Google buys Apigee for $625 million

Google on Thursday announced plans to acquire Apigee, makers of an API management platform and predictive analytics software, for roughly $625 million.

APIs, or application programming interfaces, are a key component in a company's digital arsenal, as they enable developers to integrate backend services with outside mobile and web-based apps. In fact, research firm Forrester predicts spending on API management will reach nearly $3 billion by 2020.

While there are many companies providing API management tools, Google says it was drawn to Apigee for its supporting features around security, testing support, and usage analytics.

"The addition of Apigee's API solutions to Google cloud will accelerate our customers' move to supporting their businesses with high quality digital interactions," said Google SVP Diane Greene, in a blog post. "Apigee will make it much easier for the requisite APIs to be implemented and published with excellence."

Currently, Apigee's API platform is used by a number of enterprises and consumer brands, including Walgreens, which uses Apigee to manage the photo and prescription APIs that it provides to third-party developers.

Going forward, Google said it plans to utilize Apigee's API management platform to bolster the Google App and Google Container engines, ultimately making it easier for these services to provide exported APIs.

Additionally, Google said it will integrate Apigee's platform with the open-source container management tool Kubernetes.

"Looking ahead, Kubernetes will be integrated to help enterprises get better control and visibility into how their internal systems talk to one another, an additional part of deploying services," Greene said. "As always, we'll make sure that these capabilities are available in the public clouds and can also be used on-premises."