IBM API Connect Initial Setup

Shanmugasundaram Shanmuganathan - PeerSpot reviewer
Solutions Architect at Synechron

I would rate my experience with the initial setup a seven out of ten, with ten being very easy to set up. 

It wasn't complex overall, but the initial API creation had some challenges regarding security implementation. After that, it was much easier. We followed the template, but sometimes the page would close unexpectedly.

We faced some initial setup issues. Initially, understanding and implementing the right way to achieve API-level security, etc., was a bit tricky.

The documentation is decent, and they offer some provider-based human support, so that's sufficient.

We have on-premises installations for some applications hosted in Kubernetes clusters, and the on-premises Kubernetes cluster can be hosted anywhere. It's a containerized cluster deployment.

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KrishnaIyer - PeerSpot reviewer
Head - Technology Engineering at Abcl

It's pretty much straightforward. We just downloaded and installed it.

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CS
Sr Technical Specialist at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

There's a bit of a learning curve to the setup process. Once the support team gets familiar with it, it is just like any other product.

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Buyer's Guide
IBM API Connect
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about IBM API Connect. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.
MuhammadSalman1 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Software Engineer at Systems Limited

The initial setup is relatively straightforward.

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Essam Younis - PeerSpot reviewer
SOA & BP Technical Manager at EJADA

The installation is not easy. However, on a traditional VM, it is acceptable. It can get complex since it's required to have multiple components deployed, and I think it is necessary to have the technical experience to do a global configuration for production. You need some access to get the benefits of the enterprise and the platform. Also, such things are expected because the solution is an enterprise-grade player. For such a tool to have the benefits of stabilization to support the high demand of workloads, it should have a robust configuration. That is why it's not a simple configuration. I'm talking about the big enterprise, not the medium or small enterprises. It's not suitable for medium, small, and micro-enterprises because the cost of setup and the solution, along with the license, may not be suitable for small businesses.

The solution is deployed on the cloud and on-premises. Sometimes it's private, and at times it's both also. So, you have one public and a private cloud.

The deployment can take up to two to three weeks, and I am saying this considering previous projects, connectivity, and deployment, so I am talking about the time taken to build the environment.

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KavitaChavan - PeerSpot reviewer
Associate Manager at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

The initial setup is quite easy. The deployment of the environment and the solution itself is quite easy. The deployment itself can be done in a few minutes. Let's say 30 minutes for deployment and 30 more minutes for configuration. Within one hour, your environment is ready.

One person is more than enough for the deployment.

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Rajesh Vedaraju - PeerSpot reviewer
Integrator at LTI - Larsen & Toubro Infotech

The initial setup of IBM API Connect is complex, but once the implementor is used to it it's easier.

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KA
Sales Director at Jordan Business Systems

The initial setup for IBM API Connect wasn't complex, but for the new model or the containerized model, the setup for the three nodes or containerization wasn't as easy as the normal on-premise setup or the traditional way of implementation, so the first time my company implemented the new model, it was complex. The complexity wasn't because of IBM API Connect, but it was because of the RedHat OpenShift platform beneath it, though after my team did it once, the next implementation became easier and simpler.

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PS
Manager at Doudle

Though I wasn't involved in the setup phase of the product, as it was taken care of by another team in our company, I feel that the product's setup process needs to be simplified.

The product's deployment has two parts. The first part of the deployment is about how you set it up, and the other part is to deploy your API for availability. If I talk about the part where the APIs are to be made available, then the deployment process doesn't take much time, and it is easy to make them available.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.

A team of 20 people who were on the API management side were required to take care of the deployment and maintenance of the product. Initially, a team of 20 people was required to take care of the product's deployment and maintenance, but it was brought down to 15 people later.

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Elisângela Bumba - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Technician at Banco Millennium Atlântico

The initial installation was not simple. We had some issues with the deployment but we managed step by step. It took approximately two months to complete the implementation.

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Alexis Aguiluz - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Technological Architect at Banco de Chile

I would rate the setup as a medium in difficulty. 

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KC
ICT Advisor at TCS Toolbox

I rate the product's initial setup phase a five on a scale of one to ten, where one is a difficult process, and ten is an easy phase.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model. The client with whom I work operates only on an on-premises infrastructure. My client is very demanding when it comes to operating on an on-premises infrastructure. My client is adamant on having on-premises infrastructure owing to security concerns.

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KH
Manager Integration Platform Engineering at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees

I actually did the initial setup for Version 5.0 which took a long time to install. It was easier, I think, as we're moving to newer versions. It is due to the fact that we've included Kubernetes and this style of installation that we're doing today which is a little bit more complex. 

The original was not nearly as complex as it is today. 

We're having some issues. If I go from Version 5.0 and I want to upgrade to 2018, I have to request new servers and then migrate all of the APIs. This is the same for Version 10 which wasn't a commitment, however, there was a communication that they would have an upgrade in place by the end of the second quarter and it didn't happen. We spent all 2018 to 2020 installing Version 2018. Now, we're told if we want to go to Version 10, we have to set up new infrastructure.

