IBM API Connect Reviews

We primarily use the solution for distribution.

The technical support and the user interface are good.

IBM is also a bit pricey. On top of that, they have bugs that need to be fixed.

The solution is very stable.

The solution is not scalable.

Technical support is okay. I had to call once for billing. We also had a connection issue. They didn't answer very quickly unfortunately.

We didn't previously use a different solution.

The initial setup isn't too hard, but it's not easy either. We didn't deploy anything. We just added a gateway.

We used a local broker to assist in the implementation.

Right now, we are evaluating other options, including Axway, Apigee, and Tyke.

In the 2018 version, the setup is less complicated, but it takes longer.

I would rate this solution eight out of ten.

For on Premise Solutions:

Out of the box policies for Gatewayscript, JWT generate and validate. Oauth support .

Since it runs on top of Datapower, all Datapower based custom policies can be utilized and exported to API connect but its not straightforward/simple process.

Export of Analytics data in CSV format.

API connect is far better, faster and sleek as compared to IBM API management.

API connect support better error handling scenario with additional policies and catch node.

We utilize API connect to proxy to backed micro services or Datapower. We also do JSON to SOAP mapping / rest to soap apis, which is a very common pattern. We use it for any lightweight rest/soap message processing , analytic gathering and API usage policy enforcement.

IBM has improved this product significantly in last 2 years but it is still not stable and require further improvements. There are several issues administering the product. Features like , taking manual back up is still not available through GUI. The API manager cmdline is only accessible using one Admin account.

IBM recently added a feature to do autoback up in recent API connect firmware releases but its not very user friendly.Also the exported backup can not be unzipped and is not readable.

IBM info-center help documentation also needs improvement. Competitive product like Apigee provide out of the box policies to run Javascript, JAVA and better/flexible logging policies.

Apigee cloud provides various test tools where APIs performance can be tested from different regions in the world. As of now, as per my understanding IBM doesn't have similar test assist tools in Bluemix cloud .

Troubleshooting any issue is very difficult as it runs on Datapower so Datapower know how is required. Also you need to log on to multiple VMs/devices including Datapower to troubleshoot if errors are not properly handled.

IBM definitely needs to improve their customer support process for their new products as it demands more attention from customers because of large number of defects, long learning curve and lack of documentation.

1.5 year

We lost the old configuration during firmware upgrade of API connect.

IBM API management did have several stability issues, where working in different tabs in browser cause issues saving the configuration changes.

Also IBM API management is very slow and its inbuilt test tool is crappy as it takes around 1.5-2 mins to test any API after configuration changes.

IBM API connect is far better but we still haven't stress/load tested apis,so wouldn't comment on it.

One example of instability, We lost the old configuration during firmware upgrade of API connect.

For IBM API managment , some times config replication in Management cluster might take as long as 2 minutes so change in one API manager might not be reflected quickly in another API manager. Also API management GUI need to refreshed in browser to see latest state.

6

4

I have used APIGEE in a different project.

IBM infocenter for IBM API management and Connect is still not very helpful.It takes lots of reading and terminology know how to correctly configure it.

Initial set up was done by IBM but new VMs are configured by us.

Not sure.

Not sure.

No.

Troubleshooting any issue can be very difficult.

The most valuable feature for me is the ability to distribute work among our API developers, so we don't have to do all the work as IBM API Connect administrators and IBM DataPower administrators. This simplifies the way our partners can access our API's.

Overall, it brings us closer to better API management in our organization. The next step for us would be to improve the whole solution by going to the cloud. That's what I'm looking at.

It simplifies development and allows us to do more for less money.

Based on my meetings at this conference, I'm satisfied with their roadmap, where they're going. Possible improvement is mainly around having more of the cloud oriented architecture bringing stability in adding new capabilities around security.

Stability has improved greatly with the latest releases. There were some struggles in the beginning. There were some components that were not stable. They weren't behaving consistently through environments when we moved stuff from development to demo to prime. I think core functionality is pretty stable but there are things on the outskirts that weren't so stable.

IBM DataPower is at the core and we can easily add stuff as we need or as our licensing allows. So I think that it's pretty scalable.

The technical support is good. We got some help from their experts.

We were using IBM DataPower without any additional layer. By adding this new obstruction layer with IBM API Connect, we're simplifying development and improving our interactions with our partners. It becomes more compatible to the industry standard having the API management system in place.

The setup is complex but we didn't expect any simple things at such a large scale. It's just too many moving parts - IBM API Connect consists of three main components and they all have to be synced up. There's a lot of setup and networking and then you have to adapt it to your own environment.

Microsoft, IBM and CA Layer 7. IBM had the most capabilities that were based on IBM DataPower and could fulfill all of our requirements, even though the timescale was longer than we expected it to be.

When considering a vendor we just go for an industry leader, making sure that their technology stack aligns with our technology stack. We look at their reputation and how good the support is with the other products and what kind of relationship we have with account managers from that organization.

You should consider how much value you can derive specifically from the solution with all the features that are available. For instance, the main value for us was in organizing the API's and splitting work among several development teams.

I primarily use API Connect as a front end for any station, through which you can expose services to external or internal customers.

API Connect's best features are its data gateway, one of the strongest in the market, and its API manager, which has the local assembly transformation UI, which helps transform services from Maximal to JSON or vice versa.

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.

I've been using API Connect for over eight years.

There are some issues with API Connect's stability, with parts going down abruptly sometimes. Its stability doesn't compare well to Epigee or Kong API, and I would only rate it seven out of ten.

API Connect is easy to scale, I would rate it nine out of ten.

