F5 Launches Industry-Leading Training Program in Asia Pacific to Help Develop Next Generation of Technology Talent

F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) today announced the launch of its Super NetOps program, the first of its kind in the Asia Pacific region, designed to help enterprises and the broader IT industry more effectively implement automation, improve performance, address persistent skills gaps, and help IT professionals deliver critical network operations capabilities through a DevOps approach.

Amid an evolving threat landscape and multi-cloud environments, there is a growing need for automated delivery of application services. This demand for greater efficiency within IT infrastructure has created a skills gap for key and emerging technology expertise – which businesses see as a key barrier to their success.

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Adam Judd, senior vice president of China, Japan and Asia Pacific at F5 Networks, said: "According to feedback from most customers, skills gap is a common problem they face, especially in the work practices and collaboration of NetOps and DevOps teams. As the demand for IT services exceeds the capabilities of manual task-based methods, F5 decided to face this challenge head-on, provide enterprises with the right tools and cultivate excellent talents to help the industry move forward."

F5's global "Super Network Operations Program" is designed to help participants master both key and emerging network technology skills, enable closer collaboration between the network operations (NetOps) community and developers (DevOps), and promote task-based manual practices to a higher level of automation, thereby ensuring continuous business improvement and return on investment. The program has been piloted among hundreds of F5 customers and can effectively help enterprises break down operational silos, reduce service time from days to minutes, and ensure that applications meet necessary regulatory requirements, policies, and performance standards.

F5's Super Network Operations Program combines video tutorials with hands-on labs, and is localized specifically for the unique cultural nuances of the Asia Pacific region. The program comes at a time when governments in the region are introducing policies to address specific skills gaps. For example, Singapore's recently released 2018 Budget emphasizes the importance of developing enterprise capabilities and human capital in tandem - including multiple programs to develop deeper skills for workers of all ages.

In the coming months, F5 will launch an expanded curriculum that includes security-centric automated deployment methods for emerging DevSecOps roles. Other featured topics include application language frameworks and implementation of third-party automation tool chains.

Judd added: "With most businesses in Asia Pacific looking to scale their digital products and services by 2020, network operations expertise is more important than ever, especially driven by the vision of faster, smarter, more secure applications. A major challenge for traditional IT teams is how to achieve the orchestration and flexibility required through programmability to succeed in the digital economy. The future is more automated, and who is better suited to deploy network automation than the engineers and architects who know how to keep the engine of the Internet economy running."

F5 (NASDAQ: FFIV) helps the world's largest enterprises, service providers, governments, and consumer brands improve the speed, intelligence, and security of applications. F5 provides cloud and security solutions that enable enterprises to take full advantage of the application infrastructure of their choice without sacrificing speed and control. For more information, please visit f5.com. You can also follow @F5 China official Weibo on Weibo to learn more about F5, its partners, and technology.

F5 is a trademark or service mark of F5 Networks, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other product and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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