Successful API governance can be a powerful enabling force. It can ensure security, consistency, and alignment with business goals while also boosting innovation and developer creativity. Implemented thoughtfully, it can even become a competitive differentiator. Yet many enterprises are failing to make the most of their API governance potential. Here’s why – and what you can do about it.
The problem of API sprawl
Scaling APIs without governance means your enterprise faces hidden pitfalls and unnecessary security risks. As you grow, so does your API sprawl. You end up with hundreds – possibly thousands – of APIs, resulting in fragmented ecosystems and significant inefficiencies.
When you’re faced with API sprawl, some of the key challenges that emerge include:
- Operational inefficiencies and lost time: From lack of reusability to juggling different authorization mechanisms implemented by different teams, ungoverned or poorly governed API sprawl notably impacts release cycle length, time to market and development costs.
- Frustrated teams: Developers who have to constantly start from scratch and reinvent elements of APIs that they see working elsewhere in the business, aren’t likely to be happy about it.
- Emerging complexities: The proliferation of API types (REST, GraphQL, event-driven), coupled with the growing demands of AI integrations, exacerbates governance challenges.
- Security risks: Increased API endpoints and lack of standardization around authorization and authentication, correlate with heightened security incidents, including shadow APIs and compliance gaps.
API sprawl often results naturally from organizational growth, but that doesn’t mean you can’t tackle it through a robust and well-considered approach to API governance. However, many enterprises fail when it comes to governance implementation…
What enterprises often miss in governance initiatives
Our recent webinar on accelerating API governance maturity looked at how a universal API governance platform can help enterprises navigate the complexities of the evolving API economy. But it’s important to remember that a platform isn’t the starting point of an effective governance strategy – your people and processes are. This is something that many enterprises miss: your governance platform should be a process enabler. You choose the platform to fit your governance goals, not the other way round.
This strategic enablement is a cornerstone of modern governance. While traditional governance focuses on rigid control, the contemporary approach is all about enabling innovation, creativity and agility. This ties in with putting people at the heart of your governance initiative and engaging them before, during and after implementing it – another point that many enterprises miss. API governance is not a technical problem or solution – it’s a people and process one.
Forgetting this means that lack of developer integration is another sticking point for many enterprises. Governance processes that aren’t embedded in developer workflows, because developers weren’t engaged and consulted as part of creating those processes, can cause friction and slowdowns. They can also result in your developers finding workarounds instead of staying within your governance guardrails, meaning your governance initiative has failed.
Another reason governance initiatives fail is reliance on manual enforcement rather than automation. Manual processes and enforcement can lead to inconsistencies and inefficiencies, increasing the likelihood of security incidents and frustrated teams.
One final point that not everyone grasps is the risks that accompany siloed management. If you’re trying to manage your APIs in a decentralized manner, without a unified framework, you’re opening the doors to oversights, inefficiencies and inconsistencies, all of which create a drag on the organization when it comes to trying to meet your goals.
Signs your enterprise has a hidden governance issue
If you’re worried your organization has a hidden governance issue that you need to address, these telltale signs could confirm your fears:
- Inconsistent API standards: Disparities in API design and implementation across teams can point to a lack of governance or a failure to implement governance correctly or well.
- Security incidents: Frequent breaches or vulnerabilities linked to APIs indicate your governance needs strengthening – urgently.
- Compliance challenges: Difficulty in meeting regulatory requirements can also result from a lack of standardized governance.
- Developer frustration: If you have governance processes in place but are experiencing resistance or pushback from developers regarding them, it’s a clear sign that something isn’t working as it should be.
- Operational inefficiencies: If the amount of time, money and resources you’re spending on managing and securing APIs feels like a bottomless pit, it’s time to take a long, hard look at your governance processes.
- Slow release cycles: If the competition is repeatedly beating you to market with innovations and updates, it’s another indicator that your enterprise has a hidden governance issue.
If any (or all!) of this sounds worryingly familiar, it’s time to start building clarity into your complex systems, achieving the security, consistency, and alignment with business goals that your enterprise deserves and your regulators demand. Tyk’s guide to universal API governance is a good starting point, offering a practical framework to bring consistency and control to your distributed API ecosystem. All while securing the buy-in needed to bring your people along for the ride.
Our in-house API governance experts are always happy to chat, so you can reach out to the Tyk team, too.
