F5 partners with Microsoft for Azure application delivery
F5 has released NGINX for Microsoft Azure, a native service offering developed in partnership with Microsoft to help ANZ customers easily provide modern applications on Azure.
NGINX for Azure will allow developers to move on-premises applications to Azure by bringing their existing NGINX configuration as well as use new, born-in-the-cloud services.
F5's 2022 State of Application Strategy Report found that the pandemic has fast-tracked cloud migration, with 75% of organisations now using applications in public cloud environments.
F5 notes that as more companies adopt cloud into their workflows, over 25% also host application security and delivery services in the cloud.
"NGINX powers the world's busiest websites with a suite of advanced connectivity, traffic management, and security solutions; all of which bring additional value to the Microsoft Azure ecosystem," F5 NGINX product management vice president Eric Braun says.
"The combination of Microsoft's trusted cloud and NGINX's trusted software offered as a service on Azure enables developers and DevOps teams to optimise the performance, reliability, and security of their distributed applications and services at a global scale."
Additionally, NGINX for Azure will enable organisations to use advanced traffic management capabilities to provide secure and reliable applications and services.
It will also reduce the learning curve and simplify cloud adoption with two built-in deep integrations: Azure Monitor for app insights and visibility and Azure Key Vault for SSL/TLS certificate management.
The offering will also mean businesses throughout ANZ will be able to perform consistently and securely using the same load balancing offering across their estate of applications on-premises and on Azure, which will foster a more robust digital experience for their customers.
"Development teams are constantly pushing the envelope as they innovate," Microsoft developer division president Julia Liuson says.
"Getting up and running on any project in minutes with a fully configured, secure, cloud-hosted environment empowers teams to achieve the goals of their business faster.
"Our collaboration with F5 will make it easier for application developers, IT operators, and service operation teams to respond more quickly to their customers by providing NGINX networking capabilities integrated natively into Microsoft Azure so they can deliver their applications with improved performance, reliability, and security."
The release of NGINX for Azure comes after F5 announced multiple security offerings in December 2021, with the intention of helping to safeguard digital experiences with comprehensive account takeover protection.
The company states its aim is to bridge security and fraud team operations that help customers block automated and human-driven malicious activity, shield valuable user details and stop fraud.
The new solutions extend F5's Shape Security portfolio of SaaS and managed services to protect customers, applications and APIs against account takeover while delivering improved digital experiences at every touchpoint, the company states.
