Akamai places highest in Ability to Execute and furthest for Completeness of Vision for Cloud Web Application and API Protection

Akamai Technologies, Inc., the cloud company that powers and protects life online, announced it was named a Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader for Cloud WAAP for the sixth year in a row. In a companion report called Gartner Critical Capabilities for Cloud Web Application and API Protection, Akamai scored highest in 3 out of 4 use cases for cloud-based WAAP: API Security and DevOps, High Security, and Web-Scale Business Application.

The Magic Quadrant for Cloud Web Application and API Protection was previously published as the Magic Quadrant for Web Application Firewalls and Akamai has been named a Leader for six consecutive years. The report analyzes the market of cloud App & API Security solutions and evaluates providers on their ability to execute and completeness of vision. The report notes:

“The overall cloud WAAP market is mature, though some segments are quite dynamic, such as bot management and API threat protection. Unlike the WAAP appliance market, which is dominated by replacement purchases, the cloud WAAP market continues to experience double-digit growth, thanks to new customers, new applications to protect, and shifts from appliances to cloud-delivered security.”

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In addition, the Magic Quadrant for Cloud Web Application and API Protection states:

• By 2024, 70% of organizations implementing multicloud strategies for web applications in production environments will favor cloud web application and API protection platform (WAAP) services over WAAP appliances and IaaS-native WAAP.
• By 2026, 40% of organizations will select a WAAP provider on the basis of its advanced API protections and web application security features — up from less than 15% in 2022.
• By 2026, more than 40% of organizations with consumer-facing applications that initially relied only on a WAAP for bot mitigation will seek additional anomaly detection technology from specialized providers — up from less than 10% in 2022.

Cybersecurity professionals are faced with evolving and emerging threats, increasing the demands of the role. For example, Akamai’s recent threat report for Apps & APIs stated that Web application attack attempts against customers grew by more than 300% year over year in the first quarter of 2022.

“Threat actors are constantly evolving to evade protections, both by retooling existing attacks and by finding new vulnerabilities to exploit. We believe that to be named a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Cloud WAAP for the sixth year in a row is testament to Akamai’s dedication to continuously innovate and stay ahead of evolving threats,” said Eric Graham, Akamai’s vice president of product management. “We protect the most valuable, highly sought-after brands in the world and we appreciate both Gartner’s recognition and the feedback of customers for our WAAP solutions.”

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CUSTOMER RECOGNITION

According to the report, “Akamai’s customers continue to rate its vendor support highly, which is a notable achievement for a large platform provider. Consistently strong customer support creates trust and drives Akamai’s adoption when prospective customers ask to request peer reference calls.”ⁱ

Here are some additional comments from Akamai customers from the 2022 Gartner® Peer Insights™ “Voice of the Customer” Web Application and API Protection report:ⁱⁱ

“Akamai Is the gold standard for edge security. They have protected us for more than a decade and continue to innovate and improve” –Senior Technology Director in the Retail Industry
“Very good experience especially when it comes to automatically block new zero day exploits for example the recent log4J zero day was implemented on WAF very fast.”     –Head of Service & Security Management in the Government Industry

“The Swiss Army Knife for layer 7 protections. Able to construct “0-day” mitigations for “0-day” threats. Reduce cloud hosting costs by shedding unwanted traffic. Improved customer experience by reducing latency and increasing uptime. Peace of mind knowing we are safe from intruders.” –Solutions Architect (Security) in the Banking Industry

“Akamai plays an important role in areas of security and performance. While the Akamai products are fantastic at what they do, what really stands them apart is the level of service they provide. The Akamai team truly feels like an extension of our own team. They genuinely care about the success of our business and are very proactive in helping us to fully leverage the platform and improve in areas of security and performance.” –A Chief Technology Officer