Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the cloud company that powers and protects life online, today 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.”
In addition, the Magic Quadrant for Cloud Web Application and API Protection states:
- By 2024, 70% of organizations implementing multi-cloud 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, the recent Akamai Web Application and API Threat Report 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 a 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.”
