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IBM API Connect vs OpenLegacy comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM API Connect
Ranking in API Management
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
75
Ranking in other categories
Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) (8th)
OpenLegacy
Ranking in API Management
35th
Average Rating
7.6
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the API Management category, the mindshare of IBM API Connect is 6.5%, up from 6.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OpenLegacy is 0.2%, down from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
API Management
 

Featured Reviews

Shanmugasundaram Shanmuganathan - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 15, 2024
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.
KK
Nov 10, 2021
The biggest advantage is how simple the technology was.
I'd like to see OpenLegacy develop its low-code/no-code (LCNC) solutions. They've expanded somewhat their horizons for integration beyond mainframe CICS, which is their sweet spot. They have some tooling in that area, but it's not as good as it needs to be. OpenLegacy handles the bread-and-butter TP monitoring stuff, but I am working for one of the six banks in the United States still using the Hogan mainframe, which has a slightly proprietary mechanism. But OpenLegacy currently doesn't have a connector for Hogan. So it would help if they could build one. That would appeal to financial institutions that still use Hogan, like US Bank, Wells Fargo, KeyBank, and Vanguard.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"This solution is ready to scale and already supports our agile CICD."
"The services that I consume through IBM API Connect are beneficial. It can handle multiple API management."
"It is a very scalable solution."
"The most valuable features of IBM API Connect are its performance and user-friendliness."
"The solution's technical support team is good."
"API Connect's data gateway is one of the strongest in the market."
"The interface is very nice. It makes the solution easy to use and navigate."
"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."
"Opens the door to connect modern web products to an old legacy system."
"Using mainframe programs (not screens), the OpenLegacy services do not require any changes by the mainframe programmers, thus reducing development cycles."
"OpenLegacy produces a war file which includes everything you need to deploy a Tomcat server."
"Using OpenLegacy, the exposure of services is far easier and quicker. In many cases, exposure of services requires just a few clicks and takes only minutes. In very complex cases, it still only takes half a day. Without OpenLegacy, it would take us several months to create the same services."
"It is possible to connect a service to a mainframe program or back transaction in a matter of minutes or hours at the most."
"OpenLegacy provides a way to go from the outside world to the legacy mainframe, to move the old standard application to a REST API application. New digital services can be created in a few clicks and this can be done easily by COBOL programmers."
"It is possible to solve larger legacy API issues on an enterprise level with this product."
"The biggest advantage of OpenLegacy was how simple the technology was. We were able to build out the OpenLegacy parts very quickly. We put together a couple hundred APIs in six months."
 

Cons

"The developer portal could be easier to customize."
"API Connect's analytics subsystem could be improved to make it easier to render content from the analytics system and offload it to an external database."
"The platform’s integration with the payment gateway needs enhancement. The setup process and support services could be improved."
"IBM API Connect could improve the security of the application and the integration."
"The automation and the simplicity could be improved."
"Installation is weak."
"Possible improvement is mainly around having more of the cloud oriented architecture bringing stability in adding new capabilities around security."
"In terms of what needs improvement, some of the product documentation could be better."
"I'd like to see OpenLegacy develop its low-code/no-code (LCNC) solutions. They've expanded somewhat their horizons for integration beyond mainframe CICS, which is their sweet spot. They have some tooling in that area, but it's not as good as it needs to be."
"Debugging and logging for programmers could be better."
"I would like to see SSL out-of-the-box. OpenLegacy certainly does SSL, but it was not the default for our use case. We are currently working with OpenLegacy to cross the SSL bridge and suspect that most users will want to do the same."
"We would also be more than happy if the product had the option to work in the opposite direction – the ability to consume REST/SOW services in the outer world from the mainframe."
"Customer support for the product is slow and not very good. It makes using the product difficult if you need help quickly."
"The pricing of the solution could be more flexible and allow for once-off payment versus annual licensing. This would be more appealing to companies in Latin America."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing for IBM API Connect varies, e.g. it could be subscription-based. Deploying it on private cloud also means you have to own most of the software licensing."
"API Connect's license cost could be a little lower. But, unfortunately, there aren't many open-source API gateways. Ideally, some new developers could come up with a minimum-functionality open-source solution."
"It would be a good idea to bring down the pricing by at least 20 to 30 percent."
"The price of the solution is very expensive, it can turn many customers away."
"This is a licensed product. If your company is looking to obtain a license, you have to work with IBM partners."
"IBM API Connect could be cheaper."
"It's an expensive product."
"It is expensive when compared to other products in this class. There were no extra fees for add-ons or technical support."
"The pricing of the solution could be more flexible and allow for once-off payment versus annual licensing. This would be more appealing to companies in Latin America."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
20%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Insurance Company
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
36%
Computer Software Company
11%
Insurance Company
11%
Real Estate/Law Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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.
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...
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.
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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Heineken, Tine, Finologee, Axis Bank
Many of openLegacy's global customers are among the Global 100 companies. Review case studies in these industries: Agriculture, Airport Authority, Automotive, Auto, Finance, Insurance, Government, Healthcare, Manufacturing, and Retailwww.openlegacy.com/case-studie...
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM API Connect vs. OpenLegacy and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.