F5 Boosts Investment in Channel Partner Accreditation to Hone High-Value Application Services Skills

New, flexible training helps partners differentiate themselves with application security, availability, mobility, and performance expertise

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• F5 continues to invest in the channel, enabling partners to provide superior solution guidance and high-value application services.
• New accreditation programs extend the F5 Synthesis™ vision and companion solutions through the worldwide F5®UNITY® partner network.
• F5 responds to customer and partner needs by raising awareness around intelligent, programmable application delivery solutions.

SEATTLE – F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) announced today new Sales and Technical Sales Accreditation programs. This introduction is the latest in an ongoing series of projects to provide F5 partners with the tools and skills needed to offer differentiated application delivery solutions and services to customers. With the launch of F5’s Synthesis architectural vision—and as F5’s relevance across security, cloud, and mobility topics rapidly grows—partner enablement becomes even more crucial. The new programs help partners effectively articulate the unique value that F5 solutions deliver to enable transformative application services in data center and cloud environments.

Dedicated F5 Sales Accreditation and F5 Technical Sales Accreditation materials are available online to partners at F5 University and accessible via the company’s Partner Resource Center (PRC).

KEY BENEFITS

• Clear differentiation with F5 solutions – Channel partners can deliver the full benefits of the F5 platform to joint customers, with F5 technologies providing strategic points of control throughout the application delivery infrastructure.
• Unified F5 Synthesis architectural approach – Updated materials focus on organizations’ current IT initiatives and emerging business challenges in the context of F5’s comprehensive Synthesis framework.
• Full understanding of Software Defined Application Services (SDAS) – Partners will be able to better articulate how F5 technologies (including the latest enhancements) and SDAS™ help future-proof customers’ networks with flexible, automated, and programmable solutions.
• F5’s growing technology partner ecosystem – New offerings reinforce the critical role channel partners play in integrating F5 solutions with major customer IT initiatives, such as Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, and Oracle deployments, to achieve faster performance, improved security, and better availability.

SUPPORTING QUOTES

“The IT industry is experiencing an incredibly fast-moving period of change, with F5, its partners, and customers poised to take advantage of the evolving technology landscape. Having established ourselves as the clear market leader in application delivery, the scope of our offerings has broadened to include security, mobility, cloud, and acceleration services. This evolution has shaped the skills needed to maximize the value of IT systems, and the F5 accreditation curriculum is the latest step in a series of related projects aimed at making sure our customers and partners benefit from the best possible consultative guidance.”

Jim Ritchings, SVP, Worldwide Channels, F5

“As IT professionals, it’s essential that we stay abreast of the technologies and advances being made in delivering security, availability, mobility, and performance solutions. F5 is one of those top technologies and their new Sales Accreditation course allows us to quickly bring our teams up to speed and gain essential knowledge that can benefit our customer base immediately.”

Tim Kazsuk, Practice Manager, Data Center, Nexus – a Dimension Data company

“The ability to connect on a technical level with customers and prospects is absolutely essential if we are to meet their high expectations. Being a trusted consultant is the way we engage and do business, and that means matching vendor technology to top-of-mind business initiatives. F5’s Technical Sales Accreditation training has been a valuable and effective method of meeting these needs.”

Manish Gutt, Sales Consultant, Galaxy Automation, India

AVAILABILITY

The F5 solutions and programs referenced in this announcement are available today. Partners should visit F5’s Partner Resource Center (PRC) to access F5 Sales Accreditation and F5 Technical Sales Accreditation programs, as well as other training materials (login required).

About F5

F5 (NASDAQ: FFIV) makes apps go faster, smarter, and safer for the world’s largest businesses, service providers, governments, and consumer brands. F5 delivers cloud and security solutions that enable organizations to embrace the application infrastructure they choose without sacrificing speed and control. For more information, go to f5.com. You can also follow @f5networks on Twitter or visit us on LinkedIn and Facebook for more information about F5, its partners, and technologies.

F5 is a trademark or service mark of F5 Networks, Inc., in the U.S. and other countries. All other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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