API Management Technology to Enable Interpretation of Web Application Programs

Introduction

According to API Management Statistics, API management involves the strategic governance and optimization of APIs, covering their entire lifecycle from creation to retirement. It includes API gateways, developer portals, lifecycle management, security measures, analytics, policy enforcement, and integration capabilities.

Organizations can effectively manage APIs, accelerate innovation, increase agility, enhance customer experiences, and capitalize on monetization opportunities.

API management is crucial in enabling digital transformation and fostering ecosystem collaboration by facilitating seamless integration and interaction between diverse systems and services.

Editor’s Choice

• In 2023, the global API management market revenue stood at USD 5.76 billion.
• The global API management market is divided primarily between solutions and services, with a majority market share of 63.4%, while services represent the remaining 36.6%.
• According to the Salt Security report, 66% of companies acknowledge delaying deploying new applications into production due to concerns related to API security.
• Among professionals in any sector, 71% incorporate third-party APIs into their work, while a slightly lower but still significant percentage of 64% of hobbyists or students also utilize them.
• In 2020, allocating time for various application programming interface (API) tasks worldwide varied significantly, with coding and programming APIs occupying the most significant share at 29.5%.
• Internal APIs exhibit substantial current usage, with 94% of respondents already utilizing them, while only 4% have plans to use them, and a mere 2% have no plans.
• Among API documentation and inventory management mechanisms, Postman emerges as the most widely utilized tool, with 40% of respondents leveraging its capabilities.

Global API Management Market Overview

Global API Management Market Size

• The global API management market has experienced significant growth in recent years at a CAGR of 28%, with revenues steadily increasing.
• In 2022, the market revenue stood at USD 4.50 billion, which rose to USD 5.76 billion in 2023.
• By 2028, the market is projected to exceed USD 18.62 billion in revenue, continuing its upward trajectory to reach USD 23.83 billion in 2029 and USD 29.64 billion in 2030.
• The growth momentum is expected to persist, with revenues estimated to soar to USD 37.94 billion in 2031 and surpass USD 49.95 billion by 2032.

API Management Market Size – By Deployment Type

• The global API management market, categorized by deployment type, demonstrates a substantial expansion over the forecast period.
• In 2022, the total market revenue amounted to USD 4.50 billion, with on-premises deployment generating USD 2.16 billion, cloud deployment generating USD 1.8 billion, and hybrid deployment contributing USD 0.54 billion.
• This trend continued to escalate in subsequent years, with revenues reaching USD 5.76 billion in 2023, USD 7.16 billion in 2024, and USD 9.70 billion in 2025.
• The trend culminated in a projected revenue of USD 49.95 billion in 2032. Throughout this period, both on-premises and cloud deployments witnessed steady growth, with hybrid deployment emerging as a significant contributor to the market.

Global API Management Market Share – By Component

• The global API management market is divided primarily between solutions and services, with a majority market share of 63.4%, while services represent the remaining 36.6%.
• This distribution emphasizes the significant presence of software solutions and services in addressing the needs of organizations for effective API management.

Factors Driving the Adoption of APIs

• Salt Security published a report titled “The State of API Security – Q1 2021,” disclosing significant insights regarding API security practices among organizations.
• According to the report, 66% of companies acknowledge delaying the deployment of new applications into production due to concerns related to API security.
• Moreover, the findings indicate that 54% of organizations operating production APIs possess, at most, a rudimentary approach to API security, while 27% lack any strategy altogether.

Popular Third-party API Categories

• Among developers who utilize third-party APIs, specific categories emerge as particularly popular.
• Location and mapping APIs are topping the list, with 37% of developers incorporating them into their projects, closely followed by payments APIs at 36%.
• Email and messaging APIs also boast significant usage, with 34% and 29% of developers integrating them into their applications.
• Social and search APIs share a similar level of popularity, each utilized by 29% of developers.
• Meanwhile, eCommerce, machine learning, video, and weather APIs exhibit slightly lower but notable adoption rates, with approximately 20% of developers employing each category.

Usage of APIs by Professionals and Students

• The utilization of APIs varies between professionals across sectors and hobbyists or students, with most of both groups engaging with third-party APIs.
• Among professionals in any sector, 71% incorporate third-party APIs into their work, while a slightly lower but still significant percentage of 64% of hobbyists or students also utilize them.
• Private or internal APIs see less widespread use, with 22% of professionals and 16% of hobbyists or students leveraging them.
• Notably, a small percentage of professionals, accounting for 7%, do not use APIs, whereas a more significant proportion of hobbyists or students, totaling 20%, fall into this category.

Time Allocation of API Tasks

• In 2020, allocating time for various application programming interface (API) tasks worldwide varied significantly, with coding and programming APIs occupying the most significant share at 29.5%.
• Following closely behind was debugging and manual testing, accounting for 17% of respondents’ time allocation.
• Automated testing and designing/mock APIs also commanded notable shares, with 10.8% and 8.7%, respectively.
• The task of API documentation accounted for 6.1% of respondents’ time while managing others who use APIs and attending meetings about APIs, which represented approximately 5.8% and 5.7%, respectively.
• Collaboration on APIs accounted for 4.9% of the time, while API monitoring and publishing APIs occupied 4.3% and 2.5%, respectively.

Areas Where API Developers Work

• In 2022, application programming interface (API) developers work across various professional roles worldwide, with a diverse distribution among job titles.
• Full stack developers constitute the most significant percentage of respondents at 25%, followed by backend developers at 19%.
• Quality engineers, responsible for ensuring the reliability and effectiveness of APIs, account for 9% of respondents, while frontend developers represent 5%.
• Technical and solutions architects make up 4%, alongside individuals in direct managerial positions. Integration engineers and DevOps engineers each contribute 3% to the workforce.
• Notably, students and professors also engage in API development, comprising 3% of respondents.

Current Use of APIs and Key Predictions

• Internal APIs exhibit substantial current usage, with 94% of respondents already utilizing them, while only 4% have plans to use them, and a mere 2% have no plans.
• Conversely, APIs provided by third parties show a significant level of current usage at 82%, with 12% planning to use them and 6% having no plans.
• Private APIs for connecting with other businesses or networks display a similar trend, with 73% currently using them, 17% planning to do so, and 10% having no plans.
• In contrast, public or externally exposed APIs demonstrate lower current usage, with 67% utilizing them, while 12% plan to use them, and 20% have no plans.

Mechanisms Used for API Document and Inventory

• As revealed by the survey, various mechanisms are employed for API documentation and inventory management.
• Among these, Postman emerges as the most widely utilized tool, with 40% of respondents leveraging its capabilities.
• Swagger follows closely behind, with a usage rate of 28%, while OpenAPI Generator is utilized by 20% of respondents.
• Application scanning and API management platforms are also popular, with 23% and 34% adoption rates, respectively.
• Configuration management databases are utilized by 18% of respondents.
• Additionally, Redoc and DapperDox contribute to the landscape, with 8% and 4% usage rates, respectively.

Issues in API integration

• Issues in API integration are a significant concern among respondents, with improper authentication, authorization, or access control being the most prevalent at 30%.
• This is followed by insecure data leaks or exposure, accounting for 17% of respondents’ concerns, and business logic issues, which constitute 16%.
• Additionally, insufficient logging and monitoring are cited by 12% of respondents as a significant issue, while inadequate access control and denial-of-service (DoS) attacks each represent 8%.
• Injection attacks, such as SQL injection, are reported by 5% of respondents as problematic.

Technological Advancements

• As of 2020, professionals working with application programming interfaces (APIs) worldwide find several technologies particularly exciting.
• Microservices top the list, with 48.70% of respondents expressing enthusiasm, followed closely by Kubernetes at 43.60% and containers at 42.20%.
• Serverless architecture also garners significant interest, with 39% of respondents finding it compelling.
• Additionally, GraphQL, known for its efficient data querying capabilities, captures the attention of 33.40% of respondents.
• The adoption of HTTP/2, offering improved performance and efficiency, is noted by 24.70% of respondents, while event-driven architecture, facilitating real-time data processing, resonates with 24.10% of respondents.
• Pub/sub (publish/subscribe) architecture, supporting scalable and decoupled communication between components, attracts 17.40% of respondents.

Discuss Your Needs With Our Analyst

Please share your requirements with more details so our analyst can check if they can solve your problem(s)

Request a Sample Download PDF