IBM's technical support is terrible - they're incompetent and slow to respond, even sometimes not responding at all until they have every bit of information.

Negative

I previously used Epigee, Kong API, and 3scale.

The initial setup was a bit tricky and required a lot of installation and system administration skills. I would rate the setup two out of ten. The deployment took around two minutes and could be automated.

API Connect is expensive - I'd rate their pricing five out of ten.

I wouldn't recommend choosing API Connect unless you have a big budget and need an enterprise solution. I would give API Connect a rating of seven out of ten.

We use this solution in a hybrid way. All the processes and data is in the cloud but the API gateway is part of the API Connect solution and runs on prem in Argentina, connected to the cloud.

The management of the API and API portal is good. 

The monetization of the API could be improved. The pricing for the consumer is also very important to improve this solution. Nowadays, we are sending information to other tool in order to process out of API Connect. They could improve this internal service in order to have the balance for the consumer's API for different companies, external to our company.

I have been using this solution for three years. 

This is a strong and stable solution. 

The initial setup is complex. When setting it up, you will need support. We are using AVP support from IBM. Its an extra support service. I would recommend using this kind of support because it will help your company move quickly in order to set up the different products. IBM AVP stands for accelerated value program.

I would rate this solution a nine out ten. 

We provide social security services (nonprofit) to our tenants and their customers.

Our goal with an API gateway is to separate our own clients in our extranet from the server implementations. We want to provide a unique point-of-contact for the client application(s) while having several server components at the backend side.

Furthermore, we need a single-sign-on solution and mapping of services.

Everything needs to run an OpenShift 4.x private cloud with no (or very restricted) access to the internet.

Unfortunately, this solution resulted (at least for us) in more problems than expected. We had severe installation and upgrade issues (maybe due to the nature of our network which is closed to the outside). One of those upgrades took, including problem solving, three people three weeks. Luckily, this was not in production, but if it would have been, we would be lost. This is the main reason for choosing another solution.

Also within the specific version, a map operator was missing (which was needed) - so we would need to write mappings on our own in JavaScript.

When API Connect is running, it is a stable solution (just do not change it).

Also, managing products and catalogs was helpful and it would be helpful for (as in our case) companies that need to run a multi-tenant concept. 

The developer portal is based on Drupal which is in itself very powerful. The service provider view and the consumer view are totally separated (however - the look and feel are also different).

From a starter perspective, using OpenShift, the operators to install are all there.

The statistics component is easy to use. You get your information at your fingertip.

Installation is weak. We (three people) ran into so many problems that I would, as an engineering manager, give this back to the development team. 

Too many secrets (even if they are set by default, we had problems).

The big footprint of pods, a complex network of them. This should be simplified.

To me, the product looks over-engineered. On the other hand, documentation needs more examples, this is "under-engineered".

They need to provide debugging facility for service implementations and policies (see gravitee.io for an example)

I've used the solution for one year.

Although we had our problems, I would say it is very scalable. 

Technical support is too slow.

Neutral

We did not previously use something else.

We took on API Connect although it was not Number One on our shortlist as we had a large contract with IBM which includes also this product.

The initial setup was too complex (we had problems).

We worked with a certified external consultant company.

Be sure you do not run into installation or upgrade issues. 

Our problems here were caused by our closed environments, however, still, it is in the dark of the systems where the problems are.

We also looked at:

• MuleSoft
• Kong
• Gravitee
• KrankenD
• WSO2

People should also consider support. We had several times to contact the support, and quite often we got a response after some days of the kind "please send this or that additional information". This does not help to solve quickly.

We have been using this product for banking, insurance, and government use cases. Perfromance-wise it is very good. It has been improved a lot from the beginning, from API Connect 4, 5, and now we have the latest version of it. The product is available in various forms which gives us the flexibility to propose solutions to our customers.

Any new company starting with APIs, this product is very helpful for learning how they can export their business functions and data to the outside world. It's easier for them to expose their business functions for various use cases.

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

In terms of stability, I think it needs some improvement when it comes to externalizing the analytics data. The analytics collected with this product are part of the product database. If we could push the analytics data to an external data source, the customers could use it for historical purposes.

It is scalable.

Technical support is very good, helpful.

The setup is pretty much straightforward.

I rate this solution a nine out of 10. It has all the core features that allow any small company to start with the API calls. There are Essential, Professional, and Enterprise versions. The product is in many forms, like docker, for example.

I recommend this product. Take a look at it.

V3 is way better then v2, and v4 has further improvements. We have the ability to secure, control, transform, catalogue and optimize access to our APIs for external and internal partners and developers.

The APIs are exposed to B2B partners in a secured, and better way. Internal re-usability of APIs are encouraged by cataloguing all the APIs.

It lacks the ability for billing and metering the API usage to invoicing in v3, however, v4 does have this. Automation of deployments is needed.

We've used it over a year, v3 was purchased in Q2, 2014.

Manual steps for deployment is needed.

No issues encountered.

No issue with scalability as the run timefor API Management is proven and time tested i.e. Datapower which all fortune 1000 companies use.

The IBM customer rep was very helpful in the POC phase, and helped us escalate custom/new features which we requested.

Ir's excellent.

No other product was used, and the service was just exposed by Datapower.

Initial setup was straightforward as 50% of the solution was already in place. IBM API runs on IBM Datapower so the setup was only needed for IBM API Management itself.

We did it in house using the same set of Datapower developers supported API Management.

We also looked at WS02 which was way too complex and needed almost 14-15 VMs to run. As we had Datapower, it was a natural choice for us.

If the customer is already using IBM Datapower then it is a no brainer that IBM API Management will complement their existing investment.