F5 Synthesis Update Extends Software-Defined Apps Services

F5 Networks (FFIV) has updated its Synthesis architecture model to enhance the delivery of software-defined application services (SDAS) to provide customers with improvements in the performance of application services and a reduced total cost of ownership.

One of the goals of Synthesis has been to change the economy of scale for the configuration and deployment of applications, said Lori MacVittie, senior product manager for Emerging Technologies at F5 Networks. In an interview with The VAR Guy, MacVittie explained that Synthesis is really intended for customers and partners to get their applications to market faster.

But additionally, Synthesis provides intelligent services orchestration that makes it easier for end customers to burst into or deploy apps on cloud infrastructure, such as Amazon Web Services. Backed by the BIG-IQ platform framework, Synthesis is a modularized system that also works with a variety of technology partners' own frameworks and fabrics.

It's something that F5 partners are excited about, said Keith McManigal, vice president of Channel Sales at F5. Partners can appreciate the simplify application services, as well as how F5 packages it into cost-effective modules so they can gain additional margin, simply because they don't have to discount to customers as much, he said.

There's a lot involved in this update, including:

"Getting things to market faster is very important, but to do that, you need to scale very efficiently," MacVittie said. And that's the theme around this update of Synthesis—simplifying things for both partners and customers for additional scalability and flexibility.