apidays Munich 2025 - Developer Portals, API Catalogs, and Marketplaces, Miriam Greis (codecentric AG)

Developer Portals, API Catalogs, and Marketplaces
Miriam Greis, Lead API Consultant at codecentric AG

apidays Munich 2025 - Accelerate AI Use Cases with APIs
July 2 & 3, 2025

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Transcript

1. Developer Portals, API Catalogs, and Marketplaces: Choosing the Right Tool for API Consumers 2
2. 4 Dr. Miriam Greis Lead API Consultant miriam.greis@codecentric.de www.linkedin.com/in/miriam-greis Talk to us at the booth right at the registration. Introduction
3. 5 Agenda Why This Matters Developer Portals vs. Catalogs vs. Marketplaces The Missing Piece When to Use What? Final Thoughts & Takeaways
4. 6 APIs are critical for digital strategies and managing them at scale is increasingly complex. APIs Are Everywhere The Growing Complexity of API Ecosystems
5. 7 APIs are critical for digital strategies and managing them at scale is increasingly complex. Discoverability, onboarding, integration, governance, monetization, operations, versioning, deprecation, … APIs Are Everywhere Many Topics to Handle The Growing Complexity of API Ecosystems
6. 8 APIs are critical for digital strategies and managing them at scale is increasingly complex. Discoverability, onboarding, integration, governance, monetization, operations, versioning, deprecation, … Each serves a unique purpose but is often confused. Choosing the right one impacts adoption and success. APIs Are Everywhere Many Topics to Handle Portals, Catalogs, and Marketplaces The Growing Complexity of API Ecosystems
7. - “Where is the right API for my use case?” - “Why are there multiple APIs that seem to do the same thing?” Discoverability 9 The Real Pain Points of API Consumers 21
8. - “Where is the right API for my use case?” - “Why are there multiple APIs that seem to do the same thing?” Discoverability 10 The Real Pain Points of API Consumers 21 - “How do I get started quickly?” - “Why do I need to read 20 pages of docs before making my first API call?” Onboarding
9. - “Where is the right API for my use case?” - “Why are there multiple APIs that seem to do the same thing?” Discoverability Integration & Usage - “How do I make this API work in environment?” - “Is this API stable, reliable, and secure?” 11 The Real Pain Points of API Consumers 21 - “How do I get started quickly?” - “Why do I need to read 20 pages of docs before making my first API call?” Onboarding
10. - “Where is the right API for my use case?” - “Why are there multiple APIs that seem to do the same thing?” Discoverability Integration & Usage - “How do I make this API work in environment?” - “Is this API stable, reliable, and secure?” 12 The Real Pain Points of API Consumers 21 - “How do I get started quickly?” - “Why do I need to read 20 pages of docs before making my first API call?” Onboarding Business Alignment - “Can I use this API commercially?” - “There are too many APIs, and I don’t know which one to use.”
11. 13 Agenda Why This Matters Developer Portals vs. Catalogs vs. Marketplaces The Missing Piece When to Use What? Final Thoughts & Takeaways
12. 14 Developer Portals “Developer portals provide self-service access to APIs, enabling seamless onboarding, documentation, and integration support.”
13. 1515 Technical stakeholders as the primary audience.
14. 16 Developer Support SDKs, sample code, Bruno/Postman collections API documentation Authentication & API key/token management Interactive API exploration and sandboxes Features
15. 17 Helps developers understand how to use the API. Improves self-service adoption of APIs. Reduces friction in integration and first-time use.
16. 18 Catalogs “Catalogs organize and govern APIs for better discoverability and consistency.”
17. 1919 Internal technical stakeholders as the primary audience.
18. 20 Standardization of API contracts & dependencies Centralized API inventory API metadata Governance and policy enforcement Search, filtering, and categorization Features
19. 21 Improves API reuse by making APIs easier to find. Reduces duplicate API development and sprawl. Enforces governance and consistency across teams.
20. 22 Marketplaces “Marketplaces connect API providers with consumers to enable monetization and partnerships.”
