WaveMaker Adds API Publishing Tools to PaaS Environment

What Would Happen on a Day Without Data?

As a provider of a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) environment anchored around a set of rapid application development (RAD) tools, WaveMaker has already incorporated application programming interface (API) management tools into its core platform.

This week, WaveMaker is also including tools that make it simpler to publish and manage subscriptions to those APIs with external third parties via WaveMaker Gateway software that is based on the Swagger framework for modeling APIs and web load balancing software from Pramati Technologies.

Given the rising popularity of APIs as a means for integrating applications, Mayur Shah, senior project manager for WaveMaker, says it’s becoming increasingly apparent that API management and PaaS environments are starting to converge. For the most part, mobile applications in particular that are built on a PaaS environment are generally dependent on a plethora of APIs. Rather than requiring organizations to acquire a separate API management platform, WaveMaker is moving to integrate the functionality inside the PaaS environment.

The degree to which that occurs may very well depend on who actually winds up managing those APIs. As part of the shift toward integrated DevOps, it’s apparent that developers and IT operations teams are now working more hand in glove than ever. But it’s not apparent that those IT operations teams want to manage APIs inside a larger PaaS environment or would prefer a separate dedicated platform. Conversely, it’s just as common for developer teams to manage APIs with little to no input from IT operations teams.

Regardless of the approach taken, application development and API management are clearly starting to converge. Not nearly as clear is who inside the IT organization is ultimately going to be responsible for managing those APIs.