What is our primary use case?
My main use case for CData API Server is to ensure high-velocity test execution, seamless API governance, and reliable data pipelines across multi-tenant environments. CData API Server is helping us bridge the gap between heterogeneous databases such as SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL, and other servers. It is automating our testing and QA frameworks, which is our basic use case. Additionally, it automatically generates secure and production-grade REST APIs over our diverse back-end databases without writing custom code.
CData API Server assists in test automation and virtualization, powering our automated regression test suites, mock servicing layers, and test data management TDM pipelines. It also feeds real-time synthetic test data directly into our CI/CD pipelines, which we use with Jenkins and test execution tools.
What is most valuable?
My favorite features of CData API Server include the automated Swagger Open API documentation, which automatically generates live OpenAPI specs, allowing our QA automation engineers to import the endpoints directly into Postman, SoapUI, or custom framework scripts instantly. Another standout feature is its highly scalable and low-overhead solution that handles high throughput payload and demands during stress testing without any bottleneck or memory leaks. I also love the instant REST API generation, which allows us to plug into any enterprise data source and instantly expose a fully documented REST endpoint, saving us hundreds of development hours and providing us with a good return on investment.
CData API Server's robust automated Swagger Open API documentation and instant REST endpoint generation are important for our organization because they allow our engineers to import endpoints directly into Postman or custom frameworks instantly, saving a significant amount of manual work and enabling direct testing from Postman, which ultimately saves a lot of time and resources.
What needs improvement?
A small detail that could enhance my experience further is that while the UI is very good, it could be improved slightly, and the learning curve for new users could be made easier.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using CData API Server for almost two and a half years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
CData API Server is stable, maintaining 100% stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
CData API Server's scalability is excellent. It is a very scalable platform that allows us to easily scale up and down based on our needs.
How are customer service and support?
Customer support for CData API Server is a ten out of ten. We spoke with them last month regarding updates and faced some challenges after a recent update. They fixed it within minutes, which was great.
How was the initial setup?
The configuration process was easy and was completed within a couple of weeks with the help of CData API Server's team. It was configured smoothly with our engineers and support team.
What about the implementation team?
Integrations of CData API Server with other AWS services are seamless, and it connects easily without requiring extensive work, making it simple to integrate into workflows.
What was our ROI?
CData API Server has positively impacted our organization with significant changes. The top three metrics include an 80% reduction in API development time, eliminating the need for developers to handle code CRUD API points for QA environments, which has cut down delivery cycles from weeks to hours. Additionally, we have seen a 78% acceleration in regression testing and test automation suites across centralized API endpoints effortlessly, lowering the test execution cycle times significantly. We also estimate around $200,000 annually in engineering hours by avoiding custom middleware maintenance and dedicated back-end developer overhead for API wrappers.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing has always been on point.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Before choosing CData API Server, we evaluated other options, including MuleSoft Anypoint Platform and DreamFactory.
What other advice do I have?
CData API Server's ability to generate secure, production-grade REST APIs without custom code has definitely saved a lot of time compared to what we did previously, allowing us to save at least 60% to 70% of time. Team collaboration and motivation are also up.
CData API Server has contributed to team collaboration and motivation by saving a lot of time when it replaced the need for using basic custom code and going back and forth for APIs. This change freed up time for our teams to interact better and understand each other, leading to significant improvements in collaboration both within and across teams.
The teams initially felt some doubt since it cut down developers' work by 80% in API generation. However, it is a tool that helps them be more productive, allowing them to focus on other necessary tasks. This has increased their productivity by at least 50 to 55%, enabling them to work better on debugging and refactoring whenever required, consequently improving code quality.
A specific example of where the team used the extra time for something valuable is evidenced by sprint cycles. Before implementing CData API Server, the development team velocity was around 35 to 38, but after implementation, the sprint velocity increased by at least 10 to 15 points, which is a significant improvement.
My advice to others looking into CData API Server is that they should definitely consider it, as it perfectly meets needs within budget, delivering high quality and bug-free solutions. I would rate this product a ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