We tried to do the 2018 installation in three or four weeks and we handled it all in-house.

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it_user634788 - PeerSpot reviewer
Technology Manager at PNC

I was not involved in the initial setup.

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KavitaChavan - PeerSpot reviewer
Associate Manager at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

The initial setup was straightforward, and deployment took two days.

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OG
Consultant at Bancolombia

The initial setup is not overly difficult or complex. It's very simple and straightforward. 

The deployment is quite quick. It only takes about one hour to have everything up and running. 

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CS
Sr Technical Specialist at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

The initial setup is reasonably straightforward.

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JS
IT Architect at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

API Connect is not straightforward to install. If you don't have a lot of dependencies in your organization, it will take a short amount of time. In our case, we took at least a month because of dependencies to other departments in the company. 

For our technical team, we have approximately 10 people, a combination of managers, admins, and engineers. 

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AA
Vice President at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees

The initial setup was a little bit complex because we wanted to put it in a proper Kubernetes cluster. So we had to learn Kubernetes and then do it.

It took us a month to deploy the solution.

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CHEW YONG - PeerSpot reviewer
Principle Solution Architect at Beans Group Sdn Bhd

The initial setup is complicated for container deployment. It is easy to maintain. I rate the process an eight out of ten.

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Harimohan Pathak - PeerSpot reviewer
Integration Specialist - Solution Architect at LTIMindtree

The initial setup is easy. It is based on available courses and steps that are comprehensive and helpful.

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RU
API Engineer/IBM Datapower Specialist at Tenece Professional services

The installation was difficult with the IBM toolkit.

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it_user632778 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Solution Engineer at Tjx companies

Initial setup was very straightforward and not complex.

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AR
Lead Architect at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees

The initial setup is a bit complex regarding what you want to put into API Connect because you're giving to a centralized team that has no idea what API to take and use it for. The centralized team is just a team that has no idea what to collect from these hundred teams. You need to have an idea of what you're taking from them and what they're being used for. That's a bit of a challenge. Again, from a new development perspective, it brings a structural way of development of the future API.

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KT
AIT Solution Manager at a retailer with 10,001+ employees

It is not too difficult to work on the solution itself, but to get it to fit within the organization, is something else. There is a vast difference between business models, between a banking setup and a retail setup. One must, first of all, get the business-aligned, because today business plays a bigger role than in the past. With APIs, it's inside-out thinking, meaning that business owners of the data will have to decide how they're going to do it, which is a change in some organizations where IT normally drives the technology. Now, all of a sudden, you have to tell the business, "You have to make decisions which IT will enable".

We used a team of people to implement the solution, and the first time we installed it, we had to pivot twice. All in all, it took us six months, and we had a dedicated team of about 15 people to do it. Once we'd pivoted twice and experimented with it, it took us approximately five months to get it up and going. The latest product, the new iteration, is run through a project, which doesn't have dedicated staff, and it has been ongoing for almost 13 months now. We're not yet done with pivot one.

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Yaser S. - PeerSpot reviewer
Projects Delivery Director at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees

The initial setup is not easy, similar to other IBM products. It's quite complex even with a system integrator and the deployment took some time. We have around 15-20 users on the development side. We plan to increase that in the future. 

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it_user634854 - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief IT Engineer at Kaiser

I wasn't involved in the initial setup process.

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KS
BSS Architect at Saudi Business Machines - SBM

The initial setup was a bit tricky and required a lot of installation and system administration skills. I would rate the setup two out of ten. The deployment took around two minutes and could be automated.

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CristianIriazabal - PeerSpot reviewer
Architect of solutions at Gire S.A.

The initial setup is complex. When setting it up, you will need support. We are using AVP support from IBM. Its an extra support service. I would recommend using this kind of support because it will help your company move quickly in order to set up the different products. IBM AVP stands for accelerated value program.

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WK
ICT Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

The initial setup was too complex (we had problems).

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it_user632772 - PeerSpot reviewer
Architect Advisor at a wellness & fitness company with 10,001+ employees

I was involved in the installation process to some extent. I am from architecture, so usually the infrastructure team would be involved.

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VV
Consulting architect at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees

Setting up API Connect is a straightforward process. Maybe it seems more manageable because I've been taking baby steps rolling it out for the last few years. So when we talk about the latest version, it's not a headache if you follow the documentation. Even for an operations person, it's a piece of cake. 

It takes a minimal amount of time to deploy as a product. Including the processes for the organization, installing the product could take half a day. And when we ask the Ops team to do it, it usually takes half a day for them to do it. They have to document the IP and keep a log of what they're doing. 

API Connect itself does not require any maintenance. But when our teams write the business logic into it, that usually requires some support and maintenance. So a team of two people looks after the whole setup. And they work in shifts. Usually, it works on an onshore-offshore model. So one person from the onshore team will be supporting it for some time, and when he goes off, the other person comes up. 

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DB
CTO & Application Infrastructure Manager at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

The installation is pretty complex. 

