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Technology Consultant at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User
A great API gateway that is very user friendly
Pros and Cons
  • "This is a very easy to use solution."
  • "Debugging could be improved."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case of this solution is as an API gateway. We are customers of IBM and I'm a  technology consultant.

What is most valuable?

This solution is very easy to use. 

What needs improvement?

Debugging could be improved, the solution doesn't really give a lot of debugging, and I'd also like to see an improvement in the analysis. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for four years. 

Buyer's Guide
IBM API Connect
January 2025
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

In general, stability is good, although there are very frequent patches that are required, and that is annoying.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of this product is good. 

How are customer service and support?

The technical support is very good. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Licensing is expensive but it's a good product. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate this product an eight out of 10. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Chief Architect and Distinguished Member at Wipro Technologies
Real User
Easy to configure security and generate API keys
Pros and Cons
  • "Easy to configure security and generate API keys."
  • "Policy configurations are pretty easy."
  • "Components, like caching, should be implemented as policies, not requiring dependency on an external solution."

What is our primary use case?

  • API management
  • Securing enterprise APIs
  • Metering
  • Throttling
  • Transformation
  • Analytics
  • Deployment on AWS

How has it helped my organization?

  • Single entry point for enterprise APIs
  • Basic OAuth
  • Keys management
  • Policy configurations are pretty easy.

What is most valuable?

  • Ease of use
  • Security
  • GUI is pretty intuitive.
  • Easy to configure security and generate API keys.

What needs improvement?

Components, like caching, should be implemented as policies, not requiring dependency on an external solution. Apigee provides caching as a policy.

For how long have I used the solution?

Less than one year.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
IBM API Connect
January 2025
Learn what your peers think about IBM API Connect. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
831,997 professionals have used our research since 2012.
reviewer1399425 - PeerSpot reviewer
Team Manager at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Provide APIs, manage their exposure, and affect monetization all in one product
Pros and Cons
  • "It is a complete all-in-one solution."
  • "It needs to be less taxing on compute resources."
  • "It is expensive within this class of products."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case for this product was doing a  project for the banking industry. We had to use it to help comply with PSD2 (Payment Services Directive) regulations.  

What is most valuable?

It is a complete API solution for everything having to do with application development. It is an automated and all-in-one solution. It helps provide the API, expose the API, manage their exposure, and affect monetization. I have the operator portal, management portal, and analytics. This is the product I wanted, because I can do everything that I needed to with this one solution.  

What needs improvement?

One place that I think the product could improve is that it could be lighter on computing resources and cheaper. We did not expect to have to add additional services for data processing.  

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using IBM API Connect for about one year.  

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We had one problem with the security and data resources early on when beginning to use the product. The problem was mostly due to the fact that when we started using the product, we did not have any knowledge of its requirements or experience using it.  

How are customer service and technical support?

We are mostly satisfied with the Technical support that we received. We did not have to interact with them a lot. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I do not deal directly with the area of budgeting. We are partners with IBM, so maybe we get different pricing. I do not know about standard prices other than that this product can be expensive. We did not need to pay them anything extra for support or add-ons. It may not be the same for clients who are not partners.  

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Initially, we did not do any exhaustive research on competing products. We are looking at the market more in-depth now. I think that API Connect is too expensive for us. For some companies that have a higher demand for using this type of product, this may be a good solution. We do not have a lot of projects of this type, so we are looking for some other solution that is cheaper for the long-term. It has to be good enough and have the proper security constraints to meet client needs. Our research into other products has not really narrowed the field yet.   

What other advice do I have?

On a scale from one to ten where one is the worst and ten is the best, I would rate IBM API Connect as an eight-out-of-ten comparing what I know to other products.  

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
PeerSpot user
Open API Technical Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Consultant
A very scalable cloud solution but it should be more cloud-based
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is very scalable because it's on the cloud."
  • "In the next version, I don't know if they've already been included it or not, but the designer and all the tools should be on the cloud. I don't want any external installation or local installation."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use this solution for the regulation of open banking.

What needs improvement?

It still does not support open API 3. Another problem is the designer. I want the whole solution to be on the cloud. For the installation, I have to install locally. There are many improvements it needs if I want to implement a MockServer or sandbox. In the future, I hope it will be more intuitive for building a MockServer.

In the next version, I don't know if they've already been included it or not, but the designer and all the tools should be on the cloud. I don't want any external installation or local installation. The old designer should be less complex and more simple or intuitive for you to search as well.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for a few months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I found the solution to be stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is very scalable because it's on the cloud, adding more resources to improve redundancy or performance is simple and configurable.

