Riverbed's leap in network observability

In a move to address the surging demands of modern enterprise networks, Riverbed, a provider of AI-driven observability, has launched a suite of intelligent network observability solutions. These solutions are engineered to significantly enhance network visibility, enabling IT teams to anticipate and tackle issues before they snowball into larger business challenges.

The launch heralds a new era for Riverbed’s Platform, following a remarkable 92% year-over-year increase in observability bookings in early 2025. Marking Riverbed's third major innovation of the year, these solutions promise to bolster the company's market momentum by addressing the growing intricacies of enterprise networks and the pressing need for a seamless digital experience.

Unveiling the XX90 Appliance Series: Alongside its main network observability offerings—AppResponse, NetProfiler, and Flow Gateway—Riverbed has unveiled the new XX90 appliance series. Delivering triple the performance of previous systems without increased costs, these appliances cater to the intense demands of today's network traffic.

Dave Donatelli, CEO of Riverbed, said, “With today’s launch, we’re unveiling our next-generation Riverbed xx90 systems, offering dramatically higher performance and efficiency, alongside significant software advancements in network performance monitoring and enterprise-wide observability—now packaged and integrated with Riverbed IQ for AI-driven insights. These new solutions respond directly to our customers’ priorities: streamlining tool sets, unifying and simplifying network management, and automating for efficiency. And, with the Riverbed Flex offer, customers gain even greater software licensing flexibility, investment protection and cost savings.”

For organisations keen on technological advancement without breaking the bank, Riverbed introduces its Flex Subscription, empowering IT teams with the flexibility to deploy licenses across hardware, virtual, or cloud environments seamlessly. With the Essentials Bundle, teams gain access to:

• Riverbed IQ: SaaS-based AI offering pinpointed issue-resolution without additional infrastructure.
• Workspaces: Role-based dashboards providing cohesive insights from packet, flow, and endpoint analysis.
• Grafana Plug-In: Integration for visualising observability data on existing dashboards.
• Topology Viewer: A dynamic tool correlating network topology to application and user performance.

Performance Maximisation: Riverbed's XX90 series appliances are crafted to support the vast scale and precision needed for today’s distributed networks. They are optimised for both AppResponse and NetProfiler, ensuring high throughput and storage capabilities to handle today’s demanding packet and flow capture requirements smoothly.

The updated AppResponse version further extends capabilities with features like real-time triage of encrypted traffic and extensive storage options. Meanwhile, the flow-centric monitoring tools, such as the new NetProfiler, now offer significantly faster reporting, enhanced load balancing, and full compatibility with modern SD-WAN solutions.

These technological advancements, culminating in a more intelligent observability strategy, position Riverbed as a formidable player in enabling smarter, faster, and scalable network operations. As organisations prepare their infrastructure for a future dominated by AI applications, scaling beyond legacy tools to embrace Riverbed’s solutions stands as a strategic imperative.