Exploring API Center: A Deep Dive with Julia Casper

In this episode of the Azure on Air podcast, host Michael Stephenson indulges in a conversation with Julia Casper, a Product Manager in the API Management team at Microsoft. Julia has a wealth of experience in the developer division and has a strong interest in dev tooling. This conversation delves into her background, her role in the API Management team, and the exciting developments around API Center.

Background and Experience

Julia joined Microsoft four years ago as a Microsoft Consultant in Germany, where she lived for two years before moving to Redmond, US. She started as an end-to-end Product Manager, focusing on the developer division and dev tooling. Her role involved understanding typical customer journeys and ensuring a smooth end-to-end experience across various Microsoft products.

The Idea Behind API Center

API Center, previously called API Catalog, was developed to address the challenge of API sprawl faced by many customers. With multiple API management instances deployed across different regions, teams, and products, customers needed a better way to manage and discover APIs. API Center provides an inventory of APIs, enabling better transparency and control over the APIs within an organization.

Discovering APIs with API Center

API Center helps developers discover existing APIs within their organization, making it easier to reuse and build upon existing functionality. By integrating with Visual Studio Code, developers can quickly find and register APIs, streamlining the development process. This integration also enables developers to follow best practices, such as CI/CD pipelines, and trace the life cycle of an API from source code to deployment.

API Center vs. API Management Portal

In the discussion of API management solutions, the contrast between API Center and API Management is noteworthy. While API Management is a more mature product, API Center focuses on internal developers, providing a self-hosted option for greater flexibility in customizing the portal experience. API Center also offers API governance features, such as API design governance, which complement the runtime perspective provided by API Management.

Getting Started with API Center

To get started with API Center, users can sign up for a free plan on Azure and import a few APIs to test the platform’s capabilities. Key features to explore include API governance, the Visual Studio Code extension, and the self-hosted portal for API discovery.

Reach Out for Product Feedback

As a young product, API Center is eager to receive customer feedback to help shape its development. The team is committed to working closely with big customers to ensure a great fit and continuous improvement.

Stay tuned for future updates and conversations about this exciting tool.