F5 Networks expands application ready network

Bangalore

November 6th, 2007

F5 Networks has announced that it has expanded its Application Ready Network
for Microsoft to include Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007. F5's
Application Ready Network promises Microsoft customer's high availability,
scalability, and performance for their unified communications environments.

"Unified communications is a key enabler of the Anywhere
Enterprise," said Zeus Kerravala, SVP of Enterprise Research at Yankee
Group. "Office Communications Server 2007 is a critical building block
toward the realization of true unified communications, and we expect this
product to migrate into a capability that will serve as a vital component of
business process transformation. By expanding its Application Ready Network to
include Office Communications Server 2007, F5 is helping accelerate and optimize
this transformation."

F5's Application Ready Network is a holistic application network architecture
and infrastructure designed specifically for enterprise applications such as
Office Communications Server 2007. Using F5's BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)
device, the Application Ready Network directs network traffic among server
computers running Office Communications Server 2007 to provide high availability
and scalability. It also helps mitigate potential networking and infrastructure
issues to help ensure that users experience optimal performance and reliability
from their communications tools.

"We're pleased to be able to support Microsoft's vision for unified
communications," said Jim Ritchings, VP of Business Development at F5.
"Through our close collaboration with Microsoft, we've been able to bring
our experience in high availability and application optimization to the table to
extend the benefits of the Application Ready Network to companies as they adopt
Office Communications Server 2007."