Creating an API without a plan is a recipe for disaster. Without an API strategy, it’s all too easy for API sprawl to quickly get out of control, leading to API security issues, breakage, unexpected downtime, and possibly even losing a great deal of money. Thankfully, organizations can tackle these issues with API governance, which is the set of policies, processes, and procedures that ensure the effective management and control of APIs within an organization.

Considering the need for APIs to be predictable and consistent to be effective and secure, it’s safe to suggest that API governance will play an important role in the future of APIs. There’s an increasing shift towards federated API management, as well, increasing the need for decentralized governance with centralized oversight. With that in mind, let’s look at some of the benefits of API governance for individual APIs and the API industry alike.

1. Improves API Security

Boosting API security is one of the most common reasons for adopting API governance strategies. API governance improves API security by helping to eliminate API sprawl, for one thing, which we’ll talk more about in a moment. Governance can also boost API security by allowing security resources to ensure an API follows the specified format and the specified security protocol, known as linting. Standardization facilitates API testing, as testing resources will know what to expect. Once the API testing solution is configured properly, your APIs can be tested against the latest API security threats.

2. Enhances AI Integration

API governance will likely play an important role in getting APIs and AI to cooperate. Once an AI knows what to expect, it can perform a wide variety of different tasks. Once API governance is in place, AI can perform complex runtime analytics, detecting subtle patterns and revealing potential attack vectors that might be difficult to analyze otherwise. Finally, API governance even allows for automatic code generation, as AI could easily create an API from a standardized API specification.

3. Encourages API Adoption In Big Business

Keeping track of APIs across very large organizations can be a monumental task. Making sure that every development team adheres to the same standards can be nearly impossible. Therefore, having an API governance policy in place is an important step in getting everyone on the same page. It also helps guarantee that an organization adheres to current regulations, which can have serious financial repercussions if not followed.

4. Aligns Business Goals and Development

A lack of understanding can lead to unnecessary animosity, with each party acting in their own interest with little concern for how it affects others. Historically, this has led to an antagonistic relationship between the C-suite and the development team, which is bad for productivity and morale. With a comprehensive API governance strategy in place, everybody’s on the same page. Developers can work closely with the financial team to realize business goals, with the organization making more coordinated decisions on their technology and processes.

5. Boosts Decoupling and Reuse

APIs are often part of a decoupling strategy, playing an important role in a more modular approach to organization and design. Breaking up monolithic structures into components makes organizations more flexible and adaptable. API governance ensures that the process goes as smoothly as possible, not just for development but also for organizational structure. API governance puts all of an organization’s standards and protocols for API in one centralized location, including everything from data structures to the role of each API. This allows anyone to use APIs interchangeably, as they’re intended.

6. Reduces API Sprawl

API sprawl is a common reason enterprises adopt an API governance strategy, according to Axway. API sprawl can be a major security risk, as it can lead to vulnerabilities in an organization’s security protocol. Security problems are just one possible issue, however. A lack of centralized information or source of truth can lead to lost or duplicate APIs, both of which are not only bad for morale but are also a waste of time, energy, and resources.

7. Improves API Catalog Accuracy

Maintaining an accurate API catalog is the top challenge enterprises face with the governance of their API assets, found Axway’s 2024 State of Enterprise API Maturity report. Maintaining a centralized source for API information ensures that information is always up-to-date and accurate. Even better, API governance makes it possible to automatically update your API catalog, as each API will be structured in a standardized and predictable format.

8. Improves Customer Experience and Developer Experience

Broken APIs lead to service outages and unexpected downtime, which can easily cause users to abandon an API in favor of their competition. API governance also helps guarantee a positive user experience as it improves API security and predictability. It can even help with things like API onboarding, as code snippets and use cases are more likely to be accurate, making it fast and easy to get started with an API.

9. Improves API Discoverability

Consistent, predictable APIs are easier for users and developers to find. API governance makes it so that an API is discoverable no matter where it’s hosted. This makes it easier for an API to be listed in API directories and API marketplaces, expanding your API’s user base and audience as widely as possible. It can even help locate users in some circumstances, as there are ways to search for standardized APIs.

Final Thoughts on API Governance

The need for standardization will only become more pronounced as the API industry grows and matures. API governance will play an essential role in everything from enforcing financial standards to making sure that API security is as robust as possible. It can even have a sizable impact on an API’s success, as it makes them discoverable so they can be found on API catalogs and API marketplaces. With these incentives, you have every reason to adopt an API governance now and get used to putting it into practice.