We performed a comparison between IBM API Connect and Microsoft Azure API Management based on our users’ reviews in four categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: Azure API Management provides DevOps by default and has a robust marketplace where users can easily integrate with existing APIs and begin work immediately. It scales easily and integrates seamlessly with Azure cloud infrastructure. In contrast, many users feel IBM is a bit dated and is lacking cloud-focused tools.It is also more difficult to deploy.
"The most valuable features of IBM API Connect are its performance and user-friendliness."
"One of the most valuable features of this solution is that it protects our backend system. We are exposing services to external parties and using this solution to protect the backend system, and to have a navigation in between."
"The support is good and active. I rate the technical support a nine out of ten."
"The centralized management: this provides a management module that can deploy and apply security policies to all APIs, including all the gateways that are deployed on-premises and on any cloud because the gateway component can run at a VMware or in a Kubernetes cluster."
"The services that I consume through IBM API Connect are beneficial. It can handle multiple API management."
"This product is well integrated with other products. Its ability to interact with IBM Secure Gateway and other integration products is the core feature. Also, the lead time to put it into production is relatively short ."
"We are able to share those APIs instantly within the organization; even if we want to share it outside publicly, then we can have those capabilities."
"What's best about IBM API Connect is the excellent administration. The development tool that builds the API is also very simple, and user-friendly, and it doesn't consume too much time. Another valuable feature in IBM API Connect is its good reporting feature, particularly for operations, but the most valuable feature of the solution for the customer is security. IBM API Connect provides a DMZ and a security gateway between the external and internal environment, so you can publish your API safely. IBM API Connect can also integrate with any tool or middleware that works on open standards without the need for development or coding, so integration with the solution is easier."
"The tool's most valuable feature is the integration of CI/CD with the API gateway."
"The ability to easily connect back to Service Fabric is the most important for us."
"The solution is reliable and very stable."
"There were no scalability issues."
"It seems quite good so far. It handles our current workload well, and I'm optimistic it can scale effectively as our needs grow."
"Most of the features are valuable to me."
"The API management is very good."
"The most valuable features are the API and integrations."
"We've had some issues upgrading to the latest version of the solution."
"Debugging could be improved."
"The implementation of IBM API Connect is complex, as it's an enterprise solution with many components that require more than one person. It's not a single product that you work on, and this is an area for improvement, but normally, it's good. Having a more structured model for IBM API Connect support is also room for improvement that would help customers better."
"We would have more capability to interact with the catalog and inventories, so a more DevOps-friendly solution is needed."
"Like any typical IBM infrastructure setup, you need to learn to set it up yourself. It's not one of those simple zip files or an archive unzip and you're up and running in some few minutes. Knowledge to set it up is key."
"The solution is overly complex."
"The solution is not scalable."
"It would be helpful to have access monitoring."
"I'd like to have better flexibility and more capabilities."
"In terms of improvement, it would be helpful if they could develop an on-premises option."
"I would like to see more integration with other platforms, as well as increased security."
"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."
"API Management's price could be lower."
"The developer console for external users could be improved, especially in the testing site."
"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."
"The API gateway can be very complex."
More Microsoft Azure API Management Pricing and Cost Advice →
IBM API Connect is ranked 5th in API Management with 73 reviews while Microsoft Azure API Management is ranked 1st in API Management with 68 reviews. IBM API Connect is rated 8.0, while Microsoft Azure API Management is rated 7.8. The top reviewer of IBM API Connect writes "Good speed and performance, but it's based on a bit dated architecture". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Microsoft Azure API Management writes "Efficiently manages and monetizes API ". IBM API Connect is most compared with IBM DataPower Gateway, Apigee, MuleSoft Anypoint API Manager, Amazon API Gateway and Kong Gateway Enterprise, whereas Microsoft Azure API Management is most compared with Amazon API Gateway, Apigee, MuleSoft Anypoint API Manager, Kong Gateway Enterprise and WSO2 API Manager. See our IBM API Connect vs. Microsoft Azure API Management report.
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We monitor all API Management reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.
