F5 Networks

F5 Networks (F5) is a multi-cloud application security and delivery company that enables the digital transformation of businesses. Its solutions include app security, traffic management, cloud services, and automation solutions, among others. F5 entered the edge-as-a-service market by acquiring edge application software disruptor Volterra for USD 500 million in January 2021.

Volterra was founded in 2017 and came out of stealth in 2019 with a mix of hardware and software for the edge. Volterra’s solutions and platform allow companies to scale and manage their applications in multiple public clouds and edge sites seamlessly by unifying the application and infrastructure layer on behalf of app developers and DevOps teams. In November 2020, Volterra obtained Microsoft's “co-sell ready” status, which allows it to work with Microsoft's sales organization and other partners and lets Microsoft Azure users integrate Volterra’s offerings.

Through the acquisition, F5 aims to use Volterra’s platform as the basis for developing its own edge platform for large companies and service providers. It intends to launch its “Edge 2.0,” which aims to be security-first, enable universal app delivery, and have unlimited scale. The development of Edge 2.0 rests on utilizing Volterra’s open edge platform and extending F5’s enterprise application security and delivery to the edge.