6 Reasons To Monetize Your APIs With Apigee

APIs are more than just a technical tool; they connect systems, partners, and customers while opening new business opportunities. But having APIs isn’t enough on its own. To get real value, you need to manage them effectively and find ways to monetize them.

Building an API monetization strategy is the first step. The next is choosing a platform that meets your needs while giving you flexibility and control.

Apigee API monetization helps you turn digital assets into revenue streams, improve efficiency, and create smarter, data-driven experiences for your users. In this article, we’ll explore six key reasons why Apigee is a strong choice for monetizing APIs.

1. FORRESTER NAMED APIGEE THE 2020 Q3 API MANAGEMENT PLATFORM LEADER

In its Forrester Wave™: API Management Solutions, Q3 2020, Forrester assessed 15 API management solutions and named Google Cloud’s Apigee as the leader.

Google Cloud received the highest possible scores in the market presence and strategy categories, which included criteria such as product vision, planned enhancements, and current offerings. Apigee also ranked strongly in areas like API user engagement, REST documentation, lifecycle management, data validation, security, analytics, and reporting.

This recognition highlights Apigee’s strong foundation for organizations looking to build scalable and secure API programs.

2. RECOGNIZED BY GARTNER FOR FULL LIFECYCLE API MANAGEMENT

Running an effective API program requires more than publishing endpoints. It demands full lifecycle API management.

According to Gartner, this includes everything from planning, designing, and testing to publishing, operating, and retiring APIs. It also requires:

• Developer portals for managing and engaging API consumers
• Runtime management and monitoring
• Analytics to understand usage patterns and estimate value

Apigee delivers across all these areas, earning Gartner’s recognition as a leader in full lifecycle API management for the fourth time. Its platform simplifies API complexity and provides the control needed for growth.

3. PROVEN MARKET PRESENCE

Apigee’s capabilities are trusted across industries and sectors worldwide. Organizations using Apigee for digital transformation include:

• 6 of the top 10 healthcare companies
• 7 of the top 10 retailers
• 5 of the top 10 financial services firms
• 6 of the top 10 telecom providers

Even during challenging times, many enterprises continued investing in Apigee to strengthen their digital ecosystems and deliver better connected experiences.

4. FASTER LAUNCH, SMARTER LEARNING

Apigee API monetization provides extensive, end-to-end capabilities to create, configure, and manage a wide variety of API packages, revenue models, reports, payment gateways, and developer portal integrations.

This robust functionality enables API providers to launch faster and gain valuable insights from monetization sooner. Some of the flexible and easily scalable tools included are:

• Monetization reports: Access detailed usage information and transaction activity, including apps, developers, API product bundles, and other transactions within a chosen date range. Reports can be generated as summaries or detailed analyses to track API usage effectively.
• Billing adjustments: Make changes to billing details, such as increasing or decreasing revenue shares for a custom billing period, to correct discrepancies or adapt to evolving agreements.
• Developer credits: Issue credits for developer options with maximum flexibility and track them automatically through Apigee.
• Refunds: Provide customers with a simple, flexible way to refund developers for “purchase transactions” in case of errors or other issues.
• Scheduled monetization jobs: Set up pre-scheduled jobs to run at designated times, automating routine processes and ensuring consistent operations.

These capabilities allow organizations to manage monetization efficiently while maintaining full control over their API ecosystem.

5. FLEXIBLE AND CUSTOMIZABLE FOR UNIQUE NEEDS

Every API monetization strategy is different, and Apigee makes it easy to adapt.

Whether you want to charge developers individually, share revenue, or bundle offers into rate plans, Apigee lets you configure it all. You can:

• Define which API calls qualify as monetized transactions
• Set rules and limits for usage
• Combine or switch between different pricing plans

This flexibility ensures your monetization approach grows alongside your business goals and developer ecosystem.

6. RICH, OUT-OF-THE-BOX REPORTING FOR EVERY USER TYPE

Data drives the digital world, and Apigee’s API monetization platform provides the granular insights businesses need to make informed decisions. Its out-of-the-box reporting tools cover API traffic, developer consumption, adjustments, and credits, giving a clear view of the value your APIs deliver.

These reports help all types of users, including business managers, developers, and executives, to gain actionable insights into your API program. Specifically, they allow you to:

• Analyze billing: Understand developer usage patterns across different billing cycles.
• Monitor prepaid balances: Track user balance refills and reconcile them with your payment processor.
• Evaluate revenue generation: See how different developers contribute to overall revenue.
• Track variance: Identify trends in the performance of API products and packages across developers and applications.

By providing this level of visibility, Apigee simplifies management, streamlines the billing process, including taxes and international support, and ensures businesses can optimize their API monetization strategy with confidence.

API MONETIZATION IN ACTION: KELLER WILLIAMS AND SOFTSERVE

Andrea Barto, Director of Engineering at Keller Williams, collaborated with SoftServe’s dedicated Apigee practice to improve automation and streamline agents’ daily activities by opening Keller Williams’ API to external vendors.

Keller Williams first selected Google Cloud’s Apigee for its versioning capabilities, robust security, and ease of use within its developer portal. SoftServe then optimized multiple Apigee platform integrations, including:

• Building the API specifications for the Developer Portal
• Applying standards such as OpenAPI and OAuth 2
• Setting up smart alerts and notifications for error handling
• Integrating Google Services (Pub/Sub, Stackdriver) into API proxies using extensions
• Configuring API usage thresholds and quotas
• Organizing the SDLC of API development using Apigee Edge
• Coordinating the setup of the CI/CD pipeline with CircleCI
• Providing production support for external vendors and customers via Apigee Monitoring & Analytics Dashboards
• Introducing a testing automation strategy
• Using Apigee API versioning capabilities to provide legacy support

By optimizing API management with Apigee, Keller Williams can leverage its existing digital assets to create additional revenue streams while tracking usage and analytics for reporting. The platform has also simplified daily operations for agents, enhancing the overall experience for all stakeholders.

CONCLUSION

APIs are a great way to create new opportunities, connect partners, and deliver value to customers. With the right strategy and platform like Apigee, you can turn your digital assets into revenue streams, gain actionable insights, and simplify operations.

SoftServe’s dedicated Apigee team can help you design, implement, and optimize API monetization so you get the most value from your APIs.

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