F5 and Equinix expand collaboration
Author: Joe Peck
US technology company F5 and Equinix, a US-based data centre and colocation provider, today announced an expansion of their partnership to support secure deployment of modern applications and AI workloads across hybrid multi-cloud environments.
The collaboration integrates the F5 Application Delivery and Security Platform (ADSP) with Equinix’s Network Edge and Equinix Fabric with the intention of enabling global, virtualised deployment of application services without requiring physical infrastructure.
The move is aimed at helping enterprises reduce the operational complexity and cost associated with managing distributed digital infrastructure, while supporting regulatory compliance and improved security.
A key feature of the expanded offering is the availability of F5 Distributed Cloud Customer Edge as a virtual network function (VNF) on Equinix Network Edge. This should enable organisations to provision F5’s application delivery and security services across Equinix’s global infrastructure in near real-time, allowing for rapid scalability without physical hardware deployments.
The system supports a range of AI-related use cases, including low-latency environments for inference and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), while also addressing concerns around data sovereignty and privacy.
John Maddison, Chief Product and Corporate Marketing Officer at F5, comments, “AI is putting massive new demands on infrastructure, especially at the edge, where latency, security, and control are critical.
“Enterprises need faster, more secure ways to deploy and connect applications and AI workloads globally without the complexity of managing physical infrastructure. Our expanded partnership with Equinix gives customers exactly that: a flexible, high-performance foundation to support AI-driven use cases and deliver exceptional digital experiences across any environment.”
Key features of the offering
• Support for distributed AI workloads – Enables secure, high-speed connections for AI use cases, including inference and RAG, while protecting sensitive data
• Global deployment without physical infrastructure – Allows enterprises to launch application services in new locations using virtual functions, reducing time to market and capital expenditure
• Improved agility and responsiveness – Provides the ability to scale and adapt infrastructure to changing demands across multiple environments
• Unified policy enforcement – Supports consistent application of security and compliance policies across different regions and jurisdictions
The integration also provides F5 customers with access to Equinix’s global interconnection ecosystem, including low-latency links to major cloud providers, while Equinix users can now deploy F5 services directly through the Network Edge platform.
Existing purchasing agreements can be used by customers of either company to access the joint system.
Maryam Zand, Vice President of Partnerships and Ecosystem Development at Equinix, says, “Organisations are racing to adopt AI, but legacy infrastructure can slow them down or expose them to unnecessary risk.
“By partnering with F5, we’re giving our customers a seamless way to scale their AI applications and modern distributed workloads with built-in security, compliance, and performance. This solution can help businesses innovate faster, safeguard their operations, and maintain a competitive edge.”
