Riverbed’s asymmetric optimization strategy

Riverbed Technology has acquired Aptimize Limited & Zeus Technology

The acquisitions of the two companies will form the cornerstone of Riverbed’s asymmetric optimization strategy.

Aptimize's web content optimization is an innovative new technology area that allows customers to deliver both internal web applications, like SharePoint, and external web applications, like e-commerce websites, much faster. The Aptimize Website Accelerator eliminates massive inefficiencies in modern web applications by effectively transforming the content (javascript, cascading style sheets, images, etc.) in real time—instantly accelerating websites or intranets with a simple software installation on the Web server.

No extra hardware, code or browser changes are needed. Organizations that deploy the Aptimize solution have accelerated performance up to 400%. The Aptimize solution is often deployed in tandem with wide area network (WAN) optimization controllers and application delivery controllers (ADCs) to enhance performance.  

Aptimize goes beyond HTTP and TCP optimization and Web content optimization by transforming web content for faster delivery and a more responsive user experience. Aptimize’s technology reorders, merges and resizes content according to who is viewing it and from where. The end result is the application is delivered more effectively—up to four times faster—regardless of the platform used.

Zeus has a suite of application-acceleration and application-management products that fall under its Elastic Application Delivery umbrella, including a very popular load balancer. Leading cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services, Rackspace and Joyent all utilize Zeus’ technology to boost performance for their clouds.

Zeus approached product development differently by architecting a software-based [application delivery controller]. As a software-based solution, the Zeus vADC has many advantages over its hardware-originated peers: it is better suited for virtual and cloud environments, it can migrate across environments, and it can scale on demand.

Zeus really brings is the ability to accelerate new types of asymmetric applications, such as e-commerce or other customer-serving web applications. They’re called asymmetric because there aren’t appliances like Riverbed’s Steelhead appliance at both ends to boost performance, which means all the work is done on the application provider’s end.

Riverbed’s main competition are — Cisco and Citrix, primarily — although it has added F5 Networks on the ADC front. Greater market consolidation is expected to follow the Riverbed’s big play, as there are startups like Aryaka* and Infineta waiting in the wings with interesting technologies.

And Cisco, of course, could buy Citrix and/or F5 as it looks to reorganize around its strengths.

*Part of My watch list from last year…!

-Cheers