Microsoft Azure API Management and MuleSoft API Manager are two leading API management solutions that compete in the API management category. Azure has an upper hand due to its cost-effective pricing tiers, making it a competitive choice, especially for smaller enterprises.
Features: Azure has robust integration capabilities with Azure Active Directory and offers a comprehensive developer portal for easy API management. It provides a seamless API management experience with good security features and straightforward monitoring. MuleSoft offers a wide range of connectors for seamless integration, strong policy management, and comprehensive API analytics, beneficial for large enterprise deployments.
Room for Improvement: Azure could enhance its feature set to cater to more complex enterprise needs and improve integration with non-Microsoft services. Enhancements in analytics and policy customization could also be beneficial. MuleSoft's complexity in initial setup requires improvement, as well as a reduction in cost to make it more competitive for smaller businesses. More intuitive tools for faster deployment and ease of use would also be advantageous.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Azure offers a user-friendly deployment with integrations that are easy to configure within its environment, backed by responsive customer support. MuleSoft's deployment can be more complex, but their technical support is highly regarded and effective once the initial setup is complete.
Pricing and ROI: Azure's tiered pricing is particularly attractive for small to medium enterprises with options to scale. Its lower initial cost offers a quick ROI based on efficiencies and quick deployments. MuleSoft has higher pricing due to its per-core fee model, making it less accessible for smaller companies; however, in larger deployments, it can provide a substantial ROI with its extensive features and capabilities fully utilized within an enterprise ecosystem.
Proper configuration of the solution, implementation strategy and correct scaling tier selection are other factors that influence the ROI.
If I am working in AWS and with Azure, I see that Azure is much easier and helps save time while also being able to manage and deploy the API services.
We have seen significant financial benefits after using the product.
This iPaaS platform with CloudHub eliminates variable infrastructure-related costs and saves enterprises on connectivity and operations costs, as everything comes bundled from the MuleSoft side.
The documentation from Microsoft helps our company to solve issues on our own.
The initial support engineers are often not qualified.
I logged an incident, and it was resolved promptly within three hours.
Our enterprise pays for a special success program, which provides priority support.
They can be slow in addressing security vulnerabilities.
If bug fixing is required for downtimes or issues, we receive prompt support with alternative solutions or workarounds.
I've worked with multiple tools from an observability perspective, such as Dynatrace, AppDynamics, Splunk, and Elasticsearch, and I find KQL and APIM amazing and filled with useful features.
There are no limitations to adding any number of devices.
Microsoft Azure API Management is extremely scalable.
Regarding availability, especially with iPaaS solutions, they guarantee 99.99%.
Microsoft Azure API Management is very stable.
With high scalability and availability, it supports many users and endpoints without significant issues.
Microsoft Azure API Management is generally stable.
There was an issue when trying to implement a request-reply pattern using JMS, which was not functioning as expected despite being documented.
The service is extensive and expensive, and this added flexibility would make it more manageable and less prone to errors.
Documentations for the product should include examples of implementation.
They should enhance AI capabilities and more advanced integration features with other platforms.
Introducing features related to auto governance without manual effort would make the API Manager smarter and more efficient for enterprises with complex landscapes.
Managing the cost of MuleSoft, particularly the billing model based on the number of active cores/threads, has been challenging.
It's an expensive solution.
However, once you scale up to your full volume, it'll be more expensive.
It costs around 30,000 Kronas a month, which translates to about $3,000 dollars monthly.
The major challenge they face is the high pricing, which has become notable especially since they transitioned from a VCore to a usage-based subscription.
The pricing is high, which is the biggest point where some customers are hesitant about adopting it.
The cost for using MuleSoft is approximately $500,000 USD per year.
The platform's most valuable features are its rule-based permissions and comprehensive API lifecycle management capabilities.
The ability to create a subscription model for APIs allows companies to monetize valuable data and share it securely.
The analytics phase of API Management is very beneficial for tracking API usage and identifying suspicious users.
MuleSoft's ability to connect to third-party monitoring platforms like AWS, Datadog, and Elastic makes operational analysis more efficient.
It also enables us to create additional layers of authentication, like integrating external providers for OAuth, within reduced timelines.
In MuleSoft API Manager, I find features like throttling and security to be the most valuable, as these are the things we use and configure as part of our deployments.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Azure API Management | 14.7% |
| MuleSoft API Manager | 4.5% |
| Other | 80.8% |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 23 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 11 |
| Large Enterprise | 53 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 17 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 5 |
| Large Enterprise | 43 |
Microsoft Azure API Management offers a comprehensive solution for managing APIs, ensuring security, integration, and access across cloud environments. It enables seamless API orchestration and supports flexible management systems, making it valuable for API-driven architectures.
Microsoft Azure API Management is an advanced platform designed for seamless API integration and management within Microsoft's ecosystem. It provides robust security capabilities, including access control and Active Directory integration. The platform features a developer portal for easy API documentation and testing, along with real-time monitoring, analytics, and configurable policies to enhance API behavior. With hybrid cloud support and API orchestration, users gain flexibility and the ability to monetize APIs through subscriptions. The platform aids businesses in modernizing their applications and processes, but users have highlighted the need for enhanced scalability, third-party integration, improved documentation, and more comprehensive pricing models.
What are the most important features of Azure API Management?Azure API Management is widely implemented across industries like finance, healthcare, and retail to integrate and manage internal and external APIs. Businesses use it for secure connections, microservices support, and modernizing legacy systems. It's also adopted for subscription models and access control, aiding companies in automating and enhancing their operational processes.
Mulesoft API Manager is the portion of the Anypoint Platform that is used for the designing, building, managing, and publishing of APIs. Anypoint Platform uses Mule as its core runtime engine.
Mulesoft API Manager is an extremely versatile solution. It offers users the ability to deploy their APIs in a number of different settings. You can use API Manager on a public cloud, a private cloud, or a hybrid. Additionally, users can use the solution to manage their deployments with ease. A few clicks are all you need to alter your deployment.
Benefits of Mulesoft API Manager
Some of the benefits of using Mulesoft API Manager include:
Reviews from Real Users
Mulesoft API Manager is a highly effective piece of software whose purpose is to enable users to design, build, manage, and publish APIs. It stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are the ease with which users can connect it to their applications and the high level of value that its support offers. It provides users with the ability to easily connect this solution with whatever program they need to join it with. Users can create connections without having to write code. It offers different types of support which ensure that users have a high level of understanding about the product and how to use it.
PeerSpot user Tolulope A., a technical lead specializing in integration and middleware at a financial services firm, notes the ease with which users can connect Mulesoft API Manager to their applications. He writes, “One good thing about MuleSoft is that they have a lot of connectors to those back-end applications. We don't really need to write code to be able to connect to a database or to connect with SAP. You just need credentials and the connectivity details. Most of the development of what we do is just drag and drop. They're able to connect with applications using standard connectors that are provided by ESB, by MuleSoft.”
The CEO & Co-Founder at a computer retailer notes the value of Mulesoft’s supporting documentation. They write, “The documentation is great; it is always up-to-date and well-presented. If any details are missing, then there is a blog available that contains a lot of details. There are also channels on YouTube to help you better understand the solution and what some of the processes look like.”
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