APIs are the facilitators that power digital transformation. According to the Gartner report just out, “Having the right API management tool is crucial for managing API complexity.”¹ So, what does it take to be a Leader in the Gartner 2019 Magic Quadrant for Full Life Cycle API Management? Below are some key takeaways from the report.
Gartner Magic Quadrant for Full Life Cycle API Management
APIs are a simple way to expose and share digital assets. It’s the simplicity that makes full life cycle API Management an imperative. API Management ensures control and end-to-end visibility of the API “asset” while enabling organizations to move quickly. This is why you might hear the phrase “API Program.”
“API programs cannot run effectively without full life cycle API management.”¹
APIs are exploding and organizations are working diligently to meet the growing demands of API consumption. Since the world runs on APIs, the ability to easily consume APIs in a corporate context, so that there’s proper security, service level agreement management, and API versioning support is critical and only going to be more important over time.
“Expect the already widespread usage of APIs to increase even rapidly in the future.”¹
Manage intricacy for APIs
To manage intricacy for APIs, we believe API Management tools have to have the right solution for the API Owner. API Security Officer and API Consumer so that line of business developers can innovate faster. Gartner says this involves:
*“The planning, design, implementation, testing, publication, operation, consumption, maintenance, versioning and retirement of APIs
*Delivery of a developer portal through which to target, market to and govern communities of developers who embed APIs
*Runtime management
*Estimation of API’s value
*The use of analytics to understand patterns of API usage.”¹
READ MORE: Five reasons to use an API Management solution to manage your APIs.
As API Management products and capabilities progress into the future, we believe API Management is key to continue to meet the growing demands of an evolving industry.
Gartner notes, “API management products are evolving to meet the more sophisticated needs of users.”¹
Seamless experience
It’s important to note that with the number of APIs being consumed these days, the necessary components need to be in place for a seamless experience. API management platforms have grown in complexity over the years because of the shift from on-premise software solutions to native cloud and hybrid offerings. These three “architectures” need to be seamlessly integrated so that new experiences can be created that meet line of business needs.
READ MORE: Extending API Management with iPaaS–API integration the next logical step!
According to the Gartner report, “They can also work with and take advantage of microservices in mesh app and service architectures, digital transformation tools focused on API product managers and much more.”¹
READ MORE: Discover the differences between microservices and APIs.
Being a Leader
“Leaders have made sure their offerings can help clients thrive in this dynamic environment.” ¹
As Gartner says, “By addressing digital transformations and their integration challenges head-on, with thought leadership and product functionality, and offering functional API management solutions.”¹
Read the all-inclusive Gartner Magic Quadrant for Full Life Cycle API Management report for 2019 today.
¹Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Full Life Cycle API Management, Paolo Malinverno, Mark O’Neill, Aashish Gupta, Kimihiko Iijima, 9 October 2019.
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