Oracle announced plans to acquire Apiary, the API management company with a focus on API design and collaboration, on January 19. Apiary is best known for API flow, its API management platform.
Oracle has not indicated how it plans to use Apiary, although the FAQ does make it clear it has no plans to shutter the service: "Oracle is committed to protecting and enhancing customer investments in Apiary solutions. After the close of the transaction, Oracle plans to continue investing in Apiary and Oracle’s API Integration Cloud. We expect this will include more functionality and capabilities at a quicker pace. In addition, Apiary customers will benefit from better integration and alignment with Oracle’s other product offerings."
In 2016, Oracle acquired a slew of cloud-based services like NetSuite, OPower, and Logfire. As Oracle added more service offerings to its cloud services portfolio, API proliferation and its management has become an inevitable consequence. Oracle states that through this acquisition, Apiary’s strengths in API design and governance would complement its strengths in API security, monetization, and analytics.
Oracle’s acquisition is another example of consolidation in the API management space, which saw three big companies being acquired in 2016. Redhat acquired 3scale in June, Google acquired Apigee in September and Rogue Wave acquired Akana in November.
There are many factors driving this acquisition spree in API management space. One important reason is that APIs are key enablers of the enterprise digital transformation. “APIs offer a new way for businesses to connect existing assets with those of their customers, partners, and employees”, says Ross Mason, founder of MuleSoft. Another reason is that microservices are gaining popularity as a preferred application architecture among developers. APIs are the cornerstone of this architecture where services interact with each other through APIs. “Microservices design pattern requires an API gateway”, says Chris Richardson, one of the original founders of CloudFoundry and author of the microservices.io website. Another big trigger is the Internet of Things. APIs will glue together the Internet of Things, which will contribute to a proliferation of APIs that needs to be managed efficiently.
The financial terms of the Oracle-Apiary deal were not disclosed. Founded in 2011, Apiary has so far raised more than $8 million in funding, with the most recent one in August 2015, where they secured a $6.8 million dollar funding. Oracle noted that the transaction is not yet complete, but with Apiary being a privately owned company, it should be straightforward.