As APIs gain more recognition in enterprise architecture as vital factors in digital transformation, there is a rush to design and create new APIs (applications programming interfaces) at scale.
For organizations actively deploying application programming interface-driven enterprise strategies, effective API governance is essential. API governance is especially crucial for companies that have microservices architectures or an API program.
In this article, we will define API governance and look at its benefits and best practices for API governance success. Read on!
What is API governance?
API governance is the consistent application of rules, policies, and processes as you create, secure, and deliver individual APIs.
The aim is that any complex system that powers your business is defined, observable, and discoverable for you to understand the state of the system and evolve it in the right direction.
An enterprise that knows its APIs has the power to improve upon them since it either scales or re-prioritizes.
You are probably asking yourself how to get there. Well, application programming interface governance involves the development and implementation of guidelines and rules relating to API security policies and standards.
What is the relationship between API security, API management, and API governance
API governance entails defining policies that allow companies to fully utilize their APIs and the policies can relate to how these APIs are secured and managed.
For example, a company’s API governance strategy may need development teams to use centralized API management tools for testing and developing API all through the API lifecycle. These tools have a set of components that enable you to manage the whole lifecycle and include metering and a developer portal.
As you can see, API governance encompasses API security, API lifecycle management, and even API gateway.
In addition, API governance and API product management are similar. However, API governance is for API landscapes and API product management is for individual APIs. Also, remember that you can properly manage the API landscape without compromising security and user experience.
What are the benefits of API governance?
API governance, supposing it’s properly and consistently implemented, allows a business to build, update and manage APIs all through their lifecycles. This is made possible by the standardization of development, security, documentation, and version access control.
If there are questions about the focus areas, API governance rules get rid of contradictory actions and distracting debate that impair the security and effectiveness of the API portfolio. Note that the assumption is that relevant stakeholders made a decision about governance as a group.
The benefits of API governance at a higher level are about the realization of enterprise strategies.
Going further, application programming interface governance is a primary success factor in embracing an “API first” approach. The assumption is the apps will interact with APIs.
APIs are therefore crucial for attaining the right enterprise outcomes and must “come first.” All stakeholders in an API-first company, from product managers to API providers or developers and API designers, know APIs before they are developed. Achieving this objective is difficult without API governance.
7 API governance best practices
Each company has unique needs that will need a tailored technique for API governance: it all depends on your personal preferences and business API strategy. Below are best practices that can help ensure the success of an API management strategy:
1. Centralization
Have a centralized set of business-wide API governance guidelines but allow reportable exceptions in order to ensure responsiveness and flexibility.
2. Automation
Use one of the tools available to automate API design and processes like API contracts, tracking, and documentation.
3. Tracking
Track where application programming interfaces are deployed, who is using them, how they are being used, and some other API lifecycle elements.
4. Versioning
Versioning assists developers to maintain and keep track of different versions of individual APIs. So you should implement strong API versioning.
5. Deprecation policy
A deprecation policy benefits your API consumers since it offers stability.
6. Reusability
You should know that standardizing API design makes sure that APIs are consistent across a company and have reusable components.
7. Establishing API security guidelines
Enforcing and establishing style guidelines for APIs is one of the ways to standardize API designs.
Important features of API governance platforms or API management platforms
When considering an API governance platform or an API management platform for your company, there are some vital features and they include:
- Audit trail
- Access management
- Egress\ ingress control
- Deployment options
- Analytics
If you want to apply governance rules to your company’s APIs as part of the API management lifecycle, then you need to create a profile in the Anypoint API Governance Console. You should also know that adaptive governance can benefit your business in a variety of ways.
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