UK Public Sector

Stop overpaying for load balancing. Start delivering more with less.

Across the UK public sector—spanning NHS trusts, local councils, education and central government—IT teams are under increasing pressure to deliver secure, resilient digital services while managing constrained budgets and procurement scrutiny. Recent shifts in the application delivery controller (ADC) market are accelerating re-evaluation of existing platforms.

Rising Costs and Procurement Pressure

Many public sector organizations are reassessing their reliance on platforms like Citrix due to significant licensing changes and rising renewal costs. Feedback across the market highlights that subscription-based pricing models are driving 2 - 3x increases in spend, putting pressure on already tightly managed budgets.

At the same time, procurement teams are playing a more active role in making decisions, focusing on cost transparency, long-term value and avoiding vendor lock-in. This makes cost-effective alternatives increasingly attractive.

Simplicity That Reduces Operational Burden

Public sector IT teams want a simpler solution to manage their most critical infrastructure. Compared to traditional platforms like Citrix and F5, where dedicated engineers are often required, organizations are finding that simpler solutions can:

• Reduce dependency on specialist skills
• Simplify deployment and onboarding
• Lower ongoing operational overhead

This aligns with broader public sector priorities to streamline IT operations and deliver services faster with fewer resources. Feedback from the field also highlights strong support experiences as a key differentiator when compared to incumbent vendors.

F5 Hardware Refresh Cycles Driving Re-Evaluation

F5 customers in the UK public sector are also facing costly hardware refresh cycles, particularly as legacy platforms are phased out and replaced with newer, higher-cost models.

For many organizations, this is prompting a critical reassessment of requirements. Instead of continuing to invest in platforms with feature sets that exceed actual needs, teams are exploring alternatives that deliver:

• Core functionality without unnecessary complexity
• Lower upfront and lifecycle costs
• Greater alignment to modern, hybrid infrastructure
• A shift toward right-sized, cost-effective solutions

As a result, there is growing momentum across the public sector to move toward solutions that prioritize:

• Cost efficiency – Reducing total cost of ownership over time
• Operational simplicity – Enabling teams to do more with less
• Resilience and availability – Maintaining the accessibility of critical public services
• Security and compliance alignment – Supporting standards across NHS and government environments

Solutions like the Progress^® Kemp^® LoadMaster^® load balancing solution are increasingly being considered in this context, offering a simpler, more cost-effective approach to application delivery while still meeting the availability, security and performance requirements expected in public sector environments.

Flexible, Procurement-Aligned Licensing for the UK Public Sector

LoadMaster subscription licensing is designed to align with how UK public sector organizations plan, fund and procure technology.

Rather than large upfront capital expenditure, subscription licensing enables organizations to:

• Adopt an OpEx-friendly model, supporting budget cycles common across NHS trusts, local authorities and central government
• Align costs to project timelines, making it ideal for fixed-term initiatives, digital transformation programs or grant-funded projects
• Avoid long-term lock-in, with the flexibility to renew based on evolving requirements and procurement reviews

This approach provides a more predictable and controlled cost structure, helping organizations stay compliant with procurement frameworks while maintaining financial transparency and flexibility.