

Imperva Application Security Platform and Akamai API Security are competing in the application and API security category. While Imperva is favored for its pricing and support, Akamai is seen as a worthwhile investment due to its comprehensive feature set.
Features: Imperva Application Security Platform is recognized for its wide-ranging web application security, threat detection capabilities, and extensive dashboard customization. Akamai API Security is valued for advanced API traffic protection, scalability, and real-time data analytics.
Room for Improvement: Imperva could improve by enhancing API security features, expanding cloud capabilities, and refining real-time threat intelligence. Akamai should focus on reducing setup complexity, optimizing false-positive management, and expanding documentation for diverse use cases.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Imperva offers a straightforward deployment model with robust documentation and reliable help. Akamai provides flexible deployment options and strong customer service, focusing on adaptability and problem resolution.
Pricing and ROI: Imperva Application Security Platform is appreciated for reasonable setup costs and satisfactory ROI for medium businesses. Akamai API Security, though more expensive initially, justifies its cost with a compelling ROI due to its robust security and performance features.
Getting everything from one single portal without anyone's interference saved us a lot of money, time, and frustration.
For example, by preventing API-related incidents, we estimate saving tens of thousands in potential breach costs.
Akamai API Security is preventing multiple issues, and the organization is doing well with Akamai API Security profits, which is good.
They know how much money they are losing while the system is down, so by increasing the possibility of not having a down website or web application, return on investment can be calculated easily.
I was able to save over seven million dollars last year as return on investment in the company.
I have seen a return on investment with Imperva Application Security Platform, as it is generally associated with time savings, because the review of alerts and the visibility it gives saves us significant operational time.
Sometimes they inform about changes, and sometimes they do not, which impacts clients as a P1 or P2 incident.
The technical support from Akamai API Security is responsive when I have dealt with them.
The team was responsive and technically knowledgeable.
I would rate the technical support of Imperva DDoS as ten.
They need to work faster on the response time because of issues of urgent replies.
Responsive support addressing urgent needs.
I have also seen it handle spikes in API traffic, especially during peak usage periods without any performance degradation.
The scalability of Akamai API Security is very appropriate for the architecture given that it is a SaaS application, so it adapts well to any infrastructure.
It scales very well. Since Akamai API Security operates at the edge, it handles large volumes of API traffic seamlessly.
99% of customers are using the cloud version of Imperva DDoS protection, so they just purchase the new license and scale as needed.
I have not even needed support after deployment, since it has remained stable.
It is easy to always scale to add more users.
My experience has been good, and it is an excellent WAF solution.
We have not encountered any significant downtime or disruption in protection.
It is also a stable product without much glitch or downtime.
One notable drawback is that, unlike Fortinet, which offers fast track labs and continuous enablement, Imperva Application Security Platform lacks lab access and fast track labs for enablement and product advertising.
The stability of Imperva DDoS is very good, as it seems they have a lot of servers around the world.
I believe Akamai API Security could be improved specifically in the integrations so that they can be executed more effectively with platforms such as a SIEM or SOAR, which would help me automate workflows for incident response.
From a pricing standpoint, licensing and pricing depend from module to module. Some modules are expensive, and some are affordable.
If Akamai API Security could provide many more security options and make it more transparent to users about exactly what is happening, that would be beneficial.
To convince my clients, a purely on-prem solution would be ideal since they are financial institutions.
Maybe Imperva DDoS could use endpoints to get information about the attacks before they commence from the endpoint level or establish cooperation with endpoint vendors to share this information.
Regarding return on investment, ROI, I can say it is noticeable with Imperva Application Security Platform.
It is not expensive.
Akamai API Security is not expensive.
The pricing is definitely on the premium side, reflecting the advanced protection it offers.
I would rate the pricing of Imperva DDoS as five, where one is very cheap and ten is very expensive.
the setup cost was high, with the hardware installation in the data center being particularly expensive.
We have noticed faster response times and fewer security alerts because after doing some custom policy tuning, everything seemed to be aligned and we have fewer attacks to monitor and fewer alerts to monitor.
This gave us an overall picture of how many APIs we are using across our organization, and now we are more cautious about which APIs should be used publicly and how we secure our APIs.
That improvement in visibility and risk posture has translated into concrete benefits for my organization, as I can now proactively identify risky endpoints and apply protection policies, which improves overall security and reduces response times to incidents.
Before an attack goes live, we detect it on the WAF itself, which is the outer layer of security. We detect it and block it.
The API security feature is particularly valuable because most attackers do not try to come in from where it is expected.
If someone attempts to access the server, the WAF blocks that SSRF alert, or RCE, Remote Code Execution alert, blocking immediately based on the signature, not only by the payload or the IP address.
It reduces the DDoS attacks and reduces the attacks from threat actors, including SQL Injection and zero-day attacks, by using dynamic application profiling from Imperva.
| Product | Mindshare (%) |
|---|---|
| Akamai API Security | 7.4% |
| Imperva Application Security Platform | 9.6% |
| Other | 83.0% |

| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 5 |
| Large Enterprise | 9 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 88 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 25 |
| Large Enterprise | 69 |
Akamai API Security offers a comprehensive set of features designed to improve API security posture, including automated API discovery and anomaly detection, ensuring robust data protection and minimized response times.
Focused on safeguarding public-facing APIs, Akamai API Security provides full visibility into undocumented APIs and detects abnormal traffic patterns, minimizing unauthorized access and data exposure. Integration with tools like Bot Manager Premier and DDoS protection allows for enhanced security, making it effective in banking and financial sectors for handling sensitive data. Despite its strengths, there are areas for enhancement, such as policy tuning and integration with third-party tools. Users also seek simplified setup, AI-driven policy recommendations, and effective dashboards.
What are the key features of Akamai API Security?In industries like banking and finance, Akamai API Security effectively monitors sensitive customer data transmissions, enforcing rate limits and validating API schemas. It plays a crucial role in detecting credential abuse and excessive data requests, ensuring secure and legitimate access while enhancing API performance.
Imperva Application Security Platform delivers comprehensive and continuous web threat protection. Renowned for its ease of use, it shields web applications and databases from various cyber threats while integrating seamlessly with cloud and on-premises environments.
Imperva Application Security Platform protects web environments by offering advanced security measures against threats like DDoS attacks, SQL injections, and cross-site scripting. As a robust web application firewall, it provides extensive monitoring and bot management capabilities. The platform integrates content delivery networks for enhanced performance and scalability, while real-time traffic analysis ensures consistent protection. Despite its strengths, improvements can be made in policy management and customization options. Users seek better integration with third-party tools and more competitive pricing models. The inclusion of AI for enhanced analytics is also anticipated.
What are the key features of Imperva Application Security Platform?Imperva Application Security Platform is implemented in industries needing strong database and application protection. Companies use it to enforce geolocation restrictions and manage bots, benefiting sectors like finance and e-commerce where data security and threat monitoring are critical. Its ability to protect and ensure data accessibility makes it integral to business operations prioritizing cyber resilience.
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