conflicts or deadlocks and ensure real-time delivery of accurate data.
In conclusion
Many small to medium vendors deliver their API Management functionality concentrating on their “selling point” (a special feature of their platform that is used as main benefit and everything is built around it) not looking at the system holistically. Same vendors tend to deliver only a small part of capabilities that industry leading API management vendors provide by default. There are cases when the savings on licenses by choosing a small vendor gets thrown out of the window because business requires some functionality and development of it either takes a couple of years from vendor’s side or all “savings” from client’s side. These small vendors tend to deliver ground-braking security, analysis or testing capabilities. But then you should see if it’s possible to adapt this functionality for your enterprise grade API Management platform instead of sacrificing your future savings, efficiency and capabilities by choosing something that does not fit your needs or can’t provide continuous growth.
To learn more about vendors, APIs and how they can help your enterprise give us a note and we will get back to you.