# How LPL Financial Modernized APIs with a Unified Kong Gateway

George, an enterprise architect at LPL Financial, explains how the firm transformed a fragmented API landscape into a governed API-first platform. When he joined, LPL had multiple gateways, inconsistent policies, limited visibility into where APIs lived or who used them, and no reliable review process for security, compliance, or uptime. The modernization centered on three control layers across the SDLC: a contract layer using OpenAPI specifications in SwaggerHub as the source of truth, an enforcement layer built with Kong and infrastructure as code, and a visibility layer powered by a Kong operations dashboard with telemetry and observability data. LPL also introduced a 22-point API review process, a crawl-walk-run-fly rating model to encourage adoption, standardized templates and bundled policies for internal and external APIs, and a self-service onboarding tool. The result was reduced gateway sprawl, faster and more consistent deployment, stronger governance, and a foundation that later helped LPL launch an AI gateway and an adviser chatbot quickly.