F5 Networks and VMware 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 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.
“One of our goals in building an ecosystem of partners is to combine the advantages of F5 technologies with the compelling offerings of vendors in adjacent markets,” said Manny Rivelo, executive vice president of strategic solutions, F5. “One of the core tenets of the F5 Synthesis architectural vision is intelligent services orchestration, and we see VMware as a key partner in this space. Together, we look forward to deepening our successful partnership with VMware to bring additional joint VDI solutions and benefits to enterprise organizations and beyond.”
Building on a longstanding technology partnership, 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.
“F5 shares our commitment to helping customers prepare for and embrace the mobile-cloud era,” said Sanjay Poonen, executive vice president and general manager, End-User Computing, VMware. “Adoption of VMware’s virtual desktop solutions continues to grow at a rapid pace, and F5’s new offerings give customers options in how to best combine technologies to enable mobile workforces to access their desktops and apps securely anytime and anywhere. I am excited about the strategic alignment and collaboration between the two companies, which will bring even richer solutions to our joint customers.”
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 richer integration, customers will have greater granular controls based on device, location, and other access scenarios, and be able to redirect users to different apps or clouds in a global deployment.
“VMware Horizon View and F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager have been a natural fit in supporting our VDI infrastructure, maximizing application uptime and performance for our clinicians,” explained Sean Graham, network architect, Kettering Health Network. “The companies’ new joint solutions and prescriptive guidance optimize and extend functionality, simplify deployments, and lower TCO.”
The new BIG-IP APM solutions referenced in this announcement will be available in the second quarter of calendar year 2014.
