Apigee, an API management and predictive analytics solution provider, has teamed up with Pivotal to bring Apigee’s Edge Microgateway API management capability to the Pivotal Cloud Foundry platform.
The companies announced the collaboration at the SpringOne Platform 2016 conference in Las Vegas on August 2. Apigee Edge Microgateway is a lightweight solution that enables enterprises to manage their APIs in a hybrid environment. The new integration with Pivotal enables developers to take advantage of Apigee’s API management services for use with APIs and microservices built on the Pivotal platform.
“Enterprises are struggling with the complexity of a microservices architecture,” said Ed Anuff, vice president of strategy at Apigee, in a statement. “Hands down the most challenging aspect of managing microservices is the sheer scale of inter-microservices communication. The hub-and-spoke model of managing inter-services communication from legacy ESB [Enterprise Service Bus] vendors simply cannot scale.”
In a blog post about the Pivotal collaboration, penned by Anuff and other Apigee engineers, he talks about how APIs are everywhere and thus so should API management be. He also notes that APIs are the new way code connects to existing apps.
“Consequently, one can think of APIs as connecting front ends to apps, apps to back ends, third parties to apps, internal apps to apps, and, if one explodes an app, then APIs are even inside the app itself, in connections between microservices,” the post said.
With this new Pivotal integration, Apigee has made adding API management seamless in the context of where an app is being built, such as in Cloud Foundry Platform as a Service (PaaS). Apigee Edge is now available as a service that is invoked from the Service Broker API. Developers can introduce API management to a Pivotal Cloud Foundry app in two easy steps, Anuff said.
Meanwhile, also on August 2, Pivotal announced the launch of its new channel initiative, the Pivotal Ready Partner Program. Pivotal officials said the new channel program is aimed at growing the already strong Cloud Foundry ecosystem and helping customers with digital transformation using the PaaS. More than 25 inaugural partners have joined the program, including Accenture, Altoros, Cognizant, among other key channel players.
Pivotal launched the program exclusively to support the system integrator and consultant community. There are two tiers to the program: registered and advanced. Registered is the base level tier where partners begin developing knowledge and expertise around Pivotal Cloud Foundry, the company said.
Meanwhile, partners on the advanced tier must make a deeper investment with Pivotal and are likely to have or be building a practice around Pivotal Cloud Foundry. Advanced partners see benefits such as discounted fees on select instructor-led courses, an assigned Pivotal Alliance Manager, and an appointed Pivotal Platform Architect.
“From the C-level down, companies are facing digital transformation and must change how they deliver software and data,” said Nick Cayou, vice president of Global Alliances at Pivotal, in a statement. “These same companies are making strategic, long-term decisions that designate Pivotal Cloud Foundry as the core platform for all future digital initiatives, allowing them to respond quickly and meaningfully to market opportunities and threats.”
Pivotal also announced collaborations with many of its new channel partners.
“At Accenture we take a Cloud First approach to transformation of our clients’ businesses,” said Nigel Barnes, managing director and lead technology architect at Accenture, in a statement. “By joining Pivotal’s new partner program we are better positioned to serve our clients and help shape product direction to address the needs of enterprises.”