Kong Service Catalog: The Producer Side of API Discovery

Kong Service Catalog has been introduced as part of Kong's API discovery initiative to address the gap in producer-side API discovery, transforming Kong Konnect into a comprehensive API discovery platform. Unlike traditional API management solutions that focus on consumer-side discovery, Kong Service Catalog provides a holistic view of an organization's service ecosystem, including shadow APIs, by integrating with third-party tools and enforcing governance through scorecards. This approach allows for the documentation of all services, offering real-time compliance visibility and reducing the risk of shadow APIs, unmanaged services that can lead to security issues. The Service Catalog features an object model based on integrations, resources, and services, reflecting the actual operation of services in the real world. By leveraging the existing API platform, it reduces the need for standalone internal developer platforms and avoids tool sprawl, enabling teams to manage service discovery and governance more efficiently within the Kong Konnect interface.