F5 launches F5 Distributed Cloud Services

A major expansion of its application security and delivery portfolio, the new offering provides security, multi-cloud networking, and edge-based computing solutions on a unified software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform.

F5 is also launching the first new solution on the platform, F5 Distributed Cloud WAAP (Web Application and API Protection), which augments multiple security capabilities across F5 technologies in one SaaS offering.

Today’s news comes organizations across the world increasingly rely on complex app portfolios and multi-cloud deployments to stay competitive and meet consumer demand.

Research from F5’s upcoming 2022 State of Application Strategy Report reveals that as many as 88% of organizations operate both legacy and modern application architectures. 70% also operate in multiple clouds, which expands the threat surface area as companies are forced to deploy separate, and often inconsistent, security controls across different environments.

“Applications and the digital experiences they power have become a foundation for human connection and achievement, as well as a platform for significant business innovation and market creation,” said François Locoh-Donou, President and CEO, F5. “We have made it our mission at F5 to help organizations protect these applications from the now-constant barrage of cyberattacks. The launch of F5 Distributed Cloud Services is significant because it provides a simpler way for customers to manage the complex challenge of modern application security.”

F5 Distributed Cloud Services

The F5 Distributed Cloud Platform provides cloud-native SaaS-based app security and delivery services.

These services are centrally managed but can be deployed anywhere the app needs to be to maximize business impact and deliver a superior customer experience.

Built on a combination of the platform and services acquired from Volterra and industry-leading F5 and Shape security services, F5 Distributed Cloud Services can:

Deploy natively in multi-cloud, data center, and edge environments.

Provide end-to-end visibility and policy control across all apps in a single dashboard.

Provide an integrated global private network in more than 20 major metropolitan areas.

There are several additional F5 Distributed Cloud Services currently available to customers. F5 Distributed Cloud Multi-Cloud Transit enables multi-cloud networking (MCN) functionality with secure and high-performance connectivity between clouds and a network firewall. F5 Distributed Cloud Load Balancer and Kubernetes Gateway provides an integrated load balancer with Kubernetes and API gateways to easily deploy modern workloads and microservices across distributed clusters, locations, and cloud providers1. 

The platform also has cloud-native computing capabilities at the edge of the network, known as an app delivery network (ADN), that improve end-user experience by distributing applications to the edge of the F5 Global Network.

As part of the launch, F5 has taken steps to integrate the customer experience across its growing portfolio by simplifying product naming. Many F5, Shape, and Volterra services have been renamed as F5 Distributed Cloud Services, including F5 Distributed Cloud Bot Defense, F5 Distributed Cloud DDoS Mitigation, F5 Distributed Cloud WAF, and F5 Distributed Cloud API Security.

F5 Distributed Cloud WAAP

The first new solution on F5 Cloud Services, F5 Distributed Cloud WAAP simplifies security and automates processes, allowing application teams to focus on delivering features and functionality that enhance their customers’ experience and propel their business forward.

The SaaS-based offering consolidates F5’s industry-leading web application firewall, bot mitigation, DDoS, and API protection capabilities into a single, easy-to-deploy solution. This enables SecOps and DevOps teams to enforce consistent security policy wherever they need to deploy applications.

The new solution brings together the best of F5 application security technologies, including:  

Application protection from F5 Advanced WAF, which more effectively and efficiently guards against the most prevalent application attacks.

API security from Volterra’s machine learning-based auto-discovery and anomaly detection, which automates the entire process of finding, securing, and monitoring APIs. 

Bot defense based on F5 Shape AI technology.

Global distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) protection.

F5 Distributed Cloud WAAP is globally available from F5 now and will launch in the Azure Marketplace by the end of February.

“Today’s applications and business models are adapting faster than ever, and that means app security and infrastructure need to be much more agile and effective,” said Haiyan Song, EVP and GM of the Security & Distributed Cloud Product Group, F5. “We are rapidly integrating our portfolio of services onto a distributed cloud services platform, and continually innovating new services, so our customers can have the capabilities they need at the pace they require to achieve their ongoing business transformation.”