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MarkDoherty - PeerSpot reviewer
Founding Director at Point Group
Real User
Top 10
Fastest to get up and running and fewer idiosyncrasies than competitors
Pros and Cons
  • "The scalability is very good. That was a key factor in the selection, like how it could be pushed to high volume and scalability, which seemed to be very good."
  • "In terms of our usage, the main area of concern is that they tend to build enhancements slightly ahead of the considerations for what those enhancements and extensions are. So it could be slightly better communication with the customer base that would be my main issue with them."

What is our primary use case?

The common elements of the use case are a medium to a high volume of API calls, generally in a Microsoft-based environment, and occasionally Amazon. Implemented on the public cloud primarily for financial institutions.

Serving retail clients with a reasonably complicated system architecture involving legacy technology and a variety of more modern administration services and systems. Then, the full customer service frontend, where we've got the design interface plugged into the customer journey flows, makes those somewhat dynamic with a standard render forward from the CNA.

What is most valuable?

Of the non-Microsoft solutions, Tyk is probably the fastest to get up and running. It has fewer idiosyncrasies than many of its competitors.

The cost curve is far smoother, both in terms of volume and the number of calls it's running on, compared to most competitors. So it's a tad more expensive at the very low end, but the curve is nothing like Apigee or some of the others.

What needs improvement?

In terms of our usage, the main area of concern is that they tend to build enhancements slightly ahead of the considerations for what those enhancements and extensions are. So it could be slightly better communication with the customer base that would be my main issue with them. But as a product, it's very difficult to find any major faults.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Tyk for two and a half years. I've worked for organizations where we've basically consumed them, acquired the product, or used it as part of our overall delivery solution.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is very good. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is very good. That was a key factor in the selection, like how it could be pushed to high volume and scalability, which seemed to be very good. We haven't as yet had a need to push it to that extent.

Our clients are mostly medium and enterprise businesses for this solution. 

How are customer service and support?

There's always things where we need to go back to. Their support provision is very good, and they do provide routes to make inquiries, self-learn, etcetera. 

But, I've never come across anything I would regard as ten, which is almost like I don't need to go to support. 

There are things to go to support. That's usually about how to exploit it better rather than anything else.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have worked with Axway and Microsoft.

How was the initial setup?

I would rate my experience with the initial setup an eight out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy.

The deployment incorporates all elements, not just Tyk. So, the deployment time also depends on the configuration. 

The actual setup can be done within a day. Like Docker and containerized... So the prep's quick, but it's a lot more than Tyk. So, deployment is not a material issue. 

What about the implementation team?

We were the third party. We helped the clients with the deployment process. 

What was our ROI?

It's hard to put a mark because the overall solution involves more than just Tyk. Tyk is just one component, so the ROI the customers see is on the entire system, not individual parts.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing is actually quite competitive. In Azure environments, it gets beaten by Microsoft API Gateway, but on the other hand, it offers some features that Microsoft lacks. So it really comes down to cost-benefit in the end.

I would rate the pricing a three out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive. 

What other advice do I have?

Understand the projected or expected growth rate, the nature of your API usage, and any industry-specific support available from Tyk or its competitors. Some tools are better suited for certain market sectors. 

Most importantly, focus on the total cost, including anticipated server growth, not just call volume growth.

Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Flag as inappropriate
Founder, Director at perfTech Solutions Pvt Ltd
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Is easy to implement, maintain, and scale, and does not need a separate DMC proxy
Pros and Cons
  • "You don't have to have a separate DMC proxy because DataPower Gateway is an appliance and will take care of a lot of security features. These include data validations, encryption, as well as XML or any type of scripting or security threats that are present."
  • "The user interface or the application development perspective and customization of the tool could be a little better."

What is our primary use case?

We have a global banking customer who uses IBM DataPower Gateway to expose their APIs for customer use.

What is most valuable?

You don't have to have a separate DMC proxy because DataPower Gateway is an appliance and will take care of a lot of security features. These include data validations, encryption, as well as XML or any type of scripting or security threats that are present.

From a security point of view, being an appliance in the DMC zone, IBM DataPower Gateway will take care of the entire security angle for the infrastructure.

What needs improvement?

The user interface or the application development perspective and customization of the tool could be a little better.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this product for more than five years now.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable, and the performance is good as well.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is easy to scale as the product itself has the capability to install it as a cluster. So it can be scaled vertically or horizontally.

We have a team of about 10 developers and 10 to 15 enterprise customers globally.

How are customer service and support?

For this particular product, the technical support is good.

I would give them an eight out of ten because there are some stability issues related to new features that have been added. They could have tested them and released them later rather than releasing them right now.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is pretty straightforward because it's an appliance, so you don't have much complexity from an installation and configuration perspective. I would give the setup process a five out of five.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented it in-house. It hardly takes any time; perhaps a day or two.

The only maintenance you need to be worried about is upgrading the patches, and you need to make sure that you apply those on time. We have two people who are responsible for the maintenance and administration.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

This product is a bit expensive as IBM products are costly assets. However, for enterprise customers it is a worthwhile investment.

The licensing cost is based on the PVU and will depend upon the number of CPUs used for the virtual appliances.

If you are buying the license based on the PVUs, then you won't have any additional costs because all of the features will be available. However, if you are not going with the product with the PVU and you're going with certain features, then you will need to add those features, specifically security features, and pay for them. That is, there are certain features that are on a pay-per-feature basis if you are not going with a PVU license.

I would give pricing a rating of three out of five.

What other advice do I have?

If you are an enterprise customer, I would definitely advise that it is better to go for IBM DataPower. You won't need to have a proxy or any other security measures required in the DMC, and it is easy to implement and easy to maintain and scale.

Overall, I would rate IBM DataPower Gateway at ten out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner