Microsoft Azure API Management Reviews

Our primary use case is for managing internal APIs, for ordering process APIs and in general process APIs, and resource manipulation APIs. We need an API management to get a better overview, and this is one use case with analytics parts. Another use case is security, being able to rotate API keys and to manage access at a signature point. Finally, we also have the developer portals with the self-service capabilities so that developers can request access to APIs through a developer portal and manage their own keys.

We are still in the ramp-up phase, so currently we have actively two or three guys using it. We're planning to increase usage. We're in partnership with Microsoft and I'm an enterprise architect. 

It's not the best product on the market which makes it difficult to pick a particular point that we like the best. It could be the integration in the Azure portal. In the Azure cloud it's directly connected with Azure ID, so if you stay in the Azure ecosystem, this user concept is an advantage. The solution also allows you the possibility to use VPN technology and things like that to connect your gateway directly with on-prem services and that's a valuable feature. And compared to other solutions the price is outstanding. 

R&P, the publishing process could be improved. They are currently restructuring it, I believe.
I'm not technical but we noticed that the old developer portal got deprecated and they're introducing a new one. It's not polished and still requires some development. It's the same with the publisher portal which I believe they've now integrated into the Azure portal. They're just starting to work with hybrids so it still requires input. 

It would be helpful if they were to include additional features and clearer configuration when it comes to API policies.

I've been using this solution for seven months. 

The SaaS offering is stable but the hybrid isn't stable yet. It's under development.  

By definition it's scalable, but I know there's a hard limit in requests per second. But this is officially documented in the price of the product so it is scalable but with limits. I believe for a scalable solution, probably KANN Enterprise would be best.

For beta, customer service was kind of difficult. But I think that we haven't gone further than the first level. It's a process, they first have to narrow down your requirements, it's not direct access to support with direct feedback. It will take time. 

This is the first solution we evaluated and we chose it mainly in order to gain experience which is why we called it an experience project rather than a proof of concept project. We figured out that for our productive usage, we will select a different vendor.

I believe the initial set up is straightforward via the Azure portal. But setting up the policies for the APIs and all of that, I can't say. I've had feedback from a colleague working with it that at some point he wished things would be easier but I don't have first hand experience. 

As mentioned, this is the only option we looked at. We chose Azure because it's easy to deploy and it's cheap. It's a good starting point and if they develop it further, it might be good for productive usage, especially if you are planning to use it as an API management platform for the services that are running in Azure. I think then there's no question.

I would rate this product a six out of 10.  

We have two approaches to how we use the solution. We own the managed services and the other we have customers take the subscription and we manage it. 

From my understanding, there are some constraints around governance and service-to-service intercommunication managing priorities and our own governance. Examples include, how you manage all your clusters, the entire service communication, and having more tolerant experts.

I have been using the solution for approximately one year.

The technical support has not been the greatest. Microsoft has been outsourcing its support services and we have quite a few challenges in terms of technical support. We rarely asked them for anything and try to find the solution ourselves. This has been our most recent experience. However, there are certain advantages as well. Now you have a large internet resource pool to support Azure. This balances the support out, but otherwise, if you are looking for very specific support, there will be some challenges for your teams.

The initial setup is not that complex, but there are certain challenges.

We are limited to what choice of solution we can purchase. There are multiple aspects here. If it is a choice that we have to make, then we do it based on the requirement or recommendations, such as GCP, AWS, or Azure platform. However, given the present circumstances, the customer base that I am supporting at the moment is all Microsoft shop customers. Their inclination is always towards Microsoft-based solutions. That is where it has left us with no choice, but to go with Azure. While we still recommend this solution in some cases, for instance, analytics and where we need the big data solutions. We have been pushing for a GCP and in some cases to have AWS as well. For now Azure is the platform and this has been the journey that has left us with no choice but to go with it. Based on the resources that we are leveraging, the price we are paying to use this solution is slightly higher than other competitors. In a few cases, it has its own advantage in some resources. 

I have evaluated GCP and AWS.

I would advise those wanting to implement this solution that they can use this solution if it fits their deployment criteria. However, there are better options available.

I rate Microsoft Azure API Management a seven out of ten.

This solution is very flexible, and it's very compatible with the other Azure products.

The developer portal can be improved. There should be more resources available for the developers.

Better integration with third-party products would helpful.

I have been using Microsoft Azure API Management for two years.

This is a stable product and we intend to continue using it in the future.

We have more than ten users and there are five developers.

The support for Azure is excellent and we are satisfied with it.

The initial setup is very simple. It doesn't take longer than one or two hours to deploy.

A consultant assisted us with the deployment.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

Our primary use case is to provide API mapping for our clients. We're a customer of Azure and I'm a system analyst. 

The most valuable feature of the solution is it's simplicity. It's easy to set up and is very well integrated with the Azure environment.

In terms of improvement, it would be helpful if they could develop an on-premises option. 

I've been using this solution for one year. 

I would rate this product a seven out of 10.