Stop tinkering with APIs and start delivering secure business outcomes

You need a more scalable and consumable way to capitalize on opening key data and processes; you know that. You’re also committed to using APIs to do it. In fact, you may have already built some APIs as part of an internal project and it’s met with some success. Give yourself a pat on the back. You deserve it.

“What’s next?” you ask. It’s a good question – a necessary question if you want to advance along the path to API maturity. The next step may seem like a giant leap. It involves opening your APIs to a much wider and dispersed audience – without compromising security. Can you do it? Should you?

Yes – on both counts.

First off, success in reaching the business outcomes you hope to achieve using APIs – where data protection is essential – means you’re able to:

• Secure and operationalize new and existing APIs by implementing a defense–in–depth strategy to safeguard all your APIs regardless of development or deployment.
• Drive use and reuse of APIs to minimize the time and cost for internal or private B2B projects.
• Accelerate delivery of new services and reduce IT technology debt to reach parity with competitors.

Now you’re ready for the next step in your API maturity journey: evaluating and choosing the API gateways, API management software, and API security tools that will propel you down the right path. What’s the right path? That’s up to you. There are a few ways you could go:

• The dev-centric route – where the solution lets you download the code and fill in all the missing pieces (an approach offered by Kong).
• The weighty, full toolset route – where you buy into a strict process with long lead times for implementation (an approach offered by Mulesoft).
• The full lifecycle API management route – where you deploy a policy-based gateway and platform on premises, across any cloud, or a hybrid of both (an approach offered by Axway).

Remember, the idea is to open your APIs to a larger universe – securely. So, you’ll need to assess a few things, starting with your business, your goals, and your IT architecture – the success of which are all highly contingent on maintaining absolute data security.

The speed and frequency of cyberattacks are rising and they can strike anywhere in your digital ecosystem at any time. What’s more, APIs represent a common attack vector for cyber criminals. Security has to be part of the API development equation right from the design stage of the API lifecycle.

For this reason, a full lifecycle API management platform approach is best because it sets out the whole route – API design, testing, governance, analysis, and reuse – to the business outcomes you’ve pinned on the map, complete with a security detail that makes sure you get there safely.

It’s a serious approach, because securing your APIs and using them to achieve desired outcomes is serious business. Not something you should just be tinkering with.

Axway’s white paper, 10 ways to stay ahead of rapidly evolving security threats, can help you formulate an API security policy that ensures API security throughout the full API lifecycle.

And if you’ve already decided on an API management platform approach, Axway Amplify might be just what you need.