Using Federated API Management

Federated API Management provides a unified way to manage, govern, and monitor multiple distributed runtimes and data planes from a single interface regardless of where they are deployed.

As organizations expand their API ecosystems across multiple platforms, clouds, and regions, managing each API runtime individually becomes increasingly complex. Federated API Management provides a centralized, unified way to manage, monitor, and govern all APIs egardless of where they are deployed. This helps improve visibility, streamline operations, enhance security, and reduce administrative overhead.

Federated API Management enables organizations to centrally monitor and manage various runtimes such as webMethods API Gateway, DataPower Gateway (V6), Nano DataPower Gateway, IBM Developer Portal, and the CMS portal that are part of the API Connect ecosystem. Additionally, it supports monitoring and managing external runtimes such as AWS API Gateway, Azure API Management Service, and other third-party gateways by using the SDK.

The following sections give a brief insight about how to use Federated API Management.

Organizations undergoing digital transformation are increasingly relying on APIs to expose business capabilities both internally and externally. To support diverse integration needs, many enterprises adopt a distributed, hybrid API deployment model that spans multiple regions, clouds, and vendors.

As API adoption grows, so do the operational complexities and business expectations. The rising need for centralized API visibility, governance, and performance monitoring regardless of where the APIs are deployed or who manages them.

To accelerate digital transformation and scale API adoption, organizations seek the following capabilities:

  • Empower business units with self-service API management capabilities.
  • Enable seamless integration across internal systems and external partners.
  • Deliver high-availability and low-latency API services with strict SLAs.
  • Support a distributed API development lifecycle by using CI/CD.
  • Maintain governance and operational oversight across a fragmented API landscape.

To meet both operational and business needs, a centralized federated API management can be implemented. This solution provides a centralized interface to manage APIs, runtimes, and environments across the organization, regardless of deployment complexity or scale.

Key capabilities include:

  • Discovery and inventory of all deployed runtimes and APIs.
  • Centralized management of runtimes, data planes, and API assets.
  • Unified monitoring of performance, usage, and lifecycle status.
  • Role-based access and control for different user personas.
  • Operational insights to support governance and SLAs.