F5 and VMware Strengthen End-User Computing Offerings to Enhance ANZ Customers’ Virtual Desktop Infrastructures

Acceleration of the mobile-cloud era across ANZ drives companies to join forces to offer high-performing secure access to virtual desktops and Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS)

F5 AGILITY AUSTRALIA, SUNSHINE COAST, APRIL 2, 2014 – F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) and VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) today announced a number of collaborative efforts designed to provide secure access control for customers’ virtual desktop deployments. The companies’ compelling new offerings introduce powerful capabilities to uniquely meet customer needs across the Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) marketplace in the mobile-cloud era, as end-users continue to work from all locations, and access their desktops and applications from various mobile devices.

F5 is bringing to market new versions of its BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM^®) solution that have been created to deliver secure access and optimised performance for VMware Horizon View™. Available in a range of throughput and concurrent user options, these new offerings cost-effectively enable customers of different size and scale to add industry-leading secure access technologies to VMware Horizon View. In addition, F5 is introducing a dedicated iApp and reference architecture to significantly speed deployments and provide prescriptive guidance on how these new solutions support VMware technologies.

“One of our goals in building an ecosystem of partners across ANZ is to combine the advantages of F5 technologies with the compelling offerings of vendors in adjacent markets. As workforces continue to mobilise and ANZ organisations continue to lead the adoption of virtualisation technologies, F5 aims to provide services that are designed to help customers deploy applications safely and reliably in any IT environment, and VMware is a key partner in achieving this goal. Together, we are expanding our collaboration to bring additional joint VDI solutions and benefits to enterprise organisations and beyond,” said Tony Bill, Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand, F5

Together, F5’s Software Defined Application Services™ and VMware’s leading End-User Computing (EUC) technologies will enable organisations to provide a secure and powerful experience to the mobile workforce, with the ability to readily and securely access desktops and applications wherever they may be, while realising low costs and easy deployments.

“VMware and F5 are committed to helping our customers get ready for the onset of the mobile-cloud era. It’s no secret that workforces are increasingly mobile across all industries, with individuals wanting to access desktops services, applications and data anytime and anywhere, while organisations want to ensure this can be achieved securely without comprising their intellectual property. The addition of F5’s new offerings will offer our customers and their workforces the breadth of options in order to securely deliver a workspace of the future that will drive employee productivity and enhance their customers’ experiences. I’m looking forward to VMware and F5’s collaboration, and the comprehensive, integrated solutions it will deliver to our customers.” Asanga Wanigatunga, Product Marketing Manager, End User Computing, VMware.

The pairing of VMware EUC solutions with F5’s intelligent application service technologies will provide sophisticated, powerful, and secure solutions to meet customer requirements to deliver workforce mobility while maintaining control and security, now and in the future.

VMware is providing access to APIs and remote access protocol extensions that will enable F5 to extend their current solutions to add even richer access control over VMware Horizon View environments. With this enhanced integration, customers can exercise more granular control based on device, location, and other access variables, and are able to redirect users to different apps or clouds in a global deployment.

KEY BENEFITS

Cost-Effective and Flexible – The result of collaboration between F5 and VMware, the new market offerings help organisations build their virtual desktop environments in a more cost-effective manner. Customers can deploy joint solutions at a variety of price points with F5’s BIG-IP APM, bringing industry-leading technology within reach for a broader range of customers, including organizations that are just starting out with virtual desktops up to those scaling enterprise-wide to tens of thousands of desktops.
Technology Leadership – By working together on offerings that take advantage of each company’s technology strengths, F5 and VMware have made it easier to combine leading application service capabilities with VMware Horizon View. In aligning their efforts around joint customers’ virtual desktop deployments, F5 and VMware offerings are easier to manage and configure for optimum results.
Joint Partner Success – By coupling their technology offerings, F5 and VMware are also providing channel partners with additional opportunities to build end-to-end solutions that have been validated by solution providers.

AVAILABILITY
The new BIG-IP APM solutions referenced in this announcement will be available in the second quarter of calendar year 2014. Contact your local F5 sales office for availability in specific countries. A detailed reference architecture and iApp supporting optimized deployments are available today.

About VMware
VMware is the leader in virtualisation and cloud infrastructure solutions that enable businesses to thrive in the Cloud Era. Customers rely on VMware to help them transform the way they build, deliver and consume Information Technology resources in a manner that is evolutionary and based on their specific needs. With 2013 revenues of $5.21 billion, VMware has more than 500,000 customers and 75,000 partners. The company is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the world and can be found online at www.vmware.com.

About F5
F5 ( NASDAQ: FFIV) provides solutions for an application world. F5 helps organisations seamlessly scale cloud, data center, and software defined networking (SDN) deployments to successfully deliver applications to anyone, anywhere, at any time. F5 solutions broaden the reach of IT through an open, extensible framework and a rich partner ecosystem of leading technology and data center orchestration vendors. This approach lets customers pursue the infrastructure model that best fits their needs over time. The world’s largest businesses, service providers, government entities, and consumer brands rely on F5 to stay ahead of cloud, security, and mobility trends. For more information, go to f5.com.

You can also follow @f5networksANZ on Twitter or visit us on Facebook for more information about F5, its partners, and technologies.

F5, BIG-IP, Access Policy Manager, APM, F5 Synthesis, Software Defined Application Services, and DevCentral are trademarks or service marks of F5 Networks, Inc., in the U.S. and other countries. All other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

VMware and VMware Horizon View are registered trademarks or trademarks of VMware, Inc. in the United States and other jurisdictions. The use of the word “partner” or “partnership” does not imply a legal partnership relationship between VMware and any other company.

This press release may contain forward looking statements relating to future events or future financial performance that involve risks and uncertainties. Such statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," or "continue," or the negative of such terms or comparable terms. These statements are only predictions and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these statements based upon a number of factors including those identified in the company's filings with the SEC.

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