F5 Networks extends cloud services across AWS

Amazon Web Services and F5 Networks have entered into a multi-year global strategic collaboration agreement (SCA), that will allow joint customers to use F5 for their cloud-native application workloads, and to extend existing F5 services on AWS.

The two companies aim to ensure that customers are able to access the full suite of F5 Networks' software as a service and cloud-native services to migrate, build, secure, and operate applications on AWS. Additionally, customers can use advanced F5 Networks solutions to standardise, scale, and optimise application services for AWS environments, from lift-and-shift and re-platforming, to full application development and modernisation.

F5 Networks executive vice president of worldwide sales, Chad Whalen, comments that AWS and F5 Networks have collaborated closely for years, with the most recent collaboration around F5 Networks' cloud offering called F5 Cloud Services.

"Together with AWS, we are providing a set of solutions that help enterprises deploy apps quickly and securely, while ensuring they are performant and comply with policy.

"This aligns with our strategy of supporting modern DevOps practices and serving engineering teams with capabilities that create the most efficient path from code to customer," concludes Whalen.

F5 Networks further explains that enterprises are adopting the cloud to speed innovation cycles and create efficiencies, but today many companies must maintain separate data center and cloud environments, which drive up their operational costs, add complexity, and increase risk. As such, it is essential to have hybrid cloud solutions that allow applications run with consistent performance and security, regardless of the location.

The two companies state that, "The work F5 and AWS do together addresses this need, allowing organisations to use F5 application services across all environments.

"Additionally, F5 solutions will make it easier for DevOps teams and application developers to provision, configure, and manage services via APIs or the web portal, without the need for deep networking or security expertise.

As part of the collaboration, F5 and AWS will also create path to allow customers to easily upgrade to F5's next-generation application services, including:

- F5 Cloud Services: Cloud-native, SaaS-based application performance and security services.

- BIG-IP Virtual Edition: Software-based, full-featured Layer 4–7 application delivery and security services.

- NGINX: Lightweight, highly scalable, and highly performant API management, and full-service proxy software built atop the world's leading open source web server.

- Silverline: Cloud-based managed services platform for application threat protection.

- Aspen Mesh: An enterprise-ready, fully supported service mesh built on Istio.