F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIV), the global leader in Application Delivery Networking (ADN), today announced the launch of the GUARDIAN Professional Services Partner Program. The program expands F5’s UNITY^TM Partner Program to provide additional benefits for partners with consulting and professional services capabilities in conjunction with authorization tier requirements.

The GUARDIAN Professional Services Partner Program is a capability-based program designed to recognize partner investments in the skills required for successful deployment of F5^® technologies. The program helps partners drive deeper sales engagements, higher margins, and more strategic customer relationships. Benefits of the GUARDIAN Professional Services Program are centered on education, sales enablement, and promotion to the market.

“The GUARDIAN Professional Services Program demonstrates our continued commitment to channel partners who excel in implementing and optimizing F5 solutions to deliver high value to customers,” says Dean Darwin, SVP, Worldwide Partner Organization at F5. “With the program, channel organizations with deep expertise in F5 solutions are recognized and rewarded for their skills and are in position to offer customers new consulting services, creating additional revenue opportunities and deepening customer engagement.”

The program consists of four authorization tiers: Installation Provider, Advanced Implementation Provider, Application Security Provider, and Optimization Provider. For each tier, the F5 partner must meet UNITY Program tier requirements and have a required number of personnel certified at the appropriate level within the F5 Professional Certification Program.

GUARDIAN^® partners have access to best practices, support in creating packaged offerings, on-request assistance from F5^® Professional Services, early availability of F5 product technical training, and discounts on training and certification exams.

To ensure that the GUARDIAN Program provides value to our partners, F5 conducted a year-long design and pilot phase to garner feedback and key insights from top F5 partners around the world. To make certain it will continue to provide significant value to F5 partners and customers, the program includes key performance indicators and governance specifications focused on driving excellent customer and partner satisfaction, as well as increased awareness for member organizations.

To participate in the GUARDIAN program, interested partners should contact their F5 Channel Account Manager or submit an inquiry to guardianpsprogram@f5.com. To learn more about the F5 UNITY partner program, visit http://www.f5.com/partners/.

Supporting Quotes

“F5’s GUARDIAN program has strengthened our relationship with F5, a key strategic partner of ours, and allows us to differentiate our F5 services in the market,” said Gary Middleton, Business Development Director at Dimension Data. “Our clients can be sure that they’re getting the most advanced F5 skills available and, when combined with our portfolio of assessments, consulting and managed services, that we bring a compelling value proposition to market.”

“GUARDIAN is helping us invest in our engineering talent and further our partnership with F5 so that we can continue to deliver and implement solutions across the entire F5 portfolio,” said David Titov, Practice Director at Trace3. “This program will help customers connect with partners that have the deep expertise and experience to deliver and fully leverage all of the capabilities provided by F5 technology.”

Additional Resources

• GUARDIAN Professional Services Program Partners
• F5 Professional Certification Program
• The Global F5 Partner Network
• UNITY Partner Program Qualifications

About F5 Networks

F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) makes the connected world run better. F5 helps organizations meet the demands and embrace the opportunities that come with the relentless growth of voice, data, and video traffic, mobile workers, and applications—in the data center, the network, and the cloud. The world’s largest businesses, service providers, government entities, and consumer brands rely on F5’s intelligent services framework to deliver and protect their applications and services while ensuring people stay connected. Learn more at www.f5.com.

You can also follow @f5networks on Twitter or visit us on Facebook for more information about F5, its partners, and technology. For a complete listing of F5 community sites, please visit www.f5.com/news-press-events/web-media/community.html.

F5, GUARDIAN and UNITY are trademarks or service marks of F5 Networks, Inc., in the U.S. and other countries. All other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

This press release may contain forward looking statements relating to future events or future financial performance that involve risks and uncertainties. Such statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," or "continue," or the negative of such terms or comparable terms. These statements are only predictions and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these statements based upon a number of factors including those identified in the company's filings with the SEC.