Tips for evaluating API management solutions

Subramanian Krishnan

5 years ago

In my previous blog we looked at the capabilities that make up an API platform. After you identify the capabilities you need, your next step should be to implement them through your own build, by licensing a solution, or through open-source software. In this blog, we’ll look at the do’s and don’ts for evaluating and implementing API management solutions.

Evaluating API Management Solutions

Identify the capabilities/features needed — It’s important to be clear on the business objectives and ensure your technical capabilities serve those objectives. Assessing a solution’s technical capabilities without understanding what you need is a prime pitfall to avoid. It’s not easy, though. What you need can be a moving target, and your requirements can evolve with learning and feedback. But it’s important to stay on top of those requirements and understand what you must have, what you should have, and what would be nice to have.
Read analyst reports — Analyst reports can be a good source of information for in-depth, comparative study of various vendor offerings. Sometimes you can download reports for free by filling out a form with your contact information.
Attend an API conference — Attending events like API World, API Days, and REST Fest will help you stay up to date on what’s happening in the world of APIs. You’ll have the chance to connect with and learn from awesome technologists who are on their own API journeys and meet with representatives from vendor companies.
Try it out — Doing POCs with a few shortlisted options is the best way to get a feel for working with a solution and its documentation, forums, and support channels. In addition to the solution features, the experience of others and the accessibility of the product development and support teams should be a factor in your decision.
Consider nonfunctional requirements — Nonfunctional requirements like cost/pricing, latency, and security should play a vital role in your assessment.

The diagram below shows an example of how an evaluation can proceed. Click the image to view it larger.

Implementing an API Management Solution

Make a decision — After doing your due diligence, make a time-bound decision. A lot of learning and feedback come only after you put out the platform and APIs on it. Comparative studies can go on forever and leave you without an obvious choice. There will be trade-offs involved, so at some point you have to commit and move forward. It’s a good idea to share and review the evaluation with as many stakeholders in the organization as possible. That will give you valuable and different perspectives and might raise legitimate concerns early in the process.
Test the waters — When dealing with an unknown, it’s good to avoid long-term decisions that you can’t change over time. For example, with commercial solutions, multi-year contracts may be economically attractive but not prudent unless you can justify your return on investment.
Build for change/evolution — No matter how great something looks in the beginning, learning and new requirements might require you to pivot. Be prepared to evolve over time. Perfect decisions are rare. Good-enough decisions can enable you to make progress, if you learn and adapt as you move forward. It’s normal for products and services to undergo multiple transformations after they are launched.
Consider combining multiple solutions — Sometimes the best path is to combine multiple solutions. For example, one component of your API management system could be open source, another could come from a commercial vendor, and still another could be coded from scratch. One solution/vendor that meets all your needs isn’t always available.

When it comes to your API journey, start from where you are, always keep moving toward your north star, and have a little fun along the way. Keep an eye out for my next post on the new Citrix APIs for Cloud Services site and check out our other blogs in this series: