API Management in a High-Volume Fintech Environment

The recently held WSO2 & DeARX Integration Series not only presented success stories from TymeBank, one of the top three digital banks in South Africa, and Flash, a leading fintech in the region, on topics such as API management, IAM, and cloud, the virtual event also inspired participants to think about API products and business models in new ways. This post presents highlights from episode 1 of the series.

Modern business demands—such as the need to speed innovation, stay ahead of the competition, and react to ever-changing consumer demands—have forced enterprises to accelerate their digital transformation efforts. To survive and thrive in this digital age, businesses must not only change the way they operate, but they must also change the way they think. APIs are key to this winning strategy. By producing and managing APIs as digital products, and by sustaining an ecosystem for those APIs, companies can enhance their business capabilities to dynamically meet the needs of an ever-evolving digital economy.

APIs for the Business, Developers, and Consumers

By Christhonie Geldenhuys, Software Architect, DeARX

It is vital to have an “outside-in view” when building an API strategy. This involves having the necessary governance to track your API assets and enabling clients and developers easy access to locate and consume these APIs. The strategy should also speed time to market with a minimum viable product to save costs. In this session, DeARX's Christhonie Geldenhuys explains the value and role of an API management platform from three varying points of view—the business, developers, and consumers—as he provides insights from Flash’s success story.

The Integrated API Supply Chain: WSO2’s Market Vision

By Paul Fremantle, CTO and Co-Founder, WSO2

“Products” were central to the industrial economy of the 20th century. At the culmination of this period, supply chain management arose as a key discipline for organizations producing physical goods, helping them minimize production costs and delays.

APIs are the products of the 21st century.

As we build out API systems, we find that we are constantly learning from product journeys. We propose a new kind of supply chain—the Integrated API Supply Chain (IASC)—which is required by any organization looking to create and monetize API products, either directly or indirectly. In this session, Paul outlines WSO2’s vision of the IASC, identifies five key patterns for success, and gives a blueprint for creating a digital business based on API products.

WSO2 API Manager: A Product Update

By Stefano Negri, Solution Architect, WSO2

WSO2 API Manager supports all key API management requirements, such as managing the full lifecycle, version control, associating SLAs, security, and monetization. It also comes with built-in support for design, prototyping, governance, and analytics. Stefano discusses how these capabilities help multiple stakeholders—such as API developers, partners, product managers, and API consumers—to obtain the maximum benefits from the system. He also discusses the product’s latest enhancements, such as support for a wide array of protocols and technologies and the ability to manage APIs in service mesh and container-based deployments. Finally, he shares the product roadmap and vision.

The product has consistently gained recognition from prestigious industry analysts and has been featured in numerous research reports. Most recently, it was named a Leader in The Forrester Wave™: API Management Solutions, Q3 2020, which evaluated the 15 most significant vendors across 26 criteria.

Do you want to learn more?

Even prior to a post-pandemic reality, a market leap was already underway for digital transformation technologies amid cost optimization and increased competition. In the past, customer interactions occurred via an enterprise’s own physical locations or through phones; however, consumers now seek multiple points of contact and online services. This is where APIs come into play, as they form the foundation upon which digital businesses are built, allowing developers to create apps and integrations that can serve these needs.

These great series aside, we offer a number of opportunities to connect with our experts—wherever you are in the world. Sign up for our virtual events or get in touch with us here if you’d like to learn more about microservices, API security, enterprise integration, and identity management.