Azure API Management
Azure API Management is a fully managed service that enables organizations to publish, secure, transform, maintain, and monitor APIs in a scalable way. It acts as a gateway and management layer for APIs, providing features like authentication, rate limiting, caching, and analytics. It helps developers create consistent and modern API gateways for existing back-end services hosted anywhere.
Developers should use Azure API Management when building microservices architectures, exposing internal APIs to external partners, or managing API lifecycle in cloud-native applications. It is essential for scenarios requiring API security (e.g., OAuth, JWT validation), traffic management (e.g., throttling, load balancing), and monetization (e.g., usage plans, subscriptions), particularly in Azure-based ecosystems.