Top 12 API Gateway Solutions and Use Cases in 2025

This use case offers seamless compatibility with multiple platforms and works across complex architectures to provide a scalable, highly-available, and connected system.

WebSocket APIs enable the creation of secure, real-time communication applications without provisioning or managing servers for connections or large-scale data exchanges.

This use case simplifies the microservices architecture by consolidating rate limiting, token authorization, scaling, and routing in a single mediation layer. It also decouples the API Management layer to provide a single interface for managing the environment.

Despite a focus on security, data breaches still occur. Enterprises must focus on their security strategy, as APIs have become a leading threat vector for application security. By setting security alerts and thresholds at the gateway layer, more threats can be stopped before they reach your systems, enhancing the overall security for API-driven applications.

Must have API authentication

Must have the capability to authenticate and authorize users before allowing access to the API.

Must have data centers in different geographies

Must have data centers located in multiple geographic regions to provide low latency and high availability.

Must have good policy management

Must have the ability to create and enforce policies that dictate how the API can be accessed and used.

Must have good pricing

Must have a pricing model that is fair, transparent, easy to understand, and fits the use case.

Must have identity management

Must have the ability to manage identities and access control for the API.

Must have key management

Must have the ability to manage and secure keys used for encryption and authentication.

Must have traffic management

Must have the ability to manage and control incoming traffic to the API, including rate limiting and traffic shaping.

Must meet compliance standards

Must meet compliance requirements for the relevant industry or regulatory standards.

Must protect against attacks

Must have built-in security features to protect against common web application attacks such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and denial of service attacks.

Must provide access control

Must have the ability to control access to the API, including authentication and authorization.

Must provide message-level security

Must have the capability to secure messages at the transport and application layer to protect against eavesdropping and tampering.

Must provide protocol conversion

Must be able to convert between different protocols, such as HTTP to HTTPS, to ensure compatibility with different systems.

Must support the API lifecycle

Must provide support for the entire API lifecycle, from creation and testing to deployment and management.