Application and network optimisation firm F5 says it will ramp up its channel efforts in EMEA with the help of recently acquired privately-held NGINX. With a total enterprise value of around $670m, this added open source API management and DevOps tools.
F5 is maintaining the NGINX brand, extending its traditional load balancing systems and other hardware business with the software solutions that NGINX can supply. NGINX provides both free and premium open source products that can be provided with other services wrapped around them by system integrators and managed service providers.
The San Francisco, California-headquartered company has an EMEA regional office in Cork, Ireland that it opened in 2017, with other European offices in London and Moscow. Rob Whiteley, chief marketing officer at NGINX, speaking at this week's IT Press Tour across Silicon Valley, said: “F5 and NGINX provide complementary technology, but we intend to maintain both companies' ecosystems and support both sets of partners.
“But F5 has 25,000 customers and has sold to almost everyone major in the market, which we now have access to.”
When asked about plans for EMEA, Whiteley told IT Europa: “F5 sells 90% of its business through the channel and we currently sell 60% indirectly. With the help of F5 we will scale up our channel efforts in EMEA.
“For DevOps solutions, the F5 channel may be comfortable in selling our technology, but where it is not we will be the business unit to offer channel support and expertise where it is needed. F5 was not previously a big open source player, we can fill in the gaps where needed.”
