Riverbed SteelHead 8.6 Adds Support for Microsoft Azure, and Optimizes and Accelerates Delivery of Applications Across 90% of Public Clouds

Riverbed Technology (NASDAQ: RVBD), the leader in application performance infrastructure, today announced Riverbed® SteelHead™ 8.6, bringing the number one application acceleration solution to the Microsoft Azure cloud. Already available in other leading public clouds, SteelHead, with the addition of Microsoft Azure, is now capable of optimizing and accelerating the delivery of applications across 90% of public cloud deployments. Riverbed also introduced today, SteelHead CX 7055v, an enterprise-scale virtual solution delivering up to 1Gbps of optimized traffic for private and hybrid clouds. Enterprises can now expand virtualization in their data centers to increase efficiency and lower IT costs, while also accelerating and controlling applications to and from every type of cloud.

San Francisco—May 14, 2014— Tweet This: #Riverbed brings the #1 application acceleration and WAN optimization solution to Microsoft Azure: http://rvbd.ly/1gB6com

"SteelHead is the dominant platform for accelerating business applications across enterprise networks.  Our customers are now deploying applications in multiple clouds and scaling their network infrastructure to 1Gbps to ensure the highest level of user experience at all locations. SteelHead 8.6 simplifies these deployment challenges by allowing our customers to deliver consistent application performance across an increasingly dynamic IT environment," said Paul O'Farrell, Senior Vice President and General Manager, SteelHead Products Group at Riverbed. "With SteelHead 8.6, enterprises can enjoy an enhanced user experience for the full range of Microsoft business apps and Microsoft Azure-based cloud workloads." 

SlideShare Presentation: Riverbed SteelHead 8.6

"As Microsoft Azure works to erase the boundaries between cloud development and operational management, we look to partners like Riverbed to provide the application performance infrastructure that optimizes the end user's experience when apps are delivered via the cloud," said Garth Fort, General Manager of System Center and Virtualization, Microsoft Corporation. "In a cloud-first world, applications should be accessed and delivered quickly ? without the challenges of application latency, competition among applications, and bandwidth restrictions. This is what's required for the best user experience in today's app-driven economy, and that's what Riverbed is all about."

What's New in SteelHead 8.6

• Now available for Microsoft Azure: SteelHead CX cloud instances are now available as a subscription-based offering in Microsoft Azure, making SteelHead available for 90% of public cloud deployments. SteelHead enables enterprises to host their applications with the cloud vendor that best meets their business
• Enterprise-scale SteelHead for virtual environments and private/hybrid clouds: When virtualized infrastructure is required, IT can avoid multiple SteelHead virtual devices and simplify their network architecture with SteelHead CX 7055V, a new virtual appliance that can optimize up to 1Gbps of traffic. The SteelHead CX 7055v simplifies deployment in private cloud architectures and enterprise-scale virtualized datacenters with a single virtualized 1G appliance deployed on a standard server.
• App Engine upgrade for greater control over all network traffic: SteelHead users can now set policies and classes for over 1,100 applications. As a result, SteelHead now enables more granular control over all network traffic, automatically reserving bandwidth for business-critical apps and steering them on to low-latency, uncongested links. This allows IT to align application delivery more directly with business needs.
• A higher-performance mid-range application acceleration platform: For mid-range enterprise deployments, the new CX570 and CX770 deliver higher performance and better diagnostics and are simple to upgrade at the same price as their predecessors, CX555 and CX755.  

Riverbed SteelHead and the Riverbed Application Performance Platform™

Riverbed SteelHead is the industry's #1 WAN optimization solution that accelerates the delivery of applications to the branch and from the cloud, while allowing IT to prioritize delivery of mission-critical applications over the fastest networks. Riverbed is a leader in the latest "Gartner Magic Quadrant for WAN Optimization Controllers"1] and has been in the leaders' quadrant for seven years in a row. In January 2014, SteelHead was recognized by InfoWorld with a Technology of the Year Award for the eighth time. Riverbed pioneered WAN optimization in 2004 with unique innovations for application and data streamlining across the WAN and Internet to deliver the best end-user experience regardless of location, network or device while dramatically reducing network bandwidth.

In a world where application performance equals business performance, Riverbed offers the most complete platform to enable organizations to embrace location-independent computing, so that business objectives - not technical constraints - drive how applications and data are delivered. The Riverbed Application Performance Platform is a set of integrated solutions that give companies the flexibility to host applications and data in the locations that best serve the business while ensuring the flawless delivery of those apps to better leverage global resources, radically reduce the cost of running their business and maximize employee productivity. 

Availability and Additional Resources

Riverbed SteelHead 8.6 and SteelHead CX 7055v are generally available now. For more information visit SteelHead for WAN optimization online.

Disclaimer
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

1] Gartner "Gartner Magic Quadrant for WAN Optimization Controllers" by Joe Skorupa and Bjarne Munch, March 27, 2014.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements relating to products that have not yet been released. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they do not fully materialize or prove incorrect, could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties that could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include our ability to react to trends and challenges in our business and the markets in which we operate; our ability to anticipate market needs or develop new or enhanced products to meet those needs; the adoption rate of our products; our ability to establish and maintain successful relationships with our distribution partners; our ability to compete in our industry; fluctuations in demand, sales cycles and prices for our products and services; shortages or price fluctuations in our supply chain; our ability to protect our intellectual property rights; general political, economic and market conditions and events; and other risks and uncertainties described more fully in our documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. More information about these and other risks that may impact Riverbed's business are set forth in our Form 10-K filed with the SEC for the period ended December 31, 2013, and our subsequent quarterly reports filed with the SEC. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to us as of the date hereof, and we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements. Any future product, feature or related specification that may be referenced in this release are for information purposes only and are not commitments to deliver any technology or enhancement. Riverbed reserves the right to modify future product plans at any time.