F5 and VMware strengthen end user computing offerings

F5 Networks  and VMware, Inc. have 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 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 tailor-made to deliver secure access and optimized 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 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.

Building on longstanding technology collaboration, 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 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 - As a result of the collaboration between F5 and VMware, the new market offerings will help organizations build their virtual desktop environments in a much 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 effectively 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. In addition, the two companies will continue to co-innovate in the areas of security, granular access control, and autonomic load distribution to empower enterprises to build large-scale virtual desktop deployments on-premises or in the cloud.

Joint Partner Success - By more tightly 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, yielding enhanced opportunities and greater customer success.