How Eneco replaced 900 integration services with a modern API architecture
Eneco relied on TIBCO as its integration layer, but a growing number of point-to-point integrations created complexity, increased costs and limited agility. Together with AppyThings, Eneco modernized its integration architecture using Apigee. By replacing 900 ESB services with 200 reusable REST APIs, the organization created a more scalable, secure and efficient foundation for future growth.
Eneco is one of the largest energy suppliers in the Netherlands and operates across the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom.
The company has set an ambitious goal of becoming climate neutral by 2035 together with its customers. To support that ambition, Eneco invests heavily in renewable energy production, energy storage solutions and smart energy technologies.
As digital innovation became increasingly important across the organization, a modern integration strategy became essential.
The challenge: moving beyond point-to-point integrations
For many years, Eneco relied on TIBCO as its primary integration platform. While the platform enabled connectivity between systems, the architecture had gradually evolved into a large network of point-to-point integrations.
This created several challenges:
- Increasing integration complexity
- High operational and licensing costs
- Limited flexibility for new digital initiatives
- Slower implementation of new integrations
- Difficult maintenance of existing services
- Growing demand for lightweight API connectivity
Eneco needed a modern integration architecture that would reduce complexity, improve reuse and support future scalability.
The goal was not simply to replace a platform. The goal was to rethink how systems could connect and exchange information across the organization.
The solution: building a reusable API ecosystem with Apigee
AppyThings helped Eneco transition from a traditional ESB-based integration model to an API-first architecture built on Apigee.
Instead of maintaining hundreds of tightly coupled integration services, the focus shifted towards reusable APIs that could serve multiple consumers and use cases.
As part of the transformation:
- TIBCO was phased out as the primary integration layer
- 900 ESB services were consolidated into 200 REST APIs
- APIs were designed for reusability across the organization
- OAuth was implemented to secure API access
- APIs were published through a developer portal
- Self-service consumption was enabled for development teams
- API development standards were introduced through a structured cookbook and best-practice framework
This approach helped create a more manageable, scalable and future-proof integration landscape.
From integration complexity to API reuse
One of the biggest advantages of the new architecture was the ability to move away from one-off integrations. Instead of building a new connection every time a system needed data, teams could consume existing APIs through a standardized platform.
This created several benefits:
- Reduced duplication of integration logic
- Greater consistency across projects
- Faster delivery of new services
- Easier maintenance
- Improved governance and security
The developer portal played an important role in this transition. By making APIs discoverable and accessible through self-service, development teams could reuse existing capabilities instead of creating new integrations from scratch.
The result: lower costs and greater agility
The API transformation delivered measurable improvements across the organization.
Key outcomes included:
- Significant cost reduction: By replacing a large number of legacy integration services with reusable APIs, Eneco achieved substantial annual savings.
- Faster delivery: The new architecture improved the speed at which APIs could be developed, modified and deployed.
- Greater business agility: Development teams gained easier access to integration capabilities, enabling faster support for new initiatives and changing business needs.
- High availability: The platform achieved 99.99% API uptime, providing reliable connectivity for critical services.
- Better monitoring and alerting: Extensive API logging, monitoring and alerting capabilities gave teams greater visibility into platform usage and performance.
- Stronger API governance: Standardized development practices helped ensure consistency, security and maintainability across the API ecosystem.
- A strategic shift towards API management: For Eneco, the project was about more than technology. It was about creating a clear vision for how APIs could support the business.
As Maarten van Oostveen, Product Owner Integration Team at Eneco, explains:
"AppyThings has been a great help for Eneco to develop a vision on API management. This has led to an improved time to market and cost reduction."
Why this matters
Many organizations still rely on integration architectures that were never designed for today's digital demands.
Over time, point-to-point integrations become difficult to manage, expensive to maintain and slow to evolve.
The Eneco project demonstrates how API-led architecture can simplify integration landscapes while creating greater agility and business value.
By focusing on reusable APIs, self-service consumption and standardized development practices, organizations can reduce complexity while accelerating innovation.
Looking to modernize your integration landscape?
Legacy integration platforms and point-to-point architectures can quickly become barriers to growth.
AppyThings helps organizations modernize integration landscapes, implement API management platforms and build reusable API ecosystems that support long-term digital transformation.
Want to reduce integration complexity and accelerate innovation? Talk to our experts.
