Microsoft Azure API Management Reviews

The main uses of this solution are sharing data, internal integrations, and combining different backend services into one API proxy. In the latter case, we extract the whole complexity of the integration, and after the work is done, there's a proxy available that can be used and reused by API consumers.

The most valuable features are authentication and authorization. I would also argue that the mediation and translation from SOAP to REST technology is equally important because it makes it possible to open up legacy systems that couldn't be opened before.

An improvement would be to provide more information about additional prices and the onboarding process.

I've been using this solution since 2016.

Azure is very much stable.

This solution is very scalable.

You really need an expert to onboard the solution because it comes with more complexity than you might think. Also, internal teams often start playing with the solution during onboarding instead of sticking to best practices, which can result in having to start the process over again.

The ROI on API management as a concept metric that we are using in conversations is that we can reduce integration lead times by 90%. So, where an integration would take a hundred days before, we can deliver that same integration in ten days after implementing Azure.

Azure's pricing is very competitive compared to platforms like Apigee and MuleSoft. However, when you start with Azure API management, you also need to onboard the Azure console and the Azure cloud environment, which comes with a price.

Azure is the best-priced quality solution in the market. If you have business-critical processes running over API management, I would advise installing managed services either internally or from a partner to have that very close follow-up. I rate this solution eight out of ten.

We use this solution because when there is a technical requirement sometimes there are technical constraints that need to be overcome, and that is best resolved through the API component. My organization predominately uses Microsoft solutions and this is why we are using this particular solution.

I have found this solution to be easy to configure, simple to use, and flexible.

If I compare this solution to others I have used in other phases of my life, having APIM being an Azure resource, it is easy to configure and deploy. However, this conversely reduced the flexibility. The difficulty is how do we configure it in a manner that a larger enterprise would probably want it to be. This creates a bit more complexity, working around the constraints of the resource itself. If comparing it to other solutions, it is more of a legacy design with an older approach. The various level components are still around resembling an on-premise type of design similar to other solutions, such as Apigee or Mulesoft. They are still predominantly carrying some legacy design. Which might be suited for organizations where they have a more complex network layout. APIM is easy to deploy, but on the other side of that, it is constrained to how Azure has designed it to be.

In an upcoming release, if not already added through an update, I think dynamic provisioning of the resource would be useful. Many times these API platforms, including others, such as Apigee, are still predominantly revolving around developers. The onboarding and the API life cycle are still revolving around humans. In this context, I would not suggest DevOps, but at least automation of common pipelines. If the platform can better support this in the workflow to provision and commission an API that would be beneficial as we work towards a more automated deployment concept. Even though there are templates, graphics, and API management commands right now, you are still in a way programmed deeply, customizing that workflow, as opposed to it being part of the platform itself.

I have been using Azure solutions for approximately four years.

The solution is stable.

The solution is scalable because it is a cloud service offering.

I have previously used Apigee and Mulesoft.

Since this is a cloud-based solution you have to abide by those financial limits, this creates some different challenges compared to other solutions.

My advice to those wanting to implement this solution is in all technology areas, each solution is use case-specific. If you are already working on the pure Azure Stack, then APIM is something that I would suggest. Unless you have a very complicated API development use case I would not try to deploy, for example, Mulesoft or Apigee on Azure. Assuming you are working on a full Azure Stack solution. 

Since it is use case-specific, rather than trying to build out. I would rather use the other repertoire of Azure to do the API development, as opposed to trying to deploy other solutions under the platform and develop from there.

My philosophy is always, use what is available, rather than trying to reinvent the wheel. Mulesoft may be powerful, but it is putting the cart on top of the wheel and try to build something on the cart. It is not a native approach.

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

Our company has some internal APIs and we use Microsoft Azure API Management to help keep everyone on the same page.

The most valuable feature of Microsoft Azure API Management is the developer portal because it's very quick and easy to get something published.

Microsoft Azure API Management could improve the documentation. The documentation feels like marketing information and not sufficient technical information. Your easiest option is to purchase services from a Microsoft partner and this is their marketing.

In a feature release, there could be a better Canary release. They have a release but you need to code it yourself.

I have been using Microsoft Azure API Management for approximately two and a half years.

We have approximately 30 people using the solution in my company.

The support from Microsoft Azure API Management is okay.

The initial setup of Microsoft Azure API Management took us three days.

We did the implementation of the solution in-house.

We are paying standard fees to use Microsoft Azure API Management.

My advice to others is before getting into the solution, it is best to be certified so that all of the details you would need to know that are not easily available online, you would be mindful. It is a very good solution, but some features feel hidden at best.

I rate Microsoft Azure API Management an eight out of ten.

We use Microsoft Azure API Management for integration. We use it for managing, monitoring, and integrating with other systems, for example, for asset management and monitoring tools. If we want to integrate or enable monitoring and management, we use Microsoft Azure API Management.

What I like most about Microsoft Azure API Management is that it's flexible and user-friendly. The solution also has rich documentation and guides available, so users can configure and use it.

What would make Microsoft Azure API Management better are more APIs. They keep updating their APIs, but it would be better if the solution had more APIs for the services and more integration with other platforms.

