Gartner defines the application programming interface (API) management market as the market for software to manage, govern and secure APIs. APIs modernize IT architectures. They provide context, tools and resources to generative and agentic AI programs and provide access to systems, services, partners and data services. API management tools enable organizations to plan, deploy, secure, operate, version control and retire APIs, regardless of their size, region or industry.
'Application integration platforms enable independently designed applications, apps and services to work together. Key capabilities of application integration technologies include: • Communication functionality that reliably moves messages/data among endpoints. • Support for fundamental web and web services standards. • Functionality that dynamically binds consumer and provider endpoints. • Message validation, mapping, transformation and enrichment. • Orchestration. • Support for multiple interaction patterns, content-based routing and typed messages.
Gartner defines business orchestration and automation technologies (BOAT) as a consolidated software platform that delivers enterprise process automation by enabling capabilities including orchestration of business processes, enterprise connectivity, low code development and agentic automation. A BOAT platform includes a cross section of certain capabilities from different markets such as business process automation (BPA), low-code application platforms (LCAP), integration platform as a service (iPaaS), intelligent document processing (IDP), robotic process automation (RPA), collaborative workflow management and document management. However, this list is not necessarily all-encompassing.
The market for data integration tools consists of stand-alone software products that enable organizations to combine data from multiple sources and perform tasks related to data access, transformation, enrichment and delivery. They enable use cases such as data engineering, delivering modern data architectures, self-service data integration, operational data integration and supporting AI projects. Data management leaders procure data integration tools for their teams, including data engineers and data architects, or for other users, such as business analysts or data scientists. These products are primarily consumed as SaaS or deployed on-premises, in public or private cloud, or in hybrid configurations.
Gartner defines integration platform as a service (iPaaS) as a vendor-managed cloud service that enables end users to implement integrations between applications, services and data sources, both internal and external to their organization. iPaaS enables end users of the platform to integrate a variety of internal and external applications, services and data sources for at least one of the three main patterns of integration technology use: data consistency, multistep process and composite services. These integration use cases are most commonly implemented via intuitive low-code or no-code developer environments, though some vendors provide more complex developer tooling.