Management

API management is a broad umbrella term for describing the management of APIs usually via a gateway, with standardized approaches to managing acccess, usage limits, portals, documentation, and other core aspects of producing APIs. API management began emerging in 2006 with Mashery, then picked up speed by 2010 with Apigee and 3Scale. API management provides began being acquired and baked into the AWS, Azure, and Google clouds, but there were a handful of new startups like Kong and Tyk to emerge out of the smoke. WHile management is a pretty tired term to describe what is happening, all of the essential building blocks of API management of continued to expand and evolve, and meet the needs of producers.

The API management realm began unbundling with the commoditization of the gateway, with portals, documentation, and analytics emerging as their own areas of concern and startup innovation. This evolution has further decoupled the API lifecycle, allowing teams to pick and choose which vendors they want to use, and raising the stakes when it comes to what capabilities you offer and how you differentiate yourself. I tend to not say API management as much as I used, but I to actively tune into the building blocks of what historically has been API management, and make sure I am staying in tune with how things are changing.