One option is to deploy APIM (API Management) inside the cluster VNet. The AKS cluster and the applications that consume the microservices might reside within the same VNet, hence there is no reason to expose the cluster publicly as all API traffic will remain within the VNet. For these scenarios, you can deploy API Management into the cluster VNet. API Management Premium tier supports VNet deployment. Reference: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/api-management/api-management-kubernetes