Akana API Management vs IBM API Connect comparison

Perforce and IBM are both solutions in the API Management category. Perforce is ranked #27 with an average rating of 8.0, while IBM is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.1. Perforce holds a 0.6% mindshare in APIM, compared to IBM’s 6.5% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Perforce users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of IBM users who would recommend it.

Akana API Management

Read 3 Akana API Management reviews

1,056 Views
966 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM API Connect

Read 75 IBM API Connect reviews

10,271 Views
7,795 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

Akana API Management

IBM API Connect

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

Akana API Management and IBM API Connect are competing products in the API management space. Akana is preferred for its competitive pricing and responsive customer support, while IBM API Connect excels with its comprehensive features.

Features: Akana API Management provides robust security options, flexible deployment choices, and seamless integration with various environments. IBM API Connect offers advanced analytics, a wide range of customization options, and strong lifecycle management.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Akana API Management has a straightforward deployment process and dedicated customer support. IBM API Connect provides more complex deployment options alongside a rich knowledge base and substantial support resources.

Pricing and ROI: Akana API Management is noted for its lower setup costs, enabling a quicker time to value. IBM API Connect, while having higher setup costs, offers a greater long-term ROI through its extensive capabilities.

To learn more, read our detailed Akana API Management vs. IBM API Connect Report (Updated: December 2024).

Buyer's Guide

Akana API Management vs. IBM API Connect

December 2024

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Categories and Ranking

Akana API Management

Ranking in API Management

27th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

IBM API Connect

Ranking in API Management

5th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) (8th)

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the API Management category, the mindshare of Akana API Management is 0.6%, down from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM API Connect is 6.5%, up from 6.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

API Management

Featured Reviews

Saurav Krishna

Data Engineering and AI Intern at .3Lines Venture Capital

Authentication mechanism is easy to implement but improvement is needed in documentation

For API security purposes, we use the tool to host all our APIs. This allows us to take advantage of the security features provided by the platform. With the solution, we can implement rules such as rate limiting and restricting the number of API calls for each user. It acts as a secure gateway…

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Shanmugasundaram Shanmuganathan

Solutions Architect at Synechron

Offers basic API orchestration and provides robust security and governance features

While Azure API Management offers configurable scalability, IBM API Connect relies on Kubernetes clusters. This might seem manual and require defining cluster instances upfront, but it's completely customizable and not on-the-fly scaling. It's completely custom-driven, not on-the-fly scaling, which some may consider cumbersome. Overall, I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten. Almost all applications we've been exposing lately go through this middleware, so it's used extensively. There are around sixty applications directly using it, but six Kubernetes clusters serve those applications. It's heavily used for integration, including system-to-system integration and product integrations. Our usage has been increasing year-on-year based on our needs.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"It allowed us to publish and replace pre-essential transactions in one place, with a uniformity in terms of control and policies."

"The tool's authentication mechanism is easy to implement. We had to define a few parameters."

"Good interface, intuitive solution."

"IBM API Connect is a reliable and scalable solution."

"Its speed and performance are valuable."

"The technical support is good. Whenever we need anything, we have our IT team work with IBM to change whatever requirement is needed."

"API Connect's most valuable feature is its ability to act as a gateway. It's very easy to configure security and everything else in it. You don't have to kill yourself implementing custom configurations."

"What's best about IBM API Connect is the excellent administration. The development tool that builds the API is also very simple, and user-friendly, and it doesn't consume too much time. Another valuable feature in IBM API Connect is its good reporting feature, particularly for operations, but the most valuable feature of the solution for the customer is security. IBM API Connect provides a DMZ and a security gateway between the external and internal environment, so you can publish your API safely. IBM API Connect can also integrate with any tool or middleware that works on open standards without the need for development or coding, so integration with the solution is easier."

"The most valuable feature is the security we get from this solution. I know of a bank that uses it to ensure that everything is secure. The second feature I like is the retail environment, where we actually want to be able to provide as many suppliers and consumers with APIs as possible. If you are well-trained in the writing of RESTful API's, you can actually publish an API in a matter of minutes, test it, and publish it."

"The solution's technical support team is good."

"This product is well integrated with other products. Its ability to interact with IBM Secure Gateway and other integration products is the core feature. Also, the lead time to put it into production is relatively short ."

More IBM API Connect pros

Cons

"Lacks an integrated billing feature."

"Akana API Management needs to improve its documentation."

"The product has new features that we are going to implement in the next few months, such as API management and analytic reporting."

"Our main pain points are in these two areas: creating a better developer portal and improving stability in terms of synchronization and monetization."

"Installation is weak."

"While Azure API Management offers configurable scalability, IBM API Connect relies on Kubernetes clusters. This might seem manual and require defining cluster instances upfront, but it's completely customizable and not on-the-fly scaling. It's completely custom-driven, not on-the-fly scaling, which some may consider cumbersome."

"Improving the documentation would be beneficial as it currently presents navigation challenges. Incorporating a step-by-step guide could facilitate the integration or migration of various systems, including databases. The existing documentation only comprises plain text, hence incorporating more interactive instructions could enhance its usefulness."

"Components, like caching, should be implemented as policies, not requiring dependency on an external solution."

"In terms of what needs improvement, some of the product documentation could be better."

