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Kong API Gateway: The optimal solution for scalable and secure API management systems

In the modern IT world, powerful, scalable and secure API gateways are crucial for the success of digital applications. For companies in the financial sector, especially banks and insurance companies, reliable API management is essential to meet regulatory requirements, manage data securely and control integrations efficiently. This is where Kong comes into play: an open source API management solution that is characterized by high performance, flexibility and security.

3 min read

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Why is an API gateway like Kong necessary?

Banks and insurance companies operate in highly complex IT environments in which numerous APIs connect different services with each other. An API gateway offers numerous advantages here:

  • Security: The protection of sensitive customer data is a top priority. Kong enables secure management of API access through strong authentication and authorization mechanisms. Technologies such as OAuth2.0, JWT and Mutual TLS (mTLS) ensure end-to-end encryption and protection against attacks. In addition, rate limiting enables requests to be limited in order to prevent misuse or DDoS attacks.
  • Scalability: Financial organizations need to process millions of requests per second. Kong is designed to scale horizontally to handle increasing loads. By using a lightweight, high-performance proxy mechanism, it can be seamlessly integrated into large enterprise infrastructures. Kubernetes support also facilitates management and scaling in cloud environments.
  • Monitoring & Analytics: Kong offers extensive logging and monitoring functions that enable real-time monitoring of API usage. Integration with tools such as Prometheus, Grafana or Datadog helps to identify and resolve problems at an early stage. Detailed audit logs also ensure that companies meet regulatory requirements and ensure traceability.
  • Central control: With Kong, companies can manage all API interfaces centrally. Policies for authentication, rate limiting and access control can be enforced via a unified platform. This makes it easier to establish consistent security and compliance standards and roll out changes quickly.
  • Integration & flexibility: Kong is extremely flexible and supports hybrid and multi-cloud environments. Whether AWS, Azure, Google Cloud or on-premises, the API gateway can be used in various IT infrastructures. Kong can also be easily integrated into modern DevOps workflows and automated using infrastructure-as-code approaches (e.g. Terraform).

The advantages of Kong

Kong is one of the leading API gateways and offers numerous features that make it the ideal choice for companies:

1. high performance & scalable

Thanks to an architecture based on NGINX, Kong can process millions of API requests per second. It is lightweight and resource-efficient, making it suitable for both small and large companies. Thanks to built-in caching mechanisms and efficient load balancing, performance remains constant even under high load.

2. security at enterprise level

Kong offers comprehensive security mechanisms, including OAuth2.0, JWT, mTLS and rate limiting, to protect APIs from unauthorized access and DDoS attacks. This is particularly important for banks and insurance companies that are subject to strict compliance requirements such as PSD2, GDPR and FINMA guidelines.

3. platform independence & cloud capability

Whether on-premises, cloud or hybrid – Kong supports a wide range of deployment models. This facilitates integration into existing IT landscapes, whether in Kubernetes clusters, AWS, Azure or Google Cloud. This allows companies to react flexibly to changing market conditions.

4. automation & DevOps integration

Thanks to its RESTful APIs and CI/CD integration, Kong fits seamlessly into modern DevOps and Infrastructure-as-Code practices. Automated deployment and management of API configurations enable efficient software development. With GitOps strategies, changes can be versioned and rolled out automatically.

5. expandability through plugins

Kong offers a variety of plugins to extend the functionality, from logging and monitoring (Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog) to traffic control and security (Rate Limiting, OpenID Connect). Companies can develop their own plugins to meet specific requirements.

Use cases for banks and insurance companies

1. open banking & PSD2 compliance

Kong’s strong authentication and authorization capabilities make it ideal for Open Banking APIs regulated by PSD2. Banks can grant third-party providers controlled access to financial data while maintaining the highest security standards.

2. API security and protection of sensitive customer data

With Kong, zero-trust architectures can be implemented to make financial transactions more secure. Unauthorized access is prevented by mTLS and strict authentication measures. Auditing mechanisms also ensure seamless traceability.

3. migration to microservices

Many banks are modernizing their monolithic applications. Kong facilitates the transition to microservices by efficiently managing API connectivity. Services can be developed, tested and scaled independently, shortening time-to-market and accelerating innovation.

Conclusion: Why ONLU relies on Kong

As an experienced IT consulting company with a focus on banks and insurance companies in Switzerland, we at ONLU rely on proven technologies to provide our customers with first-class solutions. Kong API Gateway is one of the most powerful platforms for managing APIs securely, scalably and efficiently. Our expertise helps banks and insurance companies to accelerate their digital transformation while meeting compliance requirements.

Do you need advice or support with the implementation of Kong? Contact us – we will be happy to assist you!

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