For F5 Networks Inc. it all began with Big IP, a tool for controlling internet traffic in the late 1990s. Now the company has moved into traffic management and security services for the critical application layer, or Layer 7, as the enterprise embraces cloud infrastructure.

“The cloud puts us in a position to get in front of more application workloads,” said Calvin Rowland (pictured), senior vice president of business development and public cloud at F5 Networks Inc. “As you’re instrumenting these applications, you need to make sure that you’re thinking about Layer 7 services, be they traffic management or security focused, from day zero and we can help you do so.”

Rowland spoke with Stu Miniman (@stu) and Rebecca Knight (@knightrm), co-hosts of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the Microsoft Ignite event in Orlando, Florida. They discussed the role of F5’s products in network security and future releases as the company drives its application management business. (* Disclosure below.)

Protection against cyberattacks

As applications have emerged as a key driver for information technology in the enterprise, they have also become a prime target for hackers. Applications have become the major focus for 53 percent of cyberattacks, according to Rowland.

F5’s solution is to protect applications and the data behind them through a web application firewall, or WAF, monitoring traffic to detect and block malicious intrusions. “We’ve become a leader in the WAF space,” Rowland said. “You’ll see us continue to focus on standalone security offerings and take advantage of that footprint that we’ve established in the marketplace with a multicloud construct in mind.”

F5 is planning to release a DevOps continuous integration/continuous delivery tool in 2019 and is currently incubating a software as a service offering, according to Rowland.

“We are excited about the phenomenon that is multicloud implementation construct and digital transformation,” Rowland said. “We’re excited about being a driver for that.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Microsoft Ignite event. (* Disclosure: F5 Networks Inc. sponsored this segment, with additional broadcast sponsorship from Cohesity Inc. F5, Cohesity, and other sponsors do not have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE