Looking for APISIX Experts? Find API7.ai
Tags: programming, opensource, apisix, apimanagement
Published: 2023-11-17 14:00:00

Are you curious about Apache APISIX and its connection with API7.ai?

**Q: What is the relationship between Apache APISIX and API7.ai?**

A: APISIX, a dynamic, real-time, high-performance API Gateway, was originally created by API7.ai. In 2019, it was open-sourced and then contributed to the Apache Software Foundation.

**Q: Who is the expert team behind Apache APISIX?**

A: Look no further than API7.ai. After our open-source donation, we continue to invest top talents and resources to support APISIX and its global community, thriving with thousands of contributors and users.

**Q: Searching for professional support and the enterprise version of APISIX?**

A: Reach out to API7.ai. We now offer API7 Enterprise, a comprehensive API management tool with top-tier technical support, building on the robust features of APISIX.

More detailed answers to those questions await in the following sections. Let's dive right in!

## API7.ai: The Expert Team Behind APISIX's Success

Ming Wen and Yuansheng Wang, engineers with over a decade of experience at internet giants, have observed a trend: engineers are increasingly focusing on APIs and microservices in their development, but face challenges like API management, observability, and rapid product releases. Therefore, in 2019, they founded **an open-source infrastructure software company [API7.ai](https://api7.ai/)**, with the goal of efficiently, reliably, and securely helping global enterprises build digital platforms.

In June 2019, just two months later, they **open-sourced [APISIX](https://apisix.apache.org/) on GitHub**. Wen and Wang emphasized a diverse and active open-source community, engaging developers from various backgrounds and expertise levels. APISIX was then donated to the [Apache Software Foundation (ASF)](https://www.apache.org/) in October 2019 and quickly became a top-level project of ASF within just a few months.

From then on, API7.ai has relentlessly enhanced APISIX to stay ahead in the ever-evolving tech landscape. Beyond APISIX's development, API7.ai has also utilized it to introduce enterprise features, leading to the creation of [API7 Enterprise](https://api7.ai/enterprise). This robust enterprise edition enables you to modernize legacy applications, optimize [API monetization](https://api7.ai/blog/what-is-api-monetization), and expedite product delivery with [enhanced security](https://api7.ai/blog/api7-enterprise-fips). To ensure customers enjoy a top-tier experience following the purchase of API7 Enterprise, API7.ai's dedicated expert team, who are also APISIX core maintainers, will offer comprehensive [technical support](https://meetings.hubspot.com/zhiyuan/team).

In the future, [API7.ai](http://api7.ai/) will keep its mission to serve the world's API requests and believe that high concurrency, low latency, safety, and reliability will be the basic requirements of all services.

## API7 Enterprise: Unleash the Potential

After years of steady development, API7.ai remains at the cutting edge of technology by consistently incorporating the latest advancements and features into its open-source and commercial products. Going beyond the gateway APISIX, API7.ai offers a comprehensive API lifecycle management solution called API7 Enterprise.

### Getting to Know API7 Enterprise

[API7 Enterprise](https://api7.ai/enterprise) is built on APISIX, a dynamic, real-time, and high-performance cloud-native API gateway. It not only includes all of APISIX's features but also adds essential enterprise-level functionalities like multi-tenancy, [RBAC](https://api7.ai/blog/rbac-with-api-gateway-opa), and [traffic labeling](https://api7.ai/blog/api7-enterprise-traffic-labeling). You can deploy it on-premise, in multi-cloud, or hybrid-cloud scenarios. It serves as a comprehensive solution for managing the entire API lifecycle, encompassing areas like API design, development, portal management, and [monetization](https://api7.ai/blog/api7-portal-api-monetization).

What is more, API7.ai has achieved [SOC 2 Type 1 certification](https://api7.ai/blog/api7-achieves-soc-2-type-1-compliance) and is compliant with GDPR and [FIPS](https://api7.ai/blog/apisix-fips-140-2), underscoring API7 Enterprise's commitment to security, availability, and confidentiality.

### Case Study: Lotus Cars with API7 Enterprise

Founded in 1948, [Lotus Cars Limited](https://api7.ai/blog/api7-empowers-lotus-cars), a globally acclaimed British automaker known for its lightweight and high-performance sports and racing cars, is embracing the shift towards electrification and sustainability with the upcoming launch of all-electric sports cars in 2026. Yet, Lotus Cars encountered challenges in staying competitive in the fast-evolving automotive industry, especially concerning software technology.

Despite its excellence in brand and manufacturing processes, [Lotus Cars](https://api7.ai/customers/lotus-cars) recognized a critical need for competitive software technology solutions. Besides, bridging the gap between integrating smart technologies and adhering to safety measures and regulatory requirements posed a significant challenge. Lotus Cars also wanted to balance innovation, performance, and security while incorporating advanced technologies into their vehicles, which required robust partnerships and solutions.

In collaboration with API7.ai, Lotus Cars achieved remarkable results in tackling those challenges.

- The deployment of the API gateway system to the production environment was accelerated, and **completed in just 1 month instead of the projected 2 quarters**.

- Moreover, the adoption of API7 Enterprise resulted in a staggering **90% annual reduction in operation and maintenance costs**, encompassing essential tasks like upgrades and bug fixes.

- Lotus Cars also **established a robust internal API landscape**, offering valuable insights into managing API quality and quantity and enabling data-driven market predictions.

