# Evolving Connectivity: From ESB to API Gateway for Superior Customer Experiences
In this eBook, we explore the differences between ESBs and API gateways — and how these technologies together can help organizations provide delightful experiences to their customers.
## The Role of ESBs and API Gateways in Customer-Centric IT
For the modern enterprise, providing delightful experiences founded on customer obsession has become an all-encompassing task. A [Forrester research](https://www.forrester.com/report/the-state-of-customer-obsession/res136701)Forrester research shows customer-obsessed companies reporting 2.5 times higher revenue growth and 2.2 times better customer retention.
However, implementing systems that put the customer in the center requires harnessing all of the organization's resources in a way that is greater than the sum of its parts. Connectivity plays a key role in providing that delightful experience making it a key part of any modern IT infrastructure. Back in the day, the Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) was the primary provider of connectivity for a [service-oriented architecture](/blog/learning-center/soa-in-web-services)service-oriented architecture (SOA).
However, times are changing. Organizations are moving towards decentralization, replacing monoliths with microservices, and abandoning the idea of having whole organizations use a single tech stack in favor of having a diversity of languages, platforms, and solutions. They're liberating siloed data and modernizing legacy applications, and they're using APIs to do so. In addition, organizations are migrating their services and applications to the cloud.
In the midst of all this, connectivity to provide connected customer experiences is even more critical than before. [API gateways](/blog/learning-center/what-is-an-api-gateway)API gateways are a modern solution for connectivity that free up teams to provide the innovation and efficiency that modern enterprises require.
In this eBook, we'll discuss:
- - Connectivity for delightful experiences
- - What is an ESB? What are the benefits and drawbacks of an ESB?
- - What is an API gateway? What benefits does an API gateway provide?
- - How do API gateways compare to ESBs?
- - The power of ESB + API gateway for the modern enterprise