IBM API Connect and Kong Gateway Enterprise are key players in the API management market. While IBM API Connect is notable for its robust security integration and advanced features, Kong Gateway Enterprise is valued for its plugin architecture and excellent performance.
Features: IBM API Connect offers robust security features, integration with IBM DataPower, and advanced analytics capabilities. It provides comprehensive environments for API development and a customizable developer portal. Kong Gateway Enterprise includes a plugin-based architecture, excellent plugin support, and strong integration abilities with various tools. It also features role-based access control and effective rate limiting.
Room for Improvement: IBM API Connect needs better integration with other platforms, improved stability, and enhanced support documentation. Users desire more customization options and streamlined administrative processes. Kong Gateway Enterprise could improve its pricing structure, developer portals, customer support, and scaling processes, alongside enhanced traffic analysis features.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM API Connect supports varied deployment options, including on-premises, private and public clouds, and hybrid environments. While it offers comprehensive support, users report occasional delays and document deficiencies. Kong Gateway Enterprise offers flexible deployment across multiple environments, with generally positive support experiences although response times and costs are noted concerns.
Pricing and ROI: IBM API Connect is often viewed as costly, particularly for smaller implementations, yet it offers substantial ROI due to its extensive features. It provides on-premises and cloud-based pricing models, typically on a subscription basis. Kong Gateway Enterprise presents competitive pricing through its open-source version, but the enterprise edition has high costs that may not favor startups, although its functionality justifies its value for larger deployments.
Reducing development hours from eighty to four for an API was possible due to reusing existing scripts from DataPower.
Support is excellent when it comes to APIC.
The technical support from Kong Gateway Enterprise would be rated about eight, as we missed local technical support.
With container versions, scaling up or down the gateways deployed into pods is a two to three-minute task for the operations team.
The scalability of this solution would be rated about eight or nine.
The runtime engine for the APIC Gateway is still a DataPower component, which has been stable in the industry for about fifteen years.
Examples include the lack of connectivity to MQ.
More plugins for additional integrations would be helpful and openness for traditional development languages, such as .NET, because many enterprises are looking for .NET solutions or incorporating with .NET solutions.
Pricing depends on how many instances run across environments.
It offers significant development efficiency, reducing man-hours from eighty to four when creating APIs.
The most valuable features of Kong Gateway Enterprise are its seamless integration with Kubernetes and cloud, many plugins that can be incorporated in a solution, and its incorporation with low-code function systems.
IBM API Connect facilitates API management and integration in the financial sector. Companies use it to expose, secure, and manage APIs for banking, insurance, and fintech, deploying it on-premises, in the cloud, or as a hybrid solution.
IBM API Connect focuses on creating and monetizing APIs while enabling seamless transactions and integration with third-party services. It is vital for compliance with regulations and enhances external communication among institutions. With deployment options suitable for different environments, it supports centralized gateway management, robust security features, and comprehensive API lifecycle management. Users benefit from powerful analytics, user-friendly interfaces, and high performance with capabilities in message transformation and efficient monitoring.
What are the most important features?IBM API Connect is extensively implemented in the financial sector, enabling banking, insurance, and fintech services to manage APIs efficiently. Companies use it to ensure secure transactions, integration with third-party services, and compliance with regulatory standards. Its deployment flexibility accommodates different infrastructure needs, making it suitable for a wide range of financial applications.
Kong delivers a next generation API platform built for modern architectures. With a lightnight-fast, lightweight, and flexible core, Kong delivers sub-millisecond latency across all your services. Kong's is deployment-, vendor-, and pattern-agnostic, allowing you to run your services how you want, where you want, and with who you want - from baremetal to cloud, monolith to microservices, service mesh, and beyond.
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