Google LLC has developed a new version of its Apigee platform for managing application programming interfaces that includes artificial intelligence automation features and expanded security controls.

The new version, Apigee X, was launched today.

APIs are what applications use to interact with the outside world: They provide a channel for both inbound requests and outgoing data traffic. Apigee, in turn, is an API management platform available via Google Cloud. Google originally obtained the platform in 2016 by acquiring a startup of the same name for $625 million.

Apigee X, the new version announced today, brings with it several automation features powered by machine learning. The platform can analyze API activity logs and show administrators the times when request volumes are highest, information that helps with capacity planning. If a payment processing service receives more transaction requests during weekends, the service’s operator could spin up additional cloud instances to meet the increased demand. 

The AI models added in by Google also detect suspicious requests, as well as identify APIs that don’t meet a company’s compliance rules. The security enhancements are part of a broader set of upgrades in Apigee X meant to provide stronger breach protection for the platform’s customers. 

Companies can now scramble data passing through an Apigee-managed API using their own encryption keys rather than ones provided by Google. That’s more complicated, but comes with more control: Administrators can change the default encryption algorithm and periodically rotate encryption keys. As a way of further reducing an API’s attack surface, Apigee X now provides the option to accept requests from users only in specific network locations.

The other new features focus in large part on enabling Apigee customers to make better use of Google’s cloud infrastructure. The update expands the number of Google Cloud data center regions on which APIs can be deployed to 24 and the number of supported points of presence to more than 100. If an application supports users in multiple regions, its API can be deployed on local hardware in each region to reduce latency.

“It’s not enough to simply use the cloud, have APIs, or even adopt API management,” Amit Zavery, the vice president of Google Cloud’s business application platform, wrote in the blog post announcing Apigee X today. “Rather, the requirement is digital excellence: the ability to rapidly and repeatedly deploy and scale, and to consistently deliver on digital programs.”

Image: Google