F5 is a Founding Member of Microsoft's SecureIT Alliance; Joins Community of Industry Leaders Committed to Providing Security Solutions for the Microsoft Platform.

SEATTLE -- F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV), the global leader in Application Delivery Networking, today announced that it has joined the Microsoft SecureIT Alliance as a founding member. The alliance brings together industry-leading independent solution vendors (ISVs) and systems integrators in a technology and information-sharing coalition to develop security solutions for the Microsoft platform.

Security solutions from F5 are designed to provide comprehensive application layer protection that adapts to changing threats while maintaining operational efficiency. F5's BIG-IP(R) system is positioned in the data center, adding security features including DoS protection, cloaking and application attack filtering in front of web, application and data servers. F5's TrafficShield(R) web application firewall and FirePass(R) SSL VPN solutions have received the highest available certification from ICSA labs.

"F5 has long been a valued partner to Microsoft, helping our customers get the most out of their investment in applications by helping to ensure that they are secure, optimized and available," said Bruce Burns, senior director, Microsoft. "As a charter member of the SecureIT Alliance, we look to F5 to continue working collaboratively with Microsoft and other industry leaders to develop integrated solutions that build on our security strategy."

"The new SecureIT Alliance gives us another opportunity to work as a community to improve security on a continuous basis and deliver a better customer experience overall," said Jim Ritchings, Vice President of Business Development at F5 Networks. "We applaud Microsoft for sponsoring a forum that will help unite industry-leading vendors in the ongoing effort to secure business-critical applications and data."

Microsoft Secure-IT Alliance

Technology is but one way that Microsoft is working to address the security challenge. The company is also working collaboratively with security partners, law enforcement and policymakers in the industry. Today Microsoft also announced the SecureIT Alliance, a group of security partners that are working together to develop security solutions for the Microsoft platform. The SecureIT Alliance expands the security and Internet safety partnerships Microsoft has with other industry leaders and governments, including the Virus Information Alliance and the Global Infrastructure Alliance for Internet Safety. More information on the SecureIT Alliance can be found at http://www.secureitalliance.org.

About F5 Networks

F5 Networks is the global leader in Application Delivery Networking. F5 provides solutions that make applications secure, fast and available for everyone, helping organizations get the most out of their investment. By adding intelligence and manageability into the network to offload applications, F5 optimizes applications and allows them to work faster and consume fewer resources. F5's extensible architecture intelligently integrates application optimization, protection for the application and the network, and delivers application reliability - all on one universal platform. Over 9,000 organizations and service providers worldwide trust F5 to keep their applications running. The company is headquartered in Seattle, Washington with offices worldwide. For more information go to www.f5.com.

All brands, names, or trademarks mentioned in this document are the property 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.