The existing non-virtualized methods of delivering application services, both locally and remotely, are archaic. So are the current methods of managing file resources (think of file services as an application just like SAP or another). The current methods demand huge increases in administration as the number of applications and the amount of data grows. At current rates of growth the current methods will take IT headlong into a wall.

On August 6, 2007, F5 Networks announced its intention to buy Acopia Networks for $210M cash. The acquisition has raised some eyebrows in the investment community due to lack of understanding of how the technologies of these two companies are synergistic and whether the sum is greater than the parts. We believe this is a strategic move on the part of F5 and its implications will become clear over the next twelve months, as customers start to put the combination of these products together in their data centers and remote locations.

To understand how these technologies mesh with each other one has to understand the vision of the next generation data center. We describe that in the following pages, and look at how we believe F5 will position Acopia Network's technologies to gain a strategic advantage over its competitors.