I've been using Microsoft Azure API Management for the last six to eight months.

Microsoft Azure API Management is a scalable solution. You can customize it, and you can also use your scripts with it.

The installation process for Microsoft Azure API Management was easy.

I don't remember licensing information or costs for Microsoft Azure API Management.

Microsoft Azure API Management is used by over a hundred development teams for developing solutions, including integrations. Currently, there's no plan to increase its usage.

I would recommend the solution to other people who want to start using it.

I would rate Microsoft Azure API Management eight out of ten.

I mainly use Azure APIM for access management.

Azure APIM's best features are its straightforward access management (it's a single point of access for all monitoring and logging and for policy implementation) and its integration with the Azure Cloud infrastructure.

In the next release, Azure APIM should include deployment in various environments and CI/CD for deployment. They could also improve their access management portal.

I've been using Azure APIM since 2017.

Azure APIM is pretty stable.

Azure APIM is scalable.

If your services are built on the cloud, I think APIM is the best tool. I would rate APIM eight out of ten.

Microsoft Azure API Management is used for making the API calls from our internal application to another available internal application or to the external third-party applications. It can be hosted in the public environment or it can be a client application to which we are making a call and teaching the information. This solution is useful for making the API calls between the application. 

The Application Gateway we have found to be the most useful in Microsoft Azure API Management. We have integrated the Microsoft Azure API Management with Application Gateway. Application Gateway is a type of load balancer that we are using for the high availability of our API calls. 

Microsoft is releasing new features approximately every three to four months on each and every solution. Although it's not mandatory that we are using all the features of this particular solution because it depends on the business requirements. Whatever the features the Microsoft Azure API Management has, we are happy with them and we are using them.

The solution is secure and has all the components that we require. We are using the solution with the best practices.

I have been using Microsoft Azure API Management for approximately one and a half years.

Microsoft Azure API Management is a stable solution, it has high availability.

The solution is scalable.

We have used technical support once or twice a year. However, there is not much technical assistance required.

I rate the technical support from Microsoft Azure API Management a four out of five.

The initial setup of Microsoft Azure API Management is straightforward. It took us approximately 30 minutes to complete.

I would rate the initial setup of Microsoft Azure API Management a four out of five.

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

We are publishing microservices using API management. We have created various packages and policies that we are applying over there. We have also created a portal for developers so that they can see what we are doing.

The most valuable feature is the developer portal, which has source code examples in various programming languages to help developers learn the API.

It is possible to combine APIs and make a new product, which is a very good feature.

It is very user-friendly and easy to use. 

This solution is only available as a cloud-based deployment and it would be very helpful to have an on-premises version. This is driven by the fact that some of our clients have specific requirements and they do not want to be on the cloud.

I would like to have an administrator's option that shows me API usage and can generate bills that I can send to my customers. Currently, our customers can see the usage but not how much it is going to cost. For example, assume that you get 100 calls for free and then 100 more free each month, but after than, each call costs twenty cents or one cent, whatever the price is. The administrator can generate reports when the bills are available and can charge them to the customer. This could be done with a monetization module, which would be better than the manual calculations that we have to do now.

I have been using Azure API Management for almost one year.

I think that this is a stable solution.

Microsoft handles the scalability so you don't need to worry about it.

Microsoft's technical support is okay. On a scale from one to ten, I would rate them an eight.

Your first response will be fast but after that, it will be slow. Then, the technician might just say that they are not the right contact. From opening the ticket until final closure will take time. Generally, it takes the experts some time to comment. Unfortunately, everywhere is like that.

We did not use another API management solution prior to this one. We were developing applications and then moved into APIs.

The initial setup is very simple. Within a few days, one can understand completely how to use it. It does not require deployment because it is available on the cloud and everything is ready. In fact, there is no installation at all.

It will take some time to onboard your API and define your policies, such as those for security. It should take about ten minutes to get up and running.

We considered other options; however, our client is mainly a Microsoft shop and they were already using Azure for various things. As such, we did not fully evaluate other options. 

This is absolutely a solution that I would recommend for others.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

• API gateway features
• AD integration
• Access management capabilities
• Usage plans
• Quotas for APIs, etc.

It is a simple and effective way to enable micro-services architecture. The Standard Tier is cost effective.

• An IaaS option is needed. The SaaS option limited our requirement, as we wanted more control on our data, and integration with our virtual LAN. Integration with our VLAN was possible only with the premium version and expensive gateway controllers.
• PCI compliance

I evaluated it for one month.

I have not encountered any stability issues.

I have not encountered any scalability issues.

Technical support is 7/10.

I did not previously use a different solution. However, I evaluated other API gateways and shortlisted ForgeRock - OpenAM/OpenIG, because it has an IaaS option.

Initial setup was fairly straightforward; excellent documentation.

The Standard Tier is cost effective.

Before choosing this product, I evaluated NGINX, Apigee, and ForgeRock (OpenAM/OpenIG).

Code impact: Required services to import Swagger library.

Being SaaS, if you are running services on IaaS, communication between APIM and your services will be through the public internet (if that’s a cause of concern).

APIM was available in classic mode only (as of April 2016). Our infrastructure was ARM. Connectivity was complex and expensive.