Hello and welcome! This session kicked off Leap 2.0!

Introduction with Budha - What to expect today, why API governance, how to make the most of today!

Opening keynote with Sophie - API Governance: From chaos to collaboration

What to expect:

• The API governance challenge
• A shift in mindset
• People and processes
• Tools and technologies
• The future of API governance

According to Akamai, 83% of the traffic on the web is API traffic. HTTP APIs have been commonplace for a major portion of this century. After 25 years of expanding HTTP API sprawl, API governance has become one of the top concerns of business and engineering leadership. Join Kin Lane, the API Evangelist, former API governance lead at Bloomberg, and Chief Evangelist for Postman, for a walk-through of the fundamentals of API governance, covering schema, APIs, rules, operations, change, and evangelism--bringing standardization and consistency to private and public enterprise APIs.

An API platform is more than a technology concern. API platforms power ecosystems that involve your developers, partners, and customers. Each API within your platform must address business and user needs while driving measurable outcomes. In this talk, James will explore some of the common API platform challenges and the role that API governance has in supporting a successful API platform. Along the way, we will explore recommendations to ensure your platform empowers every stakeholder while adapting to market needs.

AI governance is essential as AI systems grow in power and complexity. This talk breaks down the AI Supply Chain into Vendors, Interfaces, Data, and Tooling, showing how each ensures reliability, accountability, and efficiency. We compare structured AI toolchains with multimodal AI Operators and introduce Tyk AI Studio, a governance-focused solution. Gain key insights on implementing governance frameworks to keep AI efficient, controllable, and scalable.

And that’s a wrap! After nearly six hours of insightful discussions, expert keynotes, and thought-provoking panels, this closing recaps API governance, AI supply chains, and the future of innovation. From deep dives into governance frameworks to embracing the chaos of modern API strategies, LEAP was packed with actionable takeaways. But this isn’t the end—it’s just the beginning. Keep the conversation going, stay curious, and take that next leap forward!

Northwestern Mutual is one of the largest financial services providers in the U.S., serving over 5 million customers with 6,700+ advisors. APIs are critical to our business, backed by a mature API platform engineering team.

To enhance Developer Experience, we merged seamless API creation with centralized governance using automated workflows. This talk explores the tools—Kubernetes, KEDA, OpenTelemetry—powering our API platform, along with key people and process changes.

What we will cover:

1. Challenges balancing API creation & governance at scale
2. Implementing an automated workflow-based governance model
3. Metrics of success & outcomes achieved

Join industry experts Jennifer, Abby, and Carol as they break down the evolving roles of DevOps, SRE, and platform engineering. Learn how platform engineering enhances scalability, how to balance API governance with developer autonomy, and why automation is key to seamless compliance. Discover best practices for reducing API sprawl, improving developer workflows, and embedding governance without slowing innovation. If you’re looking to optimize your platform strategy, this session is a must-attend!

APIs have become essential for modern IT, but as new use cases emerge, event-driven architectures are gaining importance. Effective governance is critical for both APIs and events to ensure security, quality, and consistency. This presentation will explore the commonalities and differences between API governance, event API governance, and event governance, providing clarity on how each is crucial in different contexts.

Is API governance an essential investment or an unnecessary constraint? Our expert panel debates when governance truly matters, how it impacts innovation, and whether a “boring” governance strategy is the best one. Discover real-world insights on balancing compliance with creativity, avoiding governance pitfalls, and maximizing ROI in tech-driven organizations. Don't miss this deep dive into making governance work for you.

Managing APIs at scale requires balancing autonomy and governance. Traditional centralized models slow teams down, while full decentralization risks security and compliance. Federated API Management offers a middle ground, enabling teams to manage APIs independently while maintaining clear policies and control. This talk explores practical strategies and common patterns for implementing governance without creating bottlenecks, helping organizations improve security, streamline operations, and scale their API strategy effectively.

Managing APIs at scale requires balancing autonomy and governance. Traditional centralized models slow teams down, while full decentralization risks security and compliance. Federated API Management offers a middle ground, enabling teams to manage APIs independently while maintaining clear policies and control. This talk explores practical strategies and common patterns for implementing governance without creating bottlenecks, helping organizations improve security, streamline operations, and scale their API strategy effectively.

This session’ll explore how GitOps patterns enhance API management and infrastructure deployment at ZEISS. I’ll share how we structure and roll out GitOps principles with Argo CD, ensuring automation, consistency, and scalability.

The live demo will be the highlight, where I’ll showcase:

• Bootstrapping Argo CD on Azure AKS
• Implementing a multi-tenancy strategy in Argo CD
• Provisioning Tyk APIs using Tyk Operator
• By the end of this session, you’ll gain practical insights into GitOps-driven API management, learn how to handle multi-tenant deployments and see a real-world example of automated API provisioning in a cloud-native environment.

Is API observability the missing link in your governance strategy? Many think they understand it—but do they? In this session, we debunk myths, redefine observability, and explore its critical role in governance. With a panel of industry experts, we dive into how observability enhances control without stifling innovation. Don’t miss this engaging discussion that will reshape how you think about API governance! Watch now to gain fresh insights.

Welcome to the grand unveiling of the Tyk AI Studio - our latest offering to accelerate AI adoption securely and flexibly, enabling businesses to own their AI supply chain! Tyk AI Studio provides an AI gateway and comprehensive suite of capabilities to manage, govern, and interact with AI across your organization:

• Centralized AI management
• AI gateway
• AI portal
• AI chat

APIs power modern businesses, yet they also create a growing environmental footprint. This talk, “API Governance Meets Sustainability: Strategies for Implementers,” digs into how strong governance can rein in that footprint. We’ll explore the booming API market—projected to jump from USD 4.50 billion in 2022 to USD 9.70 billion in 2025—and why this surge demands a new look at sustainability. For instance, organizations are encouraged to reuse 30% of APIs to minimize redundant efforts and infrastructure, thereby reducing environmental impact.

By the end of this talk, implementers will be equipped with strategies to develop and manage APIs that drive innovation and business value and contribute to a more sustainable digital future.

Join Matt Tanner for an in-depth look at how artificial intelligence is reshaping API governance, from heightened data privacy considerations to automated policy enforcement. Discover key strategies for integrating responsible AI principles—including bias mitigation and transparent design—into your existing API frameworks. Attendees will walk away with actionable insights to balance innovation and oversight, ensuring that AI-driven APIs remain secure, compliant, and future-proof.

API gateways are a great enforcement point for route-level authorization, but there's no standard way to connect gateways and authorization systems. Well, that's about to change: OpenID AuthZEN aims to be for authorization what OpenID Connect is for authentication: a standard way to connect policy enforcement points with policy decision points. Learn how AuthZEN makes it easy to provide a first line of defense for all your APIs.

API governance is about making good APIs into great APIs that are delightful and productive to publish and consume. These dizzy heights aren't achieved in a single day though, so let's talk through the process of introducing and evolving API governance in a way that supports progress rather than being a hurdle.

As organisations deploy more APIs, a strong API Governance program is a must to guarantee consistency, security, compliance, and developer efficiency. In this talk, we will discuss how JSON Schema (the schema language behind OpenAPI and others) is the key ingredient that truly unlocks API Governance, how schemas are ironically the most neglected and underutilized component when authoring API specifications, and what you can do about it.

This talk highlights why governance is critical in event-driven architectures (EDAs), the pain points when it’s missing, and how the AsyncAPI specification can be a perfect pain killer.