Equinix and F5 have deepened their global partnership to address the growing demands of deploying and securing modern distributed applications and AI workloads in hybrid multicloud environments. The expanded collaboration integrates Equinix’s Network Edge and Equinix Fabric with the F5 Application Delivery and Security Platform (ADSP), enabling enterprises to extend their digital infrastructure worldwide without the complexity of managing physical hardware.
Enterprises face mounting pressure to launch and secure applications quickly, all while managing increasing operational costs, regulatory requirements, and cyber risks. By combining Equinix’s global interconnection capabilities with F5’s application delivery and security services, the two companies are offering a streamlined approach to deliver high-performance, secure applications across geographically distributed environments.
A key development in this partnership is the availability of F5 Distributed Cloud Customer Edge – an essential component of F5’s ADSP – on Equinix Network Edge as a virtual network function (VNF). This integration allows customers to provision F5’s app delivery and security services almost instantly across Equinix’s worldwide footprint. Businesses can connect globally, adapt dynamically to shifting requirements, and support demanding low-latency workloads such as retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) and AI inference while maintaining compliance with privacy and data sovereignty mandates.
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“AI is placing enormous new demands on infrastructure, especially at the edge where control, security, and latency are critical,” said John Maddison, Chief Product and Corporate Marketing Officer at F5. “Our expanded collaboration with Equinix gives businesses an agile, high-performance foundation for AI-powered use cases and exceptional digital experiences – without the operational burden of physical infrastructure.”
The joint offering delivers several benefits:
- AI-ready connectivity for distributed workloads like RAG and inference, ensuring data protection and privacy
- Global reach without hardware by launching application services virtually in new markets, reducing time to market and capital expenditures
- Increased agility to quickly adapt infrastructure to changing business requirements
- Unified compliance and management through centralized security policy enforcement across regions, meeting industry-specific standards and sovereignty regulations
For customers, the integration means F5 services can now be deployed directly via Equinix’s Network Edge, and F5 users gain easier access to Equinix’s private, low-latency connections to major cloud providers. Organizations can leverage existing procurement agreements to adopt the new combined service, streamlining adoption.
Maryam Zand, Vice President of Partnerships and Ecosystem Development at Equinix, emphasized the role of the collaboration in accelerating AI adoption: “Legacy infrastructure can slow companies down or increase their risk. By working with F5, we’re offering customers a seamless way to expand AI and distributed workloads with built-in security, compliance, and performance.”
The enhanced partnership also extends benefits to F5 Unity+ partners, giving them the ability to deliver secure, scalable solutions for complex hybrid environments without the operational overhead of physical infrastructure management. Together, Equinix and F5 are positioning their joint customers to meet the performance, security, and scalability demands of a rapidly evolving digital and AI-driven landscape.
