WHY GARTNER’S “CONTEXT MESH” CHANGES EVERYTHING AI CONNECTIVITY: THE ROAD AHEAD DON’T MISS API + AI SUMMIT 2026 SEPT 30 – OCT 1
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  4. Keynote: Scaling for Success - How Michaels Transformed Its API Strategy with Kong Konnect
Video

Michaels' API Transformation: From Kong Gateway to Konnect

Join Uma Bhemisetty, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Michaels, as he shares the company's transformative journey from Kong Gateway Open Source to Kong Konnect.

Since 1973, arts and crafts specialty retailer Michaels has been sparking creativity for millions But behind Michaels’ operations, there’s creativity on the technology front as well. Driven by the need to handle seasonal retail demands and reduce business risks, particularly during critical shopping periods like Black Friday, Michaels has transformed its approach to API management, using Kong — starting with Kong Gateway and then moving to Kong Konnect — to revolutionize their API management and fortify their infrastructure. 

Read the full story about how Michaels achieves API excellence with Kong here.

In retail, our business is very seasonal. It’s very important to have platforms that can scale and fluctuate with incoming customer traffic.

Uma Bhemisetty
Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Michaels
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