In API management, the trend is to source from multiple vendors.
Gartner had flagged this last year in the Magic Quadrant dedicated to this market. It goes further this year: multi-sourcing has become standard… in exchange for a risk of fragmentation that federated architectures can help mitigate.
Another trend has solidified: a growing share of API management solution users are developers. Marketing strategies have evolved accordingly. But some vendors still lack visibility with this audience. including a few that Gartner labels as “leaders.” Specifically, Axway, Boomi and, to some extent, IBM.
17 Vendors, 7 “Leaders”
In 2024, Boomi was regarded as a “niche player.” Over the past year, it has clearly advanced in both “execution” (the ability to actually meet market demand) and “vision” (strategies: sectoral, geographic, commercial, marketing, product…). Axway and IBM were already “leaders.” The same goes for Google Cloud, Gravitee, Kong, and Salesforce. This cannot be said of SmartBear, which dropped to “visionaries.”
On the “execution” axis, the situation is as follows:
| Rank | Vendor | Annual Change |
| 1 | = | |
| 2 | IBM | = |
| 3 | Salesforce | + 2 |
| 4 | Kong | + 5 |
| 5 | Boomi | + 8 |
| 6 | Axway | – 3 |
| 7 | Gravitee | + 3 |
| 8 | WSO2 | + 6 |
| 9 | Microsoft | – 5 |
| 10 | SAP | – 3 |
| 11 | AWS | – 5 |
| 12 | Sensedia | + 5 |
| 13 | SmartBear | – 2 |
| 14 | Tyk | – 6 |
| 15 | Workato | new entrant |
| 16 | Postman | – 1 |
| 17 | Solo.io | – 1 |
On the “vision” axis :
| Rank | Vendor | Annual Change |
| 1 | Kong | = |
| 2 | Boomi | + 12 |
| 3 | Gravitee | + 3 |
| 4 | Salesforce | + 3 |
| 5 | IBM | – 1 |
| 6 | – 4 | |
| 7 | Tyk | + 4 |
| 8 | Postman | – 5 |
| 9 | Axway | – 4 |
| 10 | SmartBear | – 2 |
| 11 | Microsoft | + 1 |
| 12 | Workato | new entrant |
| 13 | SAP | = |
| 14 | WSO2 | – 5 |
| 15 | Sensedia | = |
| 16 | Solo.io | – 6 |
| 17 | AWS | = |
Axway: with the iPaaS project, less agility in AI
As last year, Axway stands out for federated API management. Gartner also praises the recent launch of an iPaaS component. It also appreciates how partnerships (Stoplight, Ping, Graylog, Traceable…) reinforce the business model, just as acquisitions do (notably the one of Sopra Banking Software, whose merger with Axway produced 74Software). A plus is also its ability to scale internationally, with multilingual documentation and localized UI.
Also as last year, developer visibility remains limited. Axway is also slower than the competition to deliver “advanced” AI features (the focus on iPaaS partly explains this, as does the restructuring of its stack around the notion of events). Gartner also notes sales growth well below the market average.
Boomi struggles to engage developers
The past year marked a turning point in Boomi’s view of API management, so it now relies less on a sole iPaaS to differentiate itself. The acquisitions of APIIDA and TIBCO Mashery accompanied a revamp of the offering, paired with a roadmap Gartner welcomes. At the same time, Boomi’s commercial presence broadened, both geographically and through stronger partnerships (ServiceNow and AWS in particular).
In API management, Boomi remains, relative to the other leaders, a smaller player in revenue and market share. It also does not enjoy the same developer footprint (its marketing is perceived as aimed at business users and IT decision-makers). Caution is warranted regarding integration with third-party gateways, which can be complex.
Apigee “generously” positioned as a complement to GCP
Google Cloud distinguishes itself on the innovation front, among other things because it grafted onto Apigee capabilities that support API design by agents (with support for A2A and MCP protocols). Gartner also values the options for monetizing AI traffic and detecting misuse. It adds product stability and the ability to handle the most complex use cases… provided you have the right expertise.
However, Google Cloud continues to position its products as complements to GCP rather than standalone solutions. Some customers report being encouraged to migrate. The product itself is fairly complex to operate. And despite positive price changes, long-time customers express concerns about the cost/benefit ratio.
Gravitee has yet to sectorize its offering
Beyond flexible deployment, Gravitee benefits from independence from any cloud, ERP, or iPaaS. Gartner notes that it quickly delivered an AI gateway handling the MCP protocol (aimed at opening to agent meshes). A positive point also for its commercial performance (revenue up 70% year over year), paired with simple pricing.
Compared with the other “leaders,” Gravitee lacks visibility. It still has not verticalized its approach. And its client base remains largely concentrated in Europe (buyers in other regions will question service and support).
IBM, little considered outside its ecosystem
IBM earns praise for the breadth of functionality of its offering. It is also recognized for deployment flexibility and the delivery of AI-focused features (prompt management, LLM routing). Gartner also notes the diversity of its clientele (sizes, regions, sectors) as well as its sales and support networks.
The acquisition of webMethods has created a duplicate within the catalog (even more so if you consider that Red Hat has its own API management offering), which remains the case even though IBM has promised convergence. Big Blue also tends to reach primarily those organizations that are already its customers in other segments (it is evaluated little otherwise). And over the past year, its sales grew below the market average.
Kong: pricing can be confusing
Kong stands out for the AI-driven features it has recently delivered (API generation, specifications, and MCP servers). It also maintains strong visibility through events, partnerships, and a presence on major marketplaces. Gartner also welcomes the launch of Serverless Gateways (lightweight, serverless gateways) and the Event Gateway (which manages Kafka streams), integrated with its service mesh.
As with Gravitee, there are no sector-specific solutions in the catalog. Also beware of the learning curve that Kong solutions require, on top of the confusion that service-based pricing and additional charges for items like portals, tests, and analytics can cause. Gartner notes a limited presence in South America, the Middle East, and Africa compared with other “Leaders.”
Salesforce remains one of the most expensive providers
In addition to its sales presence and partner network, Gartner notes that Salesforce has managed to expand into the SMB segment (small and medium-sized businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees), which accounts for 30% of MuleSoft’s business. Integration with the rest of its portfolio has helped attract a large customer base. Salesforce enjoys strong brand recognition overall, including among developers.
Beyond remaining one of the most expensive providers, MuleSoft also features a complex pricing structure that can lead to unexpected costs. It is perceived as more reactive than innovative, particularly in AI. And its capabilities remain limited in monetization as well as API testing, and in gateway federation.