"The integration of cloud-based services is where we're looking for improvement in this platform."

"It would be helpful to have access monitoring."

More IBM API Connect cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"For us, the pricing and licensing policies were for an on-premise installation with a fixed cost structure, that matched our budgeting policies."

"It can be quite expensive. It's okay for large-scale usage but quite expensive for smaller-scale implementations."

"This is a licensed product. If your company is looking to obtain a license, you have to work with IBM partners."

"I haven't seen anyone go from on-premise to the cloud. In fact, I am seeing people go from the cloud to on-premise because the costs can quickly grow on the cloud."

"We pay for the IBM API Connect monthly. We only need to pay the standard licensing fee."

"It is quite an expensive product."

"The pricing is too expensive with IBM. Sometimes, we prefer to go with an open source or something more lightweight."

"API Connect is quite pricey."

"There was a need to purchase an upfront license or a one-time license or upfront license, but I cannot remember the details about it clearly."

More IBM API Connect pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

21%

Manufacturing Company

14%

Healthcare Company

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Educational Organization

21%

Financial Services Firm

19%

Insurance Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Akana API Management?

The tool's authentication mechanism is easy to implement. We had to define a few parameters.

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What needs improvement with Akana API Management?

Akana API Management needs to improve its documentation.

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What advice do you have for others considering Akana API Management?

I rate Akana API Management an eight out of ten.

See all answers

What do you like most about IBM API Connect?

Publishers can easily identify, create, and publish APIs on the developer portal, defining plans, packages, and potentially billing rules.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM API Connect?

It is a pretty expensive tool. The tool is expensive if I consider how products like WSO2 are available in the market. You have pretty much many options in the open-source community, considering ho...

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM API Connect?

The only downside where improvements are needed is probably on the licensing side. Scalability is an issue with IBM API Connect, making it an area where improvements are required.

See all answers

Comparisons

Apigee vs Akana API Management

Compared 38% of the time

MuleSoft API Manager vs Akana API Management

Compared 22% of the time

Microsoft Azure API Management vs Akana API Management

Compared 14% of the time

Amazon API Gateway vs Akana API Management

Compared 11% of the time

More Akana API Management Competitors

IBM DataPower Gateway vs IBM API Connect

Compared 24% of the time

Apigee vs IBM API Connect

Compared 23% of the time

Microsoft Azure API Management vs IBM API Connect

Compared 16% of the time

MuleSoft API Manager vs IBM API Connect

Compared 6% of the time

Kong Gateway Enterprise vs IBM API Connect

Compared 6% of the time

More IBM API Connect Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

API Management

December 2024

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Buyer's Guide

IBM API Connect

December 2024

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Learn More

Perforce

IBM

Overview

Akana helps businesses accelerate digital transformation by securely extending their reach across multiple channels – mobile, cloud and Internet of Things. Akana enables enterprises to share data as APIs, connect and integrate applications, drive partner adoption, monetize their assets, and provide intelligent insights into their business and operations.

IBM API Connect facilitates API management and integration in the financial sector. Companies use it to expose, secure, and manage APIs for banking, insurance, and fintech, deploying it on-premises, in the cloud, or as a hybrid solution.

IBM API Connect focuses on creating and monetizing APIs while enabling seamless transactions and integration with third-party services. It is vital for compliance with regulations and enhances external communication among institutions. With deployment options suitable for different environments, it supports centralized gateway management, robust security features, and comprehensive API lifecycle management. Users benefit from powerful analytics, user-friendly interfaces, and high performance with capabilities in message transformation and efficient monitoring.

What are the most important features?

Centralized Gateway: Manages all APIs through a single entry point.
Robust Security: Ensures API protection with advanced security measures.
Comprehensive API Lifecycle Management: Covers creation, deployment, and retirement of APIs.
User-Friendly Interface: Simplifies API creation and management tasks.
Powerful Analytics: Provides insights into API usage and performance.
Seamless Integration: Connects easily with third-party services and internal systems.
Flexible Deployment Options: Supports on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments.
High Performance: Optimizes API performance and reduces latency.
Message Transformation: Manipulates and formats messages between different systems.
Visualization Tools: Enables clear and detailed views of API usage statistics.

What benefits or ROI should users look for?

API Monetization: Generates additional revenue streams from APIs.
Enhanced Compliance: Ensures adherence to industry regulations and standards.
Improved External Communication: Facilitates integration and communication among financial institutions.
Technical Support: Benefit from reliable customer support and easy configuration.
Deployment Flexibility: Choose from on-premises, cloud, or hybrid options.

IBM API Connect is extensively implemented in the financial sector, enabling banking, insurance, and fintech services to manage APIs efficiently. Companies use it to ensure secure transactions, integration with third-party services, and compliance with regulatory standards. Its deployment flexibility accommodates different infrastructure needs, making it suitable for a wide range of financial applications.

Sample Customers

British American Tobacco, Credit Suisse, Daimler, eBay, FOX, Liberty Mutual, Marriott, Mayo Clinic, Skandia, Tata communications

Heineken, Tine, Finologee, Axis Bank

Buyer's Guide

Akana API Management vs. IBM API Connect

December 2024

Free Report: Akana API Management vs. IBM API Connect

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