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Akamai Rumored to be in Talks to Buy CDN Operator Cotendo
Web Host Industry Review
By Justin Lee, November 28, 2011 (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Multiple reports surfaced on Sunday, including one from Data Center Knowledge, that content delivery network Cotendo is rumored to currently in talks to be acquired by CDN market leader …

Multi-Tiered Platform Offers Last-Mile Providers Reselling, Managed Hosting and Licensing Options

WINTER PARK, Fla., Oct. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Highwinds®, a leader in content delivery, network and cloud-based IP services, today announced the expansion of its managed services portfolio to include a Licensed CDN (content delivery network) offering for ISPs, telcos and MSOs. It enables last-mile providers to create new CDN-based revenue streams by delivering advanced CDN capabilities to their customers, while alleviating the strain over-the-top (OTT) content is putting on their networks. Highwinds Licensed CDN was architected to support the Federated CDN model and allows providers to rapidly and seamlessly transition between Highwinds’ multiple CDN solution tiers – reselling, managed hosting and licensing.

"We’ve been licensing our software and providing managed hosting services to ISPs and telcos since 2003, and we currently have 63 customers in this space. We were also the first CDN to offer a reseller model, complete with private-labeling, APIs, and a high degree of R&D transparency," said Steve Miller, chairman and CEO of Highwinds. "As such, responding to the CDN needs of last-mile providers with a licensing and federating platform was a natural next step for us."

Highwinds Licensed CDN enables customers to add CDN services to their solutions portfolio and grow in a way that both leverages their own network strengths and subsidizes their network expansion. With a multi-tiered licensing approach rooted in Highwinds’ hallmark flexibility and scalability, Highwinds Licensed CDN allows carriers to seamlessly transition between various tiers without ever re-provisioning their customer accounts. The platform supports the complete build-out of a lightning-fast, powerful, advanced CDN, and lays the groundwork for federation with Highwinds CDN and other federation partners. The platform’s opportunities include:

CDN Reseller – Highwinds’ network and StrikeTracker® console were built from the ground up to support a reseller model, and today, Highwinds has an extensive global reseller channel. Any communications provider that joins Highwinds’ reseller program can brand StrikeTracker as its own and can immediately begin reselling Highwinds CDN. Highwinds’ resellers can provision and manage their own customers, pricing, billing, etc.

CDN Managed Hosting – Providers can grow their network through Highwinds’ managed hosting services, while leveraging the cost advantages of their own network and data centers. Highwinds provides capacity planning, rollout assistance and ongoing support.

Licensed CDN Operation – In true licensing fashion, last-mile providers license the CDN software stack and operate the CDN directly. Highwinds provides equipment recommendations, capacity planning and cross-functional training. All licensees receive access to Highwinds’ full suite of CDN services and ongoing software upgrades.

Federated CDN – Providers may elect to expand their CDN footprint through federation, interconnecting their CDN with Highwinds CDN and other federation partners to cross-deliver traffic. CDN federation members benefit from a larger footprint without further deployment, giving each member the ability to sell global delivery, reduce local transport costs, and complement existing transit and peering relationships.

"With the rapid growth of OTT video being delivered over last-mile networks around the world, the CDN space is obviously interesting to telcos and other communications providers. For some, it makes perfect sense to design their own CDN. For most, it does not," said Josh Gagliardi, Highwinds’ CTO. "Our Licensed CDN platform is designed for the vast majority who need instant-on, flexible, scalable, reliable CDN solutions – now. It also delivers the unique hardware infrastructure and solid software foundation on which the Federated CDN must be built."

Gagliardi will be presenting on an expert panel entitled, "Outlining the Possible Different CDN Federation Models and Structures," at the CDN World Summit in London on Oct. 27.

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Content Delivery Market Growing Rapidly
MarketWatch (press release)
Access to the full company reports can be found at: A report from Global Industry Analysts (GIA) estimates that the global Content Delivery Network (CDN) market is projected to reach $4.7 billion by 2015. According to the report, key factors driving …
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Limelight sells EyeWonder to DG for $66m
Screen Digest (press release)
Content Delivery Network (CDN) Limelight Networks will sell EyeWonder to DG (formerly DG FastChannel), for approximately $66m in cash. Eyewonder provides ad management services to agencies and publishers for rich media formats (in-stream, in-player and …
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OpenDNS and Google working with CDNs on DNS speedup
Ars Technica
By Ryan Paul | Published August 30, 2011 5:30 PM A group of DNS providers and content delivery network (CDN) companies have devised a new extension to the DNS protocol that that aims to more effectively direct users to the closest CDN endpoint. …
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Here’s Why the Future of the CDN Business Is in Mobile Content Acceleration
Seeking Alpha
At the same time, the evolution of mobile behaviors and use cases (for users, publishers, and advertisers) underscores the need for new ways to overcome weakness in wireless data network delivery to ensure that content arrival on handsets can hold …
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IPTV News
As consumption of Web content on these devices continues to grow, content delivery network providers will play a critical role in ensuring that content gets to these devices efficiently and in the right format. The market for CDN services continues to …
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