F5 Redefines Application Delivery Controllers for the AI Era

Singapore, February 27, 2025 – F5 has unveiled its strategic vision for the transformation of Application Delivery Controllers (ADCs) to meet the growing demands of modern and AI-driven applications. The next-generation ADCs integrate high-performance application delivery with advanced security capabilities within a unified platform, enabling enterprises to navigate the complexities of hybrid and multicloud infrastructures seamlessly.

Kunal Anand, Chief Innovation Officer at F5, emphasized the urgency of rethinking application security and delivery strategies. “The rise of AI and modern applications demands a fundamental rethinking of application security and delivery. Traditional approaches fall short in managing today’s complex, distributed systems. Organizations need solutions that provide consistency, flexibility, and complete visibility across their IT landscape. F5 has transformed our technology portfolio to meet these challenges head-on, enabling our customers to confidently secure and deliver advanced digital experiences.”

Navigating the AI-Driven IT Landscape

According to F5’s State of Application Strategy Report, 75% of enterprises are already deploying AI applications in some capacity. However, the complexity of securing and delivering AI workloads remains a significant challenge. AI applications demand extensive data processing capabilities, intricate traffic management, and enhanced security protocols to mitigate emerging threats.

Traditional ADCs, designed for legacy environments, struggle to support the dynamic nature of modern IT ecosystems. As hybrid and multicloud deployments become the norm, there is a pressing need for ADCs that unify critical functions such as high-performance load balancing, API security, multicloud networking, and AI gateway capabilities.

Introducing ADC 3.0: A New Paradigm for Application Delivery

The evolution of IT infrastructure over the past 25 years has transitioned from on-premises data centers to cloud-based microservices, necessitating a shift in ADC capabilities. The AI era brings new security challenges, with hybrid, multicloud environments requiring AI-powered threat detection and mitigation strategies.

F5 is spearheading this transformation with its next-generation ADCs, designed to support AI-driven workloads and distributed application environments. By converging application delivery and security, F5 enables organizations to seamlessly deploy and safeguard AI-powered digital experiences.

Zeus Kerravala, Founder and Principal Analyst at ZK Research, underscored the necessity of evolving ADC capabilities. “Apps have become more dynamic and more distributed. This trend is expected to continue as AI becomes more ubiquitous throughout the enterprise. As the nature of applications has changed, the ADC naturally needs to evolve as well. The need for robust load balancing and application delivery techniques combined with robust security features that protect data at the application and API level is critical as we enter the era of AI. F5 has been a proven leader in this space, and the company’s vision appears to meet the stringent delivery and security requirements that will be ever present in the AI era.”

Enhancing AI Security and Performance with F5’s AI Reference Architecture

The rapid advancement of AI applications introduces new cybersecurity threats, including model theft, training data poisoning, and prompt injection attacks. To address these challenges, F5 has introduced an AI reference architecture that streamlines AI/ML workflows into seven core building blocks. This architecture provides best practices for security, traffic management, and platform optimization, helping enterprises deploy AI applications securely and efficiently.

F5’s AI reference architecture aligns with industry standards such as the Application Delivery Top 10 and OWASP’s Top 10 Security Risks for LLMs. It facilitates the integration of AI workloads across hybrid and multicloud environments, reducing complexity and cost while ensuring robust security measures.

Strategic Industry Collaborations for AI Innovation

To strengthen its AI-driven application delivery strategy, F5 has partnered with industry leaders to enhance performance, security, and scalability:

• Compute: Collaborations with NVIDIA BlueField-3 DPUs and Intel to optimize AI service security and delivery.
• Data & Storage: Partnerships with NetApp and MinIO to streamline large language model (LLM) deployments and AI workload management.
• LLM Security & Observability: Integration with AI security solutions such as Prompt Security Firewall, AIShield GuArdIan, and Portkey for enhanced AI application protection.
• Cloud Service Providers: Alliance with OVHcloud to strengthen multicloud application security.

Building a Secure AI-Driven Future

As AI adoption accelerates, enterprises must ensure their infrastructure can handle increased data demands and evolving cybersecurity threats. F5’s next-generation ADCs and AI reference architecture empower organizations to deploy, secure, and optimize AI-powered applications with confidence.For more insights into ADC 3.0 and upcoming announcements at AppWorld, F5’s flagship application security and delivery conference, visit F5’s official website.