21. 23 23 External business and technical stakeholders as the primary audience.
22. 24 API pricing models Ratings, reviews, and community engagement Legal agreements & SLA visibility Billing & revenue sharing mechanisms Provider & consumer onboarding Features
23. 25 Expand API adoption beyond internal teams. Help business leaders track API consumption effectively. Support commercialization and revenue generation.
24. 26 Agenda Why This Matters Developer Portals vs. Catalogs vs. Marketplaces The Missing Piece When to Use What? Final Thoughts & Takeaways
25. 27 What about the API lifecycle and evolution?
26. 28 We can discover APIs… but who ensures consistency, versioning, and smooth evolution?
27. 29 Registries “Registries manage API Artefacts for Lifecycle Transparency.”
28. 30 30 API owner as the primary audience.
29. 31 Centralized API Definition Storage Schema & Dependency Awareness Versioning & Change Tracking Lifecycle State Management Features
30. 32 Ensures API lifecycle transparency. Provides a structured source of API artefacts. Improves collaboration.
31. 33 Registries support API producers and governance teams by providing structured artefact management, while portals, catalogs, and marketplaces focus on API consumption.
32. 34 Agenda Why This Matters Developer Portals vs. Catalogs vs. Marketplaces The Missing Piece When to Use What? Final Thoughts & Takeaways
33. 35 Is API sprawl complicating governance and discoverability? Do developers struggle to find and use APIs? Are you ready to scale API adoption beyond internal use?
34. 36 Mapping Consumer Needs Consumer Need Developer Portals API Catalogs API Marketplaces Discoverability Onboarding Integration & Usage Business Alignment
35. 37 Mapping Consumer Needs Consumer Need Developer Portals API Catalogs API Marketplaces Discoverability ❌ Not the primary focus ✅ API metadata, categorization, taxonomy ✅ APIs listed based on pricing or ecosystem fit Onboarding Integration & Usage Business Alignment
36. 38 Mapping Consumer Needs Consumer Need Developer Portals API Catalogs API Marketplaces Discoverability ❌ Not the primary focus ✅ API metadata, categorization, taxonomy ✅ APIs listed based on pricing or ecosystem fit Onboarding ✅ Tutorials, interactive docs, SDKs, sandbox ❌ Not a core function ❌ Limited to API descriptions Integration & Usage Business Alignment
37. 39 Mapping Consumer Needs Consumer Need Developer Portals API Catalogs API Marketplaces Discoverability ❌ Not the primary focus ✅ API metadata, categorization, taxonomy ✅ APIs listed based on pricing or ecosystem fit Onboarding ✅ Tutorials, interactive docs, SDKs, sandbox ❌ Not a core function ❌ Limited to API descriptions Integration & Usage ✅ self-service ❌ Primarily a governance tool ✅ Pre-built integrations, API contracts Business Alignment
38. 40 Mapping Consumer Needs Consumer Need Developer Portals API Catalogs API Marketplaces Discoverability ❌ Not the primary focus ✅ API metadata, categorization, taxonomy ✅ APIs listed based on pricing or ecosystem fit Onboarding ✅ Tutorials, interactive docs, SDKs, sandbox ❌ Not a core function ❌ Limited to API descriptions Integration & Usage ✅ self-service ❌ Primarily a governance tool ✅ Pre-built integrations, API contracts Business Alignment ❌ Mostly developer-centric ✅ Supports API lifecycle governance ✅ Enables monetization & partnerships
39. 41 API Consumer Access Model (ACAM)
40. 44 Agenda Why This Matters Developer Portals vs. Catalogs vs. Marketplaces The Missing Piece When to Use What? Final Thoughts & Takeaways
41. 45 Where do you see gaps in your API ecosystem? Where are you? How do you enable API consumers today?
42. 47 Developer Portal, Catalog or Marketplace? • All tools serve different but complementary roles. • API consumer adaptation depends on choosing the right tool. "APIs are more than just interfaces—they power ecosystems. Choose the right tools to support your consumers and unlock real business value." Miri codecentric API Consulting:
43. 48 Learn from a real world story
44. codecentric AG | Hochstraße 11 | 42697 Solingen Creating the digital future together. 49 codecentric AG | Hochstraße 11 | 42697 Solingen Creating the digital future together.