F5 Application Delivery and Security Platform (ADSP) showcased as a leader across multiple WAAP categories
F5 (NASDAQ: FFIV), the global leader in delivering and securing every app and API, today announced that it has been recognized as an overall leader in the 2025 KuppingerCole Leadership Compass Report for Web Application and API Protection (WAAP) solutions. The report provides an overview of the WAAP market and assesses vendors based on innovation, market presence, and technology leadership. F5 is spotlighted as a frontrunner, setting the bar for excellence in cybersecurity defenses.
WAAP solutions merge traditional web application firewall (WAF) features with new tools that discover and protect apps and APIs at a granular level while delivering protection against automated threats and fraud, providing vulnerability and anomaly detection, and ensuring complete multi-layered DDoS mitigation.
“F5 WAAP is an excellent option for large enterprises looking for a WAAP solution,” said Osman Celik, research analyst at KuppingerCole and author of the report. “Its versatility across deployment models and integration with major platforms make it a strong candidate for enterprises with complex, multi-cloud environments.”
KuppingerCole sees a bigger role for WAAP in delivering modern apps, noting “the relevance of WAAP will expand beyond threat detection to include visibility and control.” Applications and the APIs that enable them are at the heart of all digital experiences, and when they are secure, they unlock business value. But just as apps have become critical for life online, they have also become harder to protect. Today’s apps are built on multiple architectures—from hybrid multicloud to on-premises—and their distributed nature increases operational complexities and expands attack surfaces. To address these challenges, the F5 Application Delivery and Security Platform (ADSP) offers the most comprehensive WAAP solution on the market and is the only platform that delivers, secures, and optimizes every app and API anywhere.
In addition to robust API protection, the Leadership Compass Report calls out the importance of secure DNS, client-side defense, web app scanning, and an AI-assisted operations interface in F5’s WAAP portfolio.
The report also emphasizes F5’s sophisticated security measures that protect against the OWASP Top 10 for APIs, inclusive of API discovery and testing functionalities using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). This strategic use of AI technology enables F5 to offer dynamic protection mechanisms that are both predictive and adaptive, safeguarding digital assets against evolving threats in the AI era.
The Leadership Compass Report highlights F5’s strength in several areas:
- Incorporating agentic AI into the F5 Application Delivery and Security Platform to deliver contextual insights for threat management.
- Comprehensive DDoS mitigation to limit disruptions while maintaining application availability.
- AI and ML algorithms to mitigate and score risks by tracking user behavior and detecting malicious activities.
- Scalable deployment models to support cloud, on-premises, containers, serverless platforms, and VM instances.
“The WAAP solutions built into the F5 ADSP stand at the forefront of safeguarding web applications in a rapidly changing cyber landscape across complex hybrid and multicloud environments,” said John Maddison, Chief Product and Corporate Marketing Officer at F5. “This acknowledgment reaffirms F5’s position as a WAAP leader and our effectiveness in meeting customer needs and protecting any application or API.”