We must also take into consideration that I am referring to the on-premises installation, which by definition is much harder, and relatively speaking it is a bit complex.

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PK
IT Integration Consultant at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees

I was involved a little bit with the installation process. I found it complex, as there were lots of configurations involved in setting up the infrastructure and that everyone didn't have experience with.

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it_user632790 - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager with 1,001-5,000 employees

I was involved in the initial setup and it was somewhat complex; medium complexity.

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HG
Associate Director, Cloud Architect at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees

I've never handled an installation before. I wouldn't be able to speak from personal experience. I can't get into details about implementation or deployment or how long the process takes.

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Clement Hsieh - PeerSpot reviewer
Doctoral Researcher at National Chengchi University

The initial setup is pretty straightforward.

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RB
Senior IT Operations Engineer at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees

The initial setup isn't too hard, but it's not easy either. We didn't deploy anything. We just added a gateway.

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it_user579336 - PeerSpot reviewer
Principal Information System Engineer at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees

IBM infocenter for IBM API management and Connect is still not very helpful.It takes lots of reading and terminology know how to correctly configure it.

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it_user634884 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Integration Consultant at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees

The setup is complex but we didn't expect any simple things at such a large scale. It's just too many moving parts - IBM API Connect consists of three main components and they all have to be synced up. There's a lot of setup and networking and then you have to adapt it to your own environment.

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VK
Director at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

The setup is pretty much straightforward.

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it_user229782 - PeerSpot reviewer
Architect at Ness Technologies

Initial setup was straightforward as 50% of the solution was already in place. IBM API runs on IBM Datapower so the setup was only needed for IBM API Management itself.

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Viktor Dolyna - PeerSpot reviewer
DevOps Engineer at Integrity

It is easy to install. It takes one or two days for deployment.

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NM
Technology Consultant at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

The initial setup was straightforward.

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Essam Younis - PeerSpot reviewer
SOA & BP Technical Manager at EJADA

The initial setup and installation aren't easy. It's complex.

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OA
Engineering Technology Services Manager at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

The initial setup is complex. Deployment takes about two weeks for different portals. The knowledge takes up time and then there are some other internal processes, but if I were to take out the internal process I would put implementation at about a week.

The way our organization is set up, we have a team that is responsible for infrastructure setup. We also have a team that is responsible for activation setup. So, a three-man team should be able to do the setup.

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it_user419523 - PeerSpot reviewer
Integration Architect at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees

Initial setup is very well documented and straightforward. However, please refer to API Management experts for the most-optimized solutions.

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it_user217194 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Development/Integration with 1,001-5,000 employees

Initial setup is very simple. Later implementation is a little bit complex (disagreement of reference in documentation, different recommended OS versions for additional parts of the environment etc.)

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AO
CEO at Lopworks Limited

The initial setup and development are straightforward. The cloud is already available, so the development is what takes time. Deploying the cloud just takes clicking. It can deployed in minutes. The on-premise deployment takes two or three hours without issues to set up. if there are issues, it could take a day to set up.

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ZA
Core Banking Business Analyst Manager at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

The initial setup is straightforward, and the installation is easy.

We have a team of ten technicians to deploy and maintain this solution.

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GV
Director of Development and Innovation - CTO at Cofares

Most of the time, the initial setup is complex. Implementation will take from a few hours up to days.

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it_user632796 - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager of Middleware Application Development at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

I was involved in portions of the initial setup. It was complex from the standpoint that there were a lot of components, but it wasn't difficult.

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SM
Integration Architect at a tech services company with 201-500 employees

From a developer's point of view, the installation is easy. From an administrator's point of view, it's a mess, it's too much. I don't come from an administrative background, but I work as a solution architect in the API space and as a guide to the admin team. I'm not sure what the installation timeframe is, but I don't think it's too much of a hassle. It's Kubernetes-based. I think the hassle comes afterward, if you need to solve an administrative or syncing issue. We have a team of one or two admins and about ten developers. 

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NR
CTO at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

I would like to see automation of the installation. If there could be a single-click function where you could automate everything, that would be helpful. There should also be tools to automate the migratation from the older versions to the newer version. That would be another point that would bring my rating of it closer to 10 out of 10.

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AA
Middleware Solution Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

The setup could be made more simpler. We have had to deploy in three instances. The first one had a huge learning curve, though the second one was easier. We find that if we move environments, it takes time to set up. This should be made simpler. We need to do move our BI environment and we have not done that yet because of the setup time. 

The first deployment took almost five days. Right now, we are averaging around a day or two, then we are up and running.

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ST
Open API Technical Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

The initial setup was not as straightforward. Deployment takes a few days. You don't need too many people for the deployment and maintenance of the solution. 

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it_user211761 - PeerSpot reviewer
SOA and Security Consultant at a computer software company with 51-200 employees

It was straightforward.

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IA
Assistant Manager at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

The initial setup was straightforward.

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it_user634806 - PeerSpot reviewer
VP of IT Strategy at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees

Fairly straightforward.

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Buyer's Guide
IBM API Connect
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about IBM API Connect. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.