F5 & Omnissa join forces on virtual desktop security

F5 has formed a strategic partnership with Omnissa focused on virtual desktop infrastructure and application delivery for enterprise customers.

The arrangement combines F5's traffic management and security products with Omnissa's digital workspace software, including Horizon and Access. The aim is to help businesses build virtual desktop and application environments with tighter security controls and fewer operational layers.

The move comes as large organisations continue to rework remote access and desktop delivery systems across hybrid cloud and data centre estates. For many IT teams, that means balancing access controls and system uptime while moving away from older virtual desktop setups without adding more gateways and management points.

Under the partnership, F5 BIG-IP Zero Trust Access will serve as a unified proxy for virtual desktops and applications. F5 said this approach can reduce the number of gateway proxies in the demilitarised zone, or DMZ, by consolidating them into a single management platform.

Another part of the combined offer uses F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager to distribute traffic for Omnissa Horizon Unified Access Gateways and Connection Servers. This is intended to support availability and provide more resilient ingress for users connecting to Horizon environments.

F5 BIG-IP DNS is also being positioned as the layer for global traffic steering across multi-site and multi-pod Horizon deployments. The companies said the setup is designed to support both Active/Active and Active/Standby business continuity and disaster recovery models with automated failover.

Identity management is another area of integration. F5 and Omnissa said a link between BIG-IP Zero Trust Access and Omnissa Access is designed to create a service provider-to-identity provider relationship for single sign-on and ongoing policy enforcement.

The package is also intended to simplify migration from older virtual desktop systems to Omnissa Horizon environments secured by F5 technology. That reflects demand from enterprise customers looking to modernise workplace systems while reducing disruption for end users.

Channel support

The partnership will be supported by a wider network of channel and systems integration partners, including Presidio. Those partners are expected to provide architecture, deployment and professional services around the combined stack.

That channel element matters because virtual desktop and application delivery projects often involve broad changes across networking, identity, security policy and endpoint management. In many cases, customers rely on third parties to design target architectures and oversee staged roll-outs across multiple sites.

John Maddison, Chief Marketing Officer, F5, said the partnership is intended to address those requirements in a more integrated way.

"Securing and optimising digital workspaces in today's hybrid, multicloud enterprise demands seamless interoperability across identity, security, and application traffic management," said John Maddison, Chief Marketing Officer, F5.

"Our strategic alignment with Omnissa helps organisations reduce single points of failure, simplify DMZ architectures, and deliver an exceptional employee experience supported by Zero Trust security," Maddison said.

Presidio framed the arrangement as a way to reduce technical complexity for customers adopting or expanding virtual desktop infrastructure. The systems integrator said enterprise clients are looking for joined-up approaches rather than separate tools for access, resilience and operational management.

"Enterprise clients require cohesive, end-to-end solutions that reduce complexity while ensuring security, resilience, and business continuity," said Peter Lyons, SVP, Strategic Alliances, Presidio.

"Together with F5 and Omnissa, Presidio helps customers deploy production-ready architectures that simplify operations, strengthen Zero Trust security, and deliver exceptional digital workspace experiences," Lyons said.

Omnissa, which focuses on digital work platforms, said the alliance is aimed at customers running across both cloud and on-premises infrastructure. That reflects the reality that many enterprise workspace environments still span several locations and operating models rather than sitting entirely on one cloud platform.

"Omnissa provides organisations with modern, flexible, and secure digital work platforms," said Bharath Rangarajan, Senior Vice President of Product, Omnissa.

"Teaming up with F5 and our strong ecosystem of channel partners centres on helping mutual customers achieve high-performing, resilient, and Zero Trust-protected workspaces across supported cloud and data centre environments," Rangarajan said.