Spencer Nguyen - February 1, 2022
Tyk is becoming increasingly popular among developers who want to create a secure microservices-based architecture and connect apps and services that comprise a cloud and hybrid cloud IT infrastructure. Tyk may not be right for you and your company for several reasons.
Tyk says it can “empower your teams” and “put your devs in the driving seat.” It also calls itself the “leading cloud-native API and service management platform.”
But how true are these claims?
In this guide, discover more about Tyk and what it does. Then learn why Tyk may not be right for you.
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What is Tyk?
Tyk is a cloud-native API gateway management tool for modern application development. Launched in 2014 under the Mozilla Public Licence (MPL), Tyk has been developed using the Go HTTP server and written in the Go programming language. However, you can integrate it with plugins written in Javascript, Python, and other languages.
Depending on which tier you pay for, you can run Tyk on-premises, in the cloud, or the hybrid cloud via Heroku or AWS. You can deploy Tyk via Kubernetes or Docker and, depending on your tier, can access analytics about API metrics such as latency, uptime, and CPU. All of these metrics help you improve API design and usage.
Usability
Some developers might find Tyk difficult to use. That’s because it doesn’t automatically generate REST APIs like other gateways. If you can’t import an existing API, you’ll need to hand-code the API, which can take up an enormous chunk of resources and time.
Why Tyk May Not Be Right For You: Performance
Tyk has many useful API management features:
- Container optimization
- The ability to handle up to 50,000 daily requests
- The opportunity to connect APIs without worrying about forks
However, the tool only supports HTTP-based transformation, making it hard to transform legacy apps via SOAP or REST. Seeing how REST, in particular, provides lots of flexibility for developers when handling multiple call types and returning different data formats, That’s another reason why Tyk may not be right for you and your team when performing specific jobs. It’s also worth noting that Tyk deployment can only happen via the Redis and MongoDB system databases.
DreamFactory is a Tyk alternative that enables users to incorporate any REST, JSON, SOAP, HTTP, or XML service, making it the ultimate solution for legacy service transformation. You can also deploy DreamFactory across MySQL, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, or SQLite databases and use native connections to SQL and NoSQL databases. Start your free trial and learn why Tyk may not be right for you.
Cost
One of the main problems with Tyk is its cost. Although available under the MPL license, users are restricted when using the open-source version for commercial purposes. So many developers need to upgrade to one of three paid tiers for commercial production and unlock extra features such as the ability to program additional nodes. These three paid tiers (SaaS, On-Premises, and Enterprise) range in features. SaaS, the cheapest of the three, offers commercial licensing, but you can’t install the platform on-premises or in the cloud, making this tier restrictive for developers. You only get advanced analytics and the option to deploy nodes with Docker at the On-Premises tier and optimization for containers and container orchestration at the Enterprise level.
Customer Service
Tyk considers customer service a premium feature, with no 24/7 phone support on the SaaS and On-Premises tiers. There is also no live chat, so that’s why . However, the platform offers an extensive database of tutorials, including guides about publishing an API, integrating Tyk with other services, and developing API strategies. If having great constant customer is a priority for you, then Tyk may not be right for you.
DreamFactory offers phone, email, and chat support, as well as 24/7 engineer support. Learn more.
Why Tyk May Not Be Right For You: Final Verdict
While Tyk performs standard API management tasks well, it might not suit developers who want to transform legacy apps via SOAP or REST. Nor will it help users who need to use system databases other than Redis and MongoDB. Plus, 24/7 phone support and optimization for containers are only available at the top pricing tier. These are just some of the reasons why Tyk may not be right for you.
Generate a full-featured,documented, and secure REST API in minutes.
Sign up for our free 14 day hosted trial to learn how.
Get Started With DreamFactory
Developing APIs can be a complex, time consuming, and expensive process. It also exposes businesses to a number of risks including consistency, quality, and developer resourcing. DreamFactory is a REST API generation tool for 20+ databases and a range of other data sources. It gives you the ability to generate secure and fully documented APIs in a matter of minutes. Ready to get started?
DreamFactory is an API gateway solution that integrates with more services and offers more flexibility than Tyk. Start your free trial now.
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As a seasoned content moderator with a keen eye for detail and a passion for upholding the highest standards of quality and integrity in all of their work, Spencer Nguyen brings a professional yet empathetic approach to every task.