CA Technologies has acquired application programming interface (API) management and security provider Layer 7 Technologies, giving CA an inroad into an area of technology boosted by the growth of mobile and cloud.

APIs are designed to let applications talk to each other, so that an e-commerce site can process an online transaction calling on a user’s bank details or a smart meter can connect to a utility system and back to an energy monitoring company. Canadian firm Layer 7, founded in 2002, offers technology that manages these API integrations, to check they are working properly and securely.

According to CA, the acquisition will let customers deploy cloud, mobile and Internet of Things initiatives, accelerate service delivery and govern API activity to enforce SLAs. CA plans to combine the Layer 7 technology with its own identity management and Lisa application delivery suite.

Layer 7 pointed out that there were more than 8,000 public APIs available at the end of 2012, meaning “there is a vast library of proprietary components and data that need to be managed and secured from unauthorised access”.

Jacob Lamm, executive vice president of Strategy and Corporate Development at CA, said the firm is “really really excited” about the Layer 7 deal, which has only just been signed so still has to officially go through. He explained that the technology is a critical part of rounding out CA’s authorisation and authentication services.

“Think of the front door as the identity management, you knock on the door, we need to tell if you are who you say you are,” he told V3.

“The back door are the applications, the APIs. Now especially with the cloud, with mobility, any application can be connected to hundreds of other services. How do I know they are who they say they are. We need to manage the connections between all those applications. API governance and security, that’s what Layer 7 adds to our security perimeter.”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Layer 7 acquisition follows hot on the heels of Intel’s purchase of Mashery last week.

Mashery also offers developers a way to manage application programming interfaces (APIs). Intel said that the team will report to its Services Division, founded in 2011 in a bid to have a potential revenue stream from devices that don’t use its chips.