IT Glossary
What is an API gateway?
The single entry point through which every request to an application's services passes: it checks them, throttles them and routes them.
Picture a company headquarters with dozens of offices. Visitors do not knock on each door individually; they pass the reception desk, which identifies them and sends them where they need to go. An API gateway plays exactly that role for an application made of several services. It receives all incoming requests, verifies who is sending them, applies traffic limits and forwards each one to the right service. Without it, every service would have to solve authentication, security and routing on its own, which means duplicated work and, inevitably, a few doors left ajar. For your company the gateway means one place to control and secure in front of partners and mobile apps: rules applied consistently, fewer possible weak points, and new integrations launched faster because nobody has to touch the services behind it. It is also the natural place to meter usage, which turns out to matter as soon as an API becomes something you charge for.
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Why it matters for your business
Security enforced in one place
Authentication, filtering and rate limits are configured once at the door rather than separately in every service, where gaps inevitably appear over time.
Internal services free to evolve
You can rewrite or relocate the services behind it without partners and client applications noticing anything — the public address stays exactly the same.
Full visibility of traffic
Every request passes one point, so you know precisely who uses the API, how often and with what errors — essential data for both billing and debugging.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an API gateway if I only have one application?
Usually not. A gateway earns its keep once you have several services or several external consumers — a mobile app, partners, a website. For a straightforward monolith, a well-configured web server with sound security rules covers the same ground.
What is the difference between an API gateway and a load balancer?
A load balancer merely distributes traffic across identical servers without understanding the requests. A gateway works at the API level: it knows who you are, what you are permitted to ask for and which service should answer. In practice the two often sit together.
Which API gateway products are used in practice?
In the cloud: AWS API Gateway, Azure API Management, Google Apigee. Open source: Kong, Tyk or Traefik. The choice depends on where your services run and how much control you want over monthly running costs.
Let’s talk about your project
Message us on WhatsApp or send an email — you talk directly to a developer.
office@northdan.com · +40 752 070 247