How are customer service and technical support?

I've found technical support to be very good.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was not as straightforward. Deployment takes a few days. You don't need too many people for the deployment and maintenance of the solution. 

What about the implementation team?

We were working with IBM for the implementation.

What other advice do I have?

We are testing and I'm working for the Bank of Israel and we have to implement the regulation of the PSD2, the open bank, open banking, open API. We would implement it on API Connect, so it's not a production system, it's just a sandbox.

In terms of advice, I would suggest anyone to verify that the product support is the latest version and to find out the frequency of the new versions of the product itself. I think it's very important to go through a project like this before implementation.

I would rate this solution seven out of ten. I'd like it to be more cloud-based, for the open API 3 because currently all the specifications are published only on the API so you have to downgrade it and then input it into IBM.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user653688 - PeerSpot reviewer
SAP SD Consultant at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
​In-built policies and security functions are most valuable.
Pros and Cons
  • "In-built policies and security functions."
  • "Due to bugs in integration, we have to look for workaround on fixing and using DataPower as gateway."

What is most valuable?

In-built policies and security functions.

What needs improvement?

Integration with DataPower as its API Gateway. Due to bugs in integration, we have to look for workaround on fixing and using DataPower as gateway. 

For how long have I used the solution?

Have been working on this for three months.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We switched to APIC for easier management of APIs and to leverage its inbuilt policies, security features, and usage of DataPower as gateway.

What other advice do I have?

Setup an "always and anywhere available sandbox" for experimenting and proof of concepts, because one will need to think and experiment much to use the tool.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1189512 - PeerSpot reviewer
CTO at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Proficient tool allows our customers to expose their tech to external stakeholders
Pros and Cons
  • "It allows enterprises to expose some of their tech to outside stakeholders."
  • "I would like to see automation of the installation. If there could be a single-click function where you could automate everything, that would be helpful."

What is our primary use case?

We have done many implementations using API Connect. We work with some of the largest financial institutions in India, including life insurance companies and some of the banks. 

We have done most of them on-premise. The customers, because they are financial institutions and insurance companies, prefer to have this on their own premises and their own data centers.

How has it helped my organization?

It allows enterprises to expose some of their tech to outside stakeholders.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been implementing solutions with IBM API Connect for five to six years.

How was the initial setup?

I would like to see automation of the installation. If there could be a single-click function where you could automate everything, that would be helpful. There should also be tools to automate the migratation from the older versions to the newer version. That would be another point that would bring my rating of it closer to 10 out of 10.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

IBM sets the pricing, but it would be a good idea to bring down the pricing by at least 20 to 30 percent.

What other advice do I have?

I would certainly recommend IBM API Connect for clients who are going with an enterprise version of implementation and when they have enough budget. Of course, if they have budget limitations, they can consider open-source solutions.

As implementers, we have a big resource pool here in India. All our associates have expertise with API Connect as well as IBM App Connect.

As of now, it is serving the needs of our customers. It is quite a proficient tool. It satisfies all of our requirements.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
PeerSpot user
reviewer1215669 - PeerSpot reviewer
Enerprise Architect and Chief Architect - Security and Cloud at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Real User
Has good gateway features and good stability
Pros and Cons
  • "The gateway is the most valuable aspect of this solution."
  • "In terms of what needs improvement, some of the product documentation could be better."

What is most valuable?

The gateway is the most valuable aspect of this solution. 

It has a good interface, dashboards, and monitoring tools.

What needs improvement?

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

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using IBM API for around a year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I haven't had any issues with the stability. There are around 1,000 users using IBM API in my company. 

How are customer service and technical support?

Their technical support is okay. 

What other advice do I have?

I would rate IBM API an eight out of ten. 

I would recommend it. I'd say that you need some time to negotiate the documentation and the conflicting support that's on their website. The website will day to do one thing and in another place, you do something else. You need some time to negotiate that.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Assistant Manager at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Consultant
The technical support and scalability are good
Pros and Cons
  • "The technical support is good. Whenever we need anything, we have our IT team work with IBM to change whatever requirement is needed."
  • "Extracting the data could be improved."

What needs improvement?

Extracting the data could be improved.

My team members sometimes find it difficult to get something out of this solution.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using it for the last year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have no issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is good.

How are customer service and technical support?

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

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I previously used the IBM Tivoli Monitoring tool before joining my company.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

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

What other advice do I have?

I can recommend this solution and would rate it as an eight (out of 10).

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free IBM API Connect Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: January 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free IBM API Connect Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.