Persistent & Kong team up on enterprise AI control layer

Persistent Systems and Kong have formed a strategic partnership to help enterprises put artificial intelligence systems into production. Under the agreement, Persistent becomes a global systems integration partner for Kong.

Together, they will work on what they describe as a control layer for managing APIs, data and AI systems across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. The partnership combines Kong's API and AI connectivity platform with Persistent's delivery capabilities in AI and modernisation projects.

The deal comes as large organisations move from early AI trials to broader deployment across business systems. That shift has increased demand for tools and services that can connect models, data pipelines and software interfaces while applying common rules for access, monitoring and governance.

Persistent will help customers implement Kong's technology across both existing and new environments. The work will include modernising older API estates, applying central governance controls and supporting AI workloads across a mix of on-premise and cloud systems.

The partnership is also intended to support generative AI and agentic workflows, including architectures based on the Model Context Protocol. The companies highlighted features including protection for Personally Identifiable Information, centralised access management and observability across API and AI interactions.

Control layer

The announcement reflects a broader shift in how enterprise technology teams are approaching AI deployments. Much of the focus has moved from simply securing access to large language models to building the operational structures needed to manage how AI applications interact with data, internal systems and third-party services.

For many companies, APIs are taking on a larger role as the mechanism through which AI services are connected and controlled. In practice, the challenge is less about experimenting with a single model and more about managing a web of applications, data flows and agents spanning multiple environments.

Persistent said the partnership aligns with its AI-first and platform-led approach. It said the aim is to give customers a clearer path from limited AI projects to broader deployment, with tighter control over risk, governance and operations.

Anand Krishnan, Executive Vice President, Persistent, said: "Enterprise AI will not be defined by who has access to models. It will be defined by how effectively organizations can govern how intelligence flows across their systems. APIs are no longer just integration points. They are the control layer for enterprise AI. Our partnership with Kong brings together Persistent's engineering-led approach with a unified connectivity platform to help clients move from fragmented AI initiatives to scalable, production-grade systems. Together, we are enabling enterprises to build AI that is secure, controlled and ready to deliver real business outcomes."

Enterprise demand

Kong, which develops software for API management and AI connectivity, is seeking to position itself around the infrastructure layer between AI models, applications and enterprise data sources. It said customers want ways to secure and govern traffic across both conventional APIs and newer AI workloads without creating separate management systems for each.

That issue has become more pressing as companies introduce AI tools into customer service, software development, internal search and workflow automation. In each case, organisations need ways to control who can access systems, what data can be used and how activity is monitored for compliance and audit purposes.

Ken Kim, Senior Vice President and Head of Business Development, Kong, said: "Enterprises are moving fast to put AI into production, and APIs are critical for connecting services, data, and model endpoints across complex environments. At Kong, we are building the AI Connectivity infrastructure so organizations can secure, manage, govern, and scale traffic across APIs and AI workloads on any model or any cloud. We are excited to have Persistent as a key global integration partner, bringing deep digital engineering expertise that complements our unified API and AI platform. Together, we can help customers modernize integration and deploy enterprise AI with consistent policy enforcement, secure access controls, and strong observability and audit trails."

Persistent, which is listed in India, has built its business around digital engineering and enterprise modernisation work for large customers. The partnership with Kong gives it another route into AI-related transformation projects as clients seek outside support to integrate new AI services with older technology estates.

For Kong, the agreement adds a global services partner that can take its platform into larger implementation programmes. That matters in enterprise AI projects, where software purchases often depend on whether suppliers can show how the technology will be integrated into existing systems and governance models.

The joint offering is intended to reduce fragmentation in enterprise AI environments by bringing APIs, data services and AI interactions under one governed layer, with policy enforcement, access controls and audit trails built into the operating model.