I am thrilled to share our strategy for the future of networking in the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Imagine a network that adapts effortlessly to every challenge, ensuring performance and security no matter the obstacle. That’s our vision for resilient networking—empowering your operations with peak performance, secure data flow, and smarter decision-making to strengthen your business’s resilience.

In today’s rapidly evolving technology landscape, the intersection of data and AI is reshaping the way businesses operate. Riverbed, a pioneer in Acceleration and resilient networking, is at the forefront of this transformation. With over two decades of innovation, Riverbed continues to lead the charge—unveiling a suite of new products designed to empower enterprises in this dynamic era of AI.

The Era of AI and Data Movement 

The rise of AI is accelerating transformation across industries at an incredible pace. AI thrives on data—vast amounts of it. To harness the full potential of AI, all this data has to move from where it resides to where it is needed, necessitating a re-evaluation of networking infrastructures. We are talking about transferring terabytes to petabytes of data daily from data centers, the edge, and clouds. 

Riverbed’s commitment to Acceleration is evident in our customers adoption of our products, with 59% YoY growth in Q1’25. This demand, and the need to move massive amounts of data, fueled the roadmap and new offerings. The new SteelHead solutions are engineered to handle the massive data movement required by AI, enterprise, and edge applications. These innovations ensure that data flows seamlessly, enabling enterprises to leverage AI for enhanced operational efficiency and strategic decision-making. 

Performance = Time. Time = Business Success.

A fundamental impact of AI is a total rethink of time—specifically, how long it takes to achieve business outcomes. Whether it’s a factory adjusting operations in hours instead of months, a bank making real-time decisions on financial algorithms, or a life-sciences company evaluating DNA samples in the race for a cure—success is increasingly measured by how quickly results are delivered.

In this context, performance is no longer just about speed. With resilient networking, performance means enabling outcomes within the required timeframe. That could mean transferring terabytes of data in hours instead of days, delivering the latest inference models to edge locations in seconds rather than hours, or enabling applications to access data in milliseconds instead of minutes.

SteelHead Innovation in the Age of AI 

At the core of these advancements is RiOS 10, the latest iteration of Riverbed’s Acceleration software. RiOS 10 delivers peak data movement performance while ensuring secure delivery through advances like quantum-ready networking and confidential computing. Its capabilities power ten new SteelHead solutions for data center, cloud, and edge.

➤ SteelHead Cloud and SteelHead Virtual 

Powered by RiOS 10, SteelHead Cloud and SteelHead Virtual enable enterprises to move data and applications at speeds up to 20 Gbps, ensuring optimal application performance, faster delivery, and significant cost savings compared to traditional methods. This enables enterprises to seamlessly leverage AI for enhanced operational efficiency and strategic decision-making. SteelHead Virtual delivers these capabilities on virtualized customer environments and private clouds. 

Supporting customers’ multi-cloud strategies, we’ve expanded availability to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and Google Cloud Platform, in addition to AWS and Microsoft Azure. SteelHead Cloud is available directly from each cloud provider’s marketplace. 

➤ SteelHead Appliances 

Riverbed’s commitment to acceleration is evident in our latest Series 90 appliance offerings. These four new SteelHead appliances are engineered to handle the massive on-premise data movement required by AI, enterprise, and edge applications. 

Riverbed’s new SteelHead appliances deliver unparalleled performance, with the top end 8090 model offering up to 60 Gbps of data movement, translating to up to 21 Terabytes of data movement across vast distances per hour. The 8090 can be clustered to deliver multiples of these performance levels for large enterprise needs. Built on next-generation Intel CPUs, these appliances achieve remarkable throughput enabling vastly increased performance. This performance is crucial for applications that require rapid data transfer found in many industries. 

➤ SteelHead RS for Edge Computing 

To further help customers overcome the unique challenges of edge computing, Riverbed is also introducing SteelHead RS, a new software solution that solves the challenges of unreliable networks often found in edge computing locations. SteelHead RS maintains copies of business-critical data at the edge and provides near real-time accelerated data synchronization between the edge and core, either a data center or cloud. 

➤ Built-In Security for a Quantum Future 

As data movement increases, so does the exposure of sensitive information. This data is a lucrative target for threat actors, who may employ sophisticated techniques such as “harvest now, decrypt later” using emerging quantum technology.  

Riverbed’s resilient networking solutions prioritize security, ensuring that data remains protected against current and future threats. The introduction of Post Quantum Cryptography (PQC) in Riverbed’s RiOS 10 software is a testament to this commitment. PQC safeguards data tunnels, making them resistant to decryption by quantum computers. It also integrates advanced protections like Confidential Computing, Secure Boot, TPMs, and Total Memory Encryption—making SteelHead solutions tamper-proof and protecting data in transit and at rest. 

