The more I study where the API management, gateway, and proxy layer is headed, the less I’m seeing a front-end or a backend, and I’m seeing just a node that can connect to existing databases, or what is traditionally considered a backend system, but also can just as easily be a proxy and be a gateway to any existing API. A lot has been talked about when it comes to API gateways deploying APIs from an existing database. There has also been considerable discussion around proxying existing internal APIs or web services so that we can deploy newer APIs. However, I don’t think there has been near as much discussion around proxying other 3rd party public APIs — which flips the backend and front-end discussion on its head for me.
After profiling the connector and plugin marketplaces for a handful of the leading API management providers, I am seeing a number of API deployment opportunities for Twilio, Twitter, SendGrid, etc., allowing API providers to publish API facades for commonly used public APIs and obfuscate away from the 3rd party provider and make the API your own. This allows providers to build a stack of APIs from existing backend systems, private APIs and services, as well as 3rd party public APIs. This shifts gateways and proxies from being API deployment and management gatekeepers for backend systems to being nodes of connectivity for any system, service, and API that you can get your hands on. It changes how we think about designing, deploying, and managing APIs at scale. https://goo.gl/D4mG7V #DataIntegration #ML
