What is an API? An API, otherwise known as an application programming interface, makes it possible for disparate applications to communicate with one another. APIs provide access to another app’s data or functionality and are key to helping your business connect, communicate, and integrate your products and services with different software programs. By gaining accessibility, minimizing programming complexities, and automating repetitive tasks, APIs make data and applications more useful - both internally and externally. Because the need for speed and agility has become an essential requirement for enterprises, nearly every industry depends on APIs and can’t do without them.
What is API management? API (application programming interface) management is the process of managing different API functions, such as designing, releasing, documenting, analyzing, and monitoring APIs in a safe environment. By implementing an API management solution, companies can guarantee that both the public and internal APIs they create are secure and consumable. API management also pertains to how APIs are developed, updated, controlled, and stored. It is also a key component related to many businesses’ success, since data integration is central to the relationships between API providers and users and can positively impact business results.
API Management refers to the practices and tools that enable an organization to govern and monitor its Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). Today, the term almost always means management of RESTful APIs using the JSON language.
API Management controls how the gateway passes calls to the back-end service and then hands off the response back to the invoker site. Most large companies have built out APIs for their customers and for internal use. There is a choice to have the data on-premise or in the cloud, whichever works best for the situation.
API management tools typically allow for security policy definition and enforcement, including authentication and authorization of API consumers. They can throttle API calls and limit usage based on established SLAs and resource allocation agreements.
PeerSpot users are looking for a healthy API gateway that manages transformation engines to modify requests and responses in real time. Publishing tools report access and usage policies, and manage the API lifecycle. API Management is responsible for collecting data analytics and other metrics, and monitors load balancers and debugging, especially e-mail notifications, error logs and validation errors. Clients using APIs have access to better insights into their usage because APIs impact many products and services, and API Management is critical to agile operations.
PeerSpot users want ease of use in API Management for monitoring these security gateways against malicious attacks. Aspects most important to IT include Directory Authentication, API Security, Life Cycle Management, Deployment Management and Service Registry, discovery and a repository. There should be built in API Aggregation, Traffic Management, Mobile Optimization, HTTP Acceleration and Data Caching.
IT teams specifically look for API Management to oversee encryption, decryption, credential management, URL management and prevention against XSS and SQL Injection threats. API Management will monitor exposed functionality and monetization. API Management solutions are integral to a 24/7 need to keep everything running, and running well. Good planning and project management will help IT choose the best combination of monitoring tools for API Management.