This security-first approach is also recognized by our partners. As Purnam Sheth, Vice President and GM of Trust & Security Products at Intel Corporation, shared:

“Protecting systems and data has never been more critical, especially when working with sensitive, confidential, or regulated information. We’re proud to collaborate with Riverbed and their new RiOS 10 SteelHead Acceleration solutions, which are designed to take advantage of Intel® Trust Domain Extensions (Intel® TDX) for enhanced protection. Looking ahead, we see opportunities for deeper integration with services like Intel® Tiber Trust Authority, which provides independent, zero trust verification for the integrity of computing environments. We’re excited about the potential it holds for advancing security, compliance, and data sovereignty in cloud environments.”

This collaboration with Intel reflects a shared commitment to delivering trusted, secure solutions that help organizations meet today’s compliance requirements while preparing for tomorrow’s cybersecurity landscape.

➤ Agility and Flexibility for Evolving Architectures 

As we are in the early stages of AI adoption, predicting which models and clouds will be optimal for an enterprise is challenging. As AI architectures evolve, so must the network’s capacity and connectivity. Riverbed’s solutions are designed to be agile and flexible, allowing enterprises to adapt quickly to changing requirements without committing to long-term contracts or upfront payments.  

Riverbed Flex subscriptions exemplify this agility by offering solutions in subscription model that can be used across hardware, virtual, or cloud environments. This architectural freedom enables customers to scale and adjust their network capacity effortlessly, ensuring that they can meet the demands of data movement without friction. 

Moving Your Data Forward 

Riverbed’s latest innovations mark a significant leap forward in acceleration and resilient networking. With the introduction of RiOS 10 and ten new solutions, we’re equipping enterprises with the performance, security, and agility needed to succeed in the AI era. 

Learn about our innovations and explore the new acceleration solutions powered by RiOS 10. Visit riverbed.com/10 or view our Launch Webcast.

While these challenges are inevitable, having the ability to adjust your technology and costs to align with business needs—rather than the other way around—can make them much easier to navigate. What if IT teams could shift resources on the fly, move licenses seamlessly, and adapt to new challenges without roadblocks? That’s exactly what Riverbed FLEX for Acceleration delivers—a smarter, more agile way to manage network performance.

The IT balancing act: Challenges of network architecture and capacity

Keeping network performance in sync with business needs isn’t easy. Traditional product purchase and licensing models are rigid, making scaling costly and complex. Expanding network capacity often requires additional hardware just to handle short-term spikes, leading to inefficiencies that hinder innovation.

Future-proofing network acceleration is even more challenging. Many existing solutions can’t adapt to fluctuating demands, seasonal surges, or long-term growth, forcing IT teams to make difficult trade-offs between cost, performance, and flexibility.

For years, this was simply the status quo. But today, IT teams have a solution designed for the dynamic environments of modern IT.

Breaking free from locked network architectures

Riverbed FLEX for Acceleration is an innovative subscription-based licensing model that removes the limitations of traditional product purchases, migration barriers, and expansion bottlenecks. It gives IT teams the power to scale, move, and optimize network acceleration resources on demand.

Imagine being able to shift acceleration licenses seamlessly across hardware, virtual, and cloud environments—without extra costs or downtime. Just continuous, optimized performance. 

What makes Riverbed FLEX unique?  Here’s how FLEX redefines network acceleration for IT teams like yours: 

• Effortless License Mobility: Move licenses freely across physical, virtual, and cloud environments, adapting in real time to evolving needs.
• Scalable Capacity: Dynamically reallocate acceleration resources to prevent underutilized hardware while ensuring no area experiences congestion.
• Smarter Hardware Upgrades: Upgrade infrastructure cost-effectively while maintaining full software access—without penalties or new license costs.
• Future-Proofed Investments: Scale licensing as needed, ensuring your network is always prepared for growth without overspending.
• On-Demand Acceleration: Handle temporary traffic spikes or seasonal demands effortlessly by adding capacity when necessary and scaling back when things stabilize.

Riverbed FLEX isn’t just another contract—it’s a fundamental shift in how IT teams manage network acceleration. No more playing catch-up. No more wasted resources. Just an agile, responsive IT infrastructure that works with your business, not against it.

The result? A streamlined IT experience that keeps pace with your business needs.

The future of network agility 

The reality of IT today is that change isn’t slowing down—it’s accelerating. Riverbed FLEX for Acceleration isn’t just about addressing today’s challenges; it prepares you for whatever comes next. As a FLEX subscriber, you’ll also receive access to future RiOS software updates at no additional cost, keeping your acceleration solutions aligned with industry innovations.

With the freedom to move, scale, and optimize, you can stop reacting and start leading. When your network moves as fast as your business, the possibilities are limitless.

Unlock a new era of flexibility with Riverbed FLEX! Learn more about Riverbed FLEX for Acceleration.