Akamai Recognized as a Leader in 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Web Application and API Protection; Furthest in Ability to Execute

Akamai Also Received Highest Scores in Three of Four Use Cases in Gartner Critical Capabilities Companion Report

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (AKAM), the world’s most trusted solution for protecting and delivering digital experiences, has been recognized by Gartner as a Leader in the 2021 Magic Quadrant for Web Application and API Protection (WAAP). Gartner analysts evaluated eleven vendors based upon their ability to execute and completeness of vision. Akamai was placed highest in ability to execute in the newly-named report. The report is an evolution of the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Web Application Firewalls where Akamai was named a Leader the past four consecutive years by Gartner.

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Gartner also published its 2021 Critical Capabilities for Cloud Web Application and API Protection report. This is a companion report to the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Web Application and API Protection, which evaluates WAAP offerings’ ability to protect web applications and APIs. In the report, Akamai received the highest scores in three out of the four use cases including API Security and DevOps  (3.60/5), High Security (3.76/5), and Web-Scale Business Application (3.91/5).

According to Gartner’s Hype Cycle for Application Security, 2021, “Cloud web application and API protection products are cloud-delivered multifunction web application security products, integrating at least four core features: web application firewall, DDoS protection, bot management and API protection. WAAP is an evolution of the role of the web application firewall, driven by enterprises’ need to better defend against multiple threat vectors while significantly growing their number of publicly exposed web applications and APIs.”

Akamai has seen the dramatic increase in API calls firsthand. Securing APIs requires solutions that are tailored to deal with deep API message inspection, API specification management, authentication and authorization, and anti-automation.

Gartner states, “Security and risk management leaders should favor WAAP that provides easy-to-consume controls and more specialized protections against advanced bots and evolving API attacks.”  According to Gartner, “By 2026, 40% of organizations will select their WAAP provider based on advanced API protections, as well as web application security features.

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Akamai believes that a holistic web application and API protection solution includes adjacent security capabilities that cover an ever-expanding range of threats. In 2020, Akamai was the first cloud WAAP solution to introduce automatic API discovery and profiling capabilities.

Earlier this year, Akamai introduced the Adaptive Security Engine,a core foundation for its web application security portfolio designed to automatically adapt protections with the sophistication of attacks, while reducing the effort to maintain and tune policies. Bot visibility and mitigation capabilities are also included to provide insight into the impact of bots on digital properties.

“The one constant in web application and API security is change,” said Amol Mathur, Vice President of Application and Network Security Product Management, Akamai. “Akamai has continued to deliver significant advancements in our WAAP products that make it easier for our customers to keep pace with the rapidly accelerating and changing threat landscape, while simultaneously increasing operational efficiencies and developer tooling. We believe these important advancements in our WAAP portfolio contributed to our Leader position in this Gartner Magic Quadrant report.”

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Continued Customer Recognition

According to the report, “Akamai’s customers give the vendor high marks for customer support experience, including the expertise and assistance they receive from both technical support and managed services.” Additionally, Akamai’s ability to protect data, websites and applications and the ease of use of its web security solutions is confirmed by customers.

Based on reviews on Gartner Peer Insights as of September 20, 2021, here’s what Akamai customers had to say:

• A Technical Lead in the services industry says, “This software (Kona Site Defender) has great features in order to protect business assets and organizational resources from DDoS attacks and various cyber threats. It provides high accuracy while dealing with threats. It can protect both websites and devices including mobile with great accuracy. It can block malicious websites and content related to advertisements that might damage business security.”
• A Software Development Engineer in the retail industry says, “Best Security Product For DDoS And Web Application Attacks. “KSD is the best security tool I have used. It’s simple and easy and the support is amazing. The fact that KSD offers customizable protections is very helpful and the features are all useful and on point.”
• A Cyber Automation Expert in the finance industry says, “We have been working with Akamai to protect our core assets and it has been worth every dollar spent. We run an yearly DDoS simulation exercise to test Akamai DDoS and WAF controls and the results justify the investment.”
• A Network Product Manager in the finance industry says, “Kona has provided a significant improvement in security and provides visibility that was not previously available. It is a core product in our strategy for securing our customer-facing applications.”

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