IBM API Connect

Overview

Build, secure, and scale APIs with confidence

API Connect is an agentic AI-powered API management solution that empower developers to build and manage APIs more efficiently, while AI-agents assist in securely scaling API infrastructure across hybrid environments.

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Extend API Connect with IBM DataPower Interact Gateway

IBM DataPower Interact Gateway mediates and governs how models, agents, and tools interact with enterprise systems- enforcing policy, observability, and security at the AI interaction layer.

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2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for API Management

We’re proud to share that IBM has been named a Leader in the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for API Management, for the 10th time.

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2025 Gartner® Report: Critical Capabilities for API Management

IBM ranks #1 in 5 out of the 6 Use Cases in 2025 Gartner® Report: Critical Capabilities for API Management.

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IBM named a Leader in The Forrester Wave™: API Management, Q3 2024

Read the report to see why Forrester ranked IBM a Leader with the top score in the Current Offering category.

Features

Complete API management

Explore how API Connect helps you build, manage, and scale high‑quality APIs—anywhere.

See all API Connect features

A centralized interface for managing APIs across their full lifecycle. Teams can package APIs into products, apply governance and access controls, and track usage with built‑in analytics across environments.

Explore API manager

IBM API Connect dashboard interface showcasing the 'global-rewards' product setup

DataPower® Nano Gateway is an ultra-light, zero-trust API gateway that runs close to your business applications. Built to empower developers, it offers declarative policy control and sub-second startup at the API product level — reducing latency, optimizing resources, and ensuring consistent governance across hybrid, multicloud and on-prem environments.

Explore DataPower Nano Gateway

IBM API Connect analytics dashboard overview displaying data for DataPower Nano Gateway

Securely connect and manage your AI initiatives. This gateway provides a central point of control for accessing public and third-party AI APIs, both internal and external. Enforce policies and gain key analytics to optimize LLM usage.

Explore AI Gateway

AI Gateway analytics dashboard with AI usage summary metrics and a heat map of activity over time

Accelerate innovation across distributed teams with IBM API Studio, an AI-powered workspace that unites authoring, testing, and governance, all managed as code. Deliver consistent, compliant APIs across any environment.

Explore API Studio

IBM API Connect interface showcasing a build assembly flow diagram for APIC DataPower Nanogateway security

With the Developer Portal from IBM API Connect®, you can have an integrated web-based platform where application developers and API consumers can discover, explore, socialize and subscribe to your APIs.

Explore Developer Portal

Example of a IBM API Connect Developer Portal customized to match Acme Bank branding, with branded header, color scheme, and API product cards

Automate key tasks across the API lifecycle with the API Agent. By handling repetitive work and providing expert guidance, API Agent shortens development cycles, reduces errors, and lets your developers focus on building better APIs faster.

Explore API Agent

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Interactive demo

API security is crucial for every business. Take this interactive demo to see how you can safeguard your APIs, data and applications with an uncompromising API security strategy.

Use cases

How teams use API Connect

Organizations use IBM API Connect to turn existing backend services into secure, managed APIs and streamline the full API lifecycle.

Create APIs

Quickly build, standardize, and secure APIs using open standards through an intuitive GUI or command-line tools. Create with built‑in testing, debugging, security policies, and DevOps automation to accelerate reliable API development across the full lifecycle.

Create APIs with ease

Manage APIs

Full lifecycle API management to package APIs into products, control versioning and governance, manage access through subscriptions, and promote APIs across environments.

Simplify API management

Secure APIs

Protect APIs from design time through runtime by enforcing strong authentication and authorization, managing access with policies, and securing traffic using the built‑in IBM DataPower Gateway.

Secure API access

Socialize APIs

Share and promote APIs through customizable, self‑service developer portals that make it easy for internal and external developers to discover, subscribe to, and consume APIs.

Learn about API socialization

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Extend API Connect with webMethods Hybrid Integration

Discover how API Connect integrates with webMethods Hybrid Integration to enable unified, flexible integration use cases.

Reimagine integration

Case studies

Real stories. Real impact.

Trusted by companies across all industries

View all the case studies

Etihad Airways

Etihad used IBM API Connect to significantly cut delivery time for web check-in applications.

Read the Etihad Airways case study

Tine

TINE makes value chain improvements with products from the IBM Cloud Pak® for Integration platform.

Read the Tine case study

Axis Bank

Axis Bank adopted IBM API Connect to transform their digital banking for better customer experience.

Read the Axis Bank case study

Finologee

Finologee enables an off-the-shelf solution for open banking.

Read the Finologee case study

Resources

Dive into expert insights

See how API Connect® can help you confidently manage and protect every device in your organization.

See all resources

The 2025 IDC SpotlightAPIs: The Key to AI and Application Connectivity

Learn about trends and challenges in API management, and what IBM is doing to help companies to build, deploy, govern and monitor APIs at the scale needed real-time, AI-first world.

Empower the Next-Gen Developer: AI-Accelerated API Deployment Without Losing Control

See how IBM’s API Studio empowers developers with AI-powered workspace, while DataPower Nano Gateway brings app-level security and governance with speed and flexibility.

The Power of Federated API Management: Master your Hybrid API Landscapes

Discover how Federated API Management with API Connect unifies your hybrid API landscape to boost visibility, governance, and performance.

API Agent: Unlock unprecedented levels of speed and innovation

Get an up-close demonstration of the latest API Agent from IBM API Connect®.

Get greater control and visibility into AI services with an AI Gateway

Learn how AI Gateways enable secure, governed adoption of generative AI. Explore what an AI Gateway is, how it integrates with IBM API Connect, and how it delivers visibility, governance, compliance, and cost control for AI services.

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