Google, IBM, and MuleSoft were among API management provider leaders according to a new Forrester report, well ahead of established industry players like Red Hat, Broadcom, and Microsoft. Other vendors named as market leaders include Axway, Software AG, and Sensedia.

Forrester's report only assesses vendors with a complete, standalone API management service, revenues of at least $7 million, and a "prominent presence" as a vendor in this market. By assessing 15 qualifying vendor's current offerings, strategy, and market presence through 26 criteria, the research firm categorized the companies into four groups: leaders, strong performers, contenders, and challengers.

Google was deemed a leader for its "robust" API management and increased integration with Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Its Apigee API management service emphasizes security by integrating with GCP security tools like Cloud Armor WAF and allows customers "to participate in digital ecosystems via APIs of any protocol hosted anywhere," Forrester noted.

One pitfall of Google's API offerings, however, is that the formal lifecycle management is only in a limited preview release, though it should be soon generally available. "Some customers prefer its recent shift toward more GCP-centricity, while others without focus on GCP dislike this move, particularly those that would like to self-host the admin plane on-premises," the report reads.

The report also identified IBM as an API management leader, citing the vendor's consumption-based pricing option that "Forrester clients find simple and preferable."

Strong performers Perforce Software, TIBCO, and Torry Harris Integration Solutions landed in the second tier of the firm's evaluation.

Red Hat was positioned as a contender by Forrester, with the analyst firm noting Red Hat has a strong focus on modernization and monetization but overlooks broader digital businesses. The vendor's open source 3scale API management product is closely tied to the OpenShift Kubernetes platform and focuses on microservices and API producer productivity, but it's missing an emphasis on tools for digital business models, Forrester said. The report also noted 3scale's limited analytics dashboards that prioritize operational metrics over business metrics, along with a lack of API versioning.

Other contenders included Broadcom, which meets security requirements but lacks user engagement; Kong, which prioritizes distributed architecture but struggles with digital business enablement; and Tyk Technologies.

Microsoft, which declined to fully participate in Forrester's evaluation process, is the lone vendor deemed a market challenger. The report noted the vendor "furnishes basic API management for Azure customers" but lacks emphasis on digital business models. Though Azure API Management's gateway can be self-hosted, "Forrester clients find it appeals primarily to Azure-centric organizations."

The report also highlighted Microsoft's basic and minimally flexible open source developer portal as justification for its position as a challenger.