Except for Lotus Cars, we have already provided API management solutions to numerous global clients across a wide spectrum of sectors, spanning fintech, blockchain, IoT, and manufacturing. Notable names among our valued users include [Zoom](https://api7.ai/customers/zoom), [iQIYI](https://api7.ai/customers/iqiyi), [vivo](https://api7.ai/customers/vivo), [Hyperchain](https://api7.ai/customers/hyperchain), [Airwallex](https://api7.ai/customers/airwallex), and many others. We empower API management for all types of businesses, improving their management of APIs and giving their teams more freedom.

## Comparing APISIX & API7 Enterprise

When we [compare APISIX with API7 Enterprise](https://api7.ai/apisix-vs-enterprise), it is obvious that APISIX serves as a fundamental component, whereas API7 Enterprise addresses specific business challenges and API management issues by building upon the functionalities of APISIX:

|                                       | **Apache APISIX**                                | **API7 Enterprise**                                                                             |
| ----------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Installation and Maintenance**  | Install, manage, upgrade and maintain by yourself      | You don't need to worry about anything, as a professional technical team will take care of everything |
| **Cost and Distribution**         | Free & open source                                     | Offer pay-as-you-go cloud products and subscribed on-premises products based on the number of CPUs    |
| **Compliance**                    | Ensure yourself                                        | Compliant with GDPR, FIPS and passed SOC 2 Type 1 Audit                                               |
| **Control Plane**                 | Community version without RBAC, workspace, audit, etc. | Out-of-the-box enterprise-level control plane                                                         |
| **Industry Best Practices**       | Not included                                           | Best practices from various industries such as banking, securities, fintech, and manufacturing        |
| **Training and Certification**    | Not included                                           | Training and developer certification from APISIX maintainers                                          |
| **Uptime SLA**           | Not included                                           | 99.5%                                                                                                 |
| **Advanced Features and Plugins** | Not included                                           | GraphQL Rate Limiting, GraphQL Proxy Cache, SOAP protocol conversion, Traffic Labeling and more       |
| **Support**                       | Community support                                      | Technical support from the APISIX core maintainer team to provide critical response SLA               |

Also, [API7 Enterprise](https://api7.ai/enterprise) offers these supplementary features:

| **Identity and Access Management (IAM) Integrations** | Built-in Keycloak and supports connecting to Okta, Auth0 and other identity providers                                                                 |
| ------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [API Portal](https://api7.ai/portal)                           | Expand your reach by offering APIs to internal and external developers, while also monetizing your APIs and generating revenue through flexible plans |
| **Multilayer Network**                                | Determine which data plane to process the API request based on cookies, args, headers, etc. to ensure data compliance and data sovereignty            |
| **Secrets Management**                                | You can manage secrets through environmental variables and HashiCorp Vault                                                                            |
| **Health Insights**                                   | Health insights give you a better understanding of your APIs and data planes                                                                          |

## Why Do You Need API7 Enterprise?

Open source is a dynamic force, cutting across industries and reaching an ever-growing audience. Embracing open source makes software solutions accessible to a wider spectrum, increasing industry awareness of their potential benefits. This inclusivity fosters collaboration among diverse minds, resulting in stronger core components. In the enterprise realm, it is crucial to have a robust API runtime, but it is only part of the equation. API design, security, and [portal](https://api7.ai/portal) are equally pivotal, and this is where API7 Enterprise shines. With deployment options from bare metal and virtual machines to Kubernetes, hybrid cloud, and multi-cloud environments, API7 Enterprise empowers users to manage traffic and expedite product development efficiently.

Regardless of your enterprise's industry, be it communications, [finance](https://api7.ai/solutions/financial-services), e-commerce, or [manufacturing](https://api7.ai/solutions/manufacturing), envision the tremendous potential and efficiency boost that API7 Enterprise can deliver to your daily operations. Whether you are a telecommunications provider striving for seamless patient data exchange, a financial institution requiring rock-solid security for sensitive transactions, an e-commerce powerhouse dedicated to enhancing customer experiences, or a manufacturing leader keen on remaining at the cutting edge of innovation, API7 Enterprise is the key to your success. With flexible deployment options and a comprehensive array of features, it is the transformative solution your enterprise craves. Embrace the API7 Enterprise today and unlock a new era of growth and innovation for your business.

## Summary

Established in April 2019, **the commercial company API7.ai open-sourced the cloud-native API gateway APISIX on GitHub** in June. In October, API7.ai donated APISIX to the Apache Incubator, and then APISIX graduated as a top-level project of the Apache Software Foundation in July 2020. The success of APISIX in the API Runtime domain has paved the way for API7.ai to expand its reach into more areas of API management.

Currently, API7.ai is committed to delivering comprehensive solutions covering API design, development, portal management, monetization, and more, with [API7 Enterprise](https://api7.ai/enterprise) available to valued clients. API7.ai's dedication has earned recognition from many well-regarded institutions. API7.ai garnered distinction by earning a spot on Red Herring's esteemed [Top 100 Global Winners list](https://api7.ai/blog/among-2022-red-herring-top-100-global), while also being acknowledged as a Representative Vendor in Gartner's latest Market Guide for API Gateways.

Besides, for an in-depth look into API7 Enterprise, visit its [introduction page](https://api7.ai/enterprise) to explore all the details. Additionally, for a firsthand look at our user success stories, head over to the [case studies](https://api7.ai/category/usercase) section, where you will discover inspiring narratives of our collaborations with enterprises from different countries and industries.

We invite you to explore API7.ai's robust enterprise solutions, designed to enhance and maximize the APISIX experience. Whether you are looking for improved efficiency, scalability, or advanced functionality, our offerings are crafted to meet your unique requirements. We also welcome inquiries and engagement from potential customers who are excited to discover the potential of seamless integration and innovation. Your curiosity and questions inspire our dedication to delivering outstanding service and solutions.