In a podcast episode featuring Nuwan Dias, Vice President and Deputy CTO at WSO2, the discussion delves into effective API lifecycle management and the critical components needed for successful API programs, including strategy, governance, security, testing, and deployment. Dias emphasizes the importance of treating APIs as products and the role of dedicated API teams in operationalizing API-first thinking at scale. He highlights the need for platform engineering to streamline the development and deployment processes, enabling consistency and reliability across APIs while maintaining developer autonomy. The conversation also explores the challenges of platform engineering, such as overengineering and resource management, and the necessity of aligning platform and product teams closely. Additionally, the role of AI in enhancing API development and platform engineering is discussed, cautioning against potential risks while acknowledging AI's potential in improving efficiency and product quality. Dias stresses the importance of a product mindset for both platform and API management to ensure a seamless developer experience and successful API deployment.