F5 launches the industry's first integrated application delivery

F5 recently announced the launch of the F5 Application Delivery and Security Platform at AppWorld. The platform is the industry's first application delivery controller (ADC) solution that deeply integrates high-performance load balancing, traffic management, and advanced application and API security capabilities into a single platform. With this new platform, F5 delivers on its vision of ADC 3.0 in the AI Era and delivers on the promise of ADC 3.0, the next generation of ADCs, to help enterprises meet the demanding demands of modern and AI-driven applications.

François Locoh-Donou, President and CEO of F5, said, "While AI accelerates innovation, it drives up costs, increases architectural complexity, and brings about increasing depthcyber security risks pose a serious challenge for IT and security teams. F5 is uniquely positioned to meet the challenges of hybrid multicloud architectures in the AI era, and our new F5 Application Delivery and Security Platform will enable enterprises to break new ground, reduce architectural complexity, and unleash the full potential of AI. ”

F5's upcoming State of Application Strategy 2025 report shows that 96% of enterprises are deploying AI models. F5 further predicts that 80% of applications will be AI-enabled in the next three years. However, despite the full arrival of AI, most enterprises are not ready to meet the challenges of AI applications in terms of massive amounts of data, complex traffic patterns, and new security threats.

Purpose-built to address these challenges, the new F5 Application Delivery and Security Platform will deliver the most comprehensive ADC solution for enterprises in hybrid multicloud environments, delivering the following core values:

All-in-one application delivery and security: Deeply integrate the delivery and security of each application into a single platform to simplify IT and security team management.

Flexible deployment and compatibility with multiple environments: support deployment in any form and any location, and realize seamless operation across multiple IT environments.

• Single policy and unified management: Reduce complexity and improve operational efficiency by implementing a single policy and unified management of applications across all deployment environments.

In-depth analysis and insights: Provide accurate and actionable data analysis to optimize application performance and strengthen the security protection capabilities of complex applications.

Programmable data plane: supports automated deployment and customization functions to help enterprises flexibly and efficiently respond to changes in business needs.

Full lifecycle automation: Allows teams to get rid of tedious O&M tasks and focus on business innovation.

The platform uses an API-driven architecture to ensure policy consistency across all environments and deployment forms. The new F5 application delivery and security platform is the result of years of investment and innovation, enabling high-performance hardware that runs seamlessly in on-premises data centers, next-generation software in virtualized and hybrid environments, and SaaS solutions in cloud-native environments for efficient operations and security across environments.

The new F5 Application Delivery and Security Platform deeply integrates the previously disparate single solution to address key requirements such as high-performance load balancing, multi-cloud network connectivity, comprehensive web application and API security, and AI gateway capabilities.

Christopher Rodriguez, research director of IDC's Security & Trust Group, said, "AI is driving innovation, but it's also creating unprecedented complexity and risk for businesses. In the ever-changing digital landscape, the deep integration of application delivery and application security capabilities will be the key for enterprises to maintain a competitive advantage. ”

F5 unveils new platform solutions and innovations

In addition, F5 has released a number of new solutions and key capabilities to continue to drive technological innovation in F5's application delivery and security platforms. These solutions will allow customers to harness the power of AI to reduce complexity, simplify operations, and strengthen application security. These include:

· F5 AI Gateway: The F5 AI Gateway is now generally available, enabling enterprises to efficiently integrate applications, APIs, and large language models (LLMs) to accelerate the widespread deployment of AI technologies. As a powerful containerized solution, AI gateways can reduce costs by optimizing performance, improving observability, and strengthening security. Its excellent data processing capabilities and user experience provide an efficient path for O&M and security teams to seamlessly connect with AI services.

· NGINX One AI Assistant: Following the launch of the Distributed Cloud Service AI Assistant last year, F5 officially extends this capability to NGINX One. Powered by the F5 AI Data Fabric, the tool serves as an intelligent assistant for NetOps, SecOps, DevOps, and platform operations teams to help alleviate operational stress. NGINX One AI Assistant uses a natural language interface to help teams efficiently configure and optimize application delivery, improving operational efficiency and return on investment (ROI). In addition, the NGINX One AI assistant can warn of security threats and proactively identify anomalies, helping teams respond to problems before they affect production, ensuring efficient and stable business operations.

· BIG-IP AI Assistant and iRules code generation and parsing: Later this year, F5 will launch the BIG-IP AI Assistant to empower iRules with a new level of automation and intelligence. The assistant automatically generates, maintains, and optimizes iRules, dramatically reducing the time and resources required for traffic management and secure delivery of applications. With the help of AI technology, the system automatically generates optimized and validated iRules to strictly follow best practices. This approach not only improves accuracy, but also reduces errors and ensures a stable and consistent application delivery experience.

· F5 VELOS CX1610 & BX520 Chassis & Blades: F5 introduces new high-performance products in the VELOS product line to provide service providers and large enterprises with a unified and customizable solution to optimize data-intensive workloads for AI and other modern applications. The new VELOS CX1610 chassis and BX520 400 Gbps high-performance blades scale up to multiple terabytes of throughput, meet the highest performance NEBS certification standards, and support the most demanding 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) services. The VELOS product line features optimized packet routing, refined security policies, load balancing, and ultra-low latency to meet the core requirements of AI solutions for high-speed data processing and real-time computing.