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I’m pleased to announce that this morning the CDN Evangelist group on LinkedIn topped the 500 member mark. As I reflect upon this, we all can share in the fact that CDN technology has become wildly popular and our industry has a wide selection of offerings in terms of both price and strategy. The group has grown not just in numbers, but also is a true standalone entity with lively discussions and people sharing all kinds of information about our industry.

When I started CDN Evangelist over 3 years ago, I wanted a place where industry professionals could share in a free environment that was unobstructed by marketers and analysts. It’s great to see that dream realized. I am now taking bets on how long it’ll take us to grow the group to 1000.

JOIN THE CDN EVANGELIST GROUP ON LINKEDIN

Company Recognized in Internet Retailer Magazine’s Top 500 Guide for Delivering High-Quality Content to Top E-Retailers

TEWKSBURY, MA – August 16, 2010 – Mirror Image® Internet, a leading provider of content delivery solutions powered by a patented global network, today announced that for the fourth consecutive year, Internet Retailer magazine has  named the company a 2010 Top 500 Vendor Leader in the Content Delivery Network (CDN) category. This recognition is based on the number of e-retailers in Internet Retailer’s annual Top 500 Guide that cited Mirror Image Internet as their CDN vendor.

Internet Retailer’s definitive ranking and analysis of America’s 500 largest e-retailers is based on annual 2009 Internet sales, researched by Internet Retailer and confirmed by retailers.  The listing profiles vendors in various categories this year, with the top three vendors in each category being determined by the frequency with which suppliers were cited by merchants in this year`s Top 500 Guide.

In the August 2010 issue of Internet Retailer, Mirror Image Internet will be recognized as one of the top three vendors in the CDN category.  The company’s content delivery solutions empower leading online retailers to capitalize on the growing importance of providing enticing online content that converts Web site visitors into buyers.

Mirror Image Internet recognizes that for online retailers to stay relevant and valuable, they need to provide fresh, engaging online content constantly, especially at peak shopping times when consumers are making key purchasing decisions.  Furthermore, having a solid content delivery strategy and solution is crucial to ensure that sites will not fail during peak shopping timeframes.  Providing both back-end support and customer-facing content that is always crisp and relevant continues to distinguish Mirror Image from the competition.   

“For the fourth year in a row, we are extremely proud to be recognized as a top vendor by Internet Retailer’s Top 500 Guide,” said James G. Hart, vice president, sales and marketing at Mirror Image Internet.  “Content delivery and ensuring a solid online presence continues to grow in importance, as consumer attention moves online. We look forward to paving the way for online retailers – and all businesses – to more fully engage with their consumers on this growing, malleable medium.” 

The Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide is now available and the list of the Top 500 Retailers can be found here.

About Internet Retailer

Published by Chicago-based Vertical Web Media LLC, Internet Retailer is a monthly national business magazine, web site, conference and directory that serve the retailing community. The Internet Retailer family of products focuses on the Internet’s vital role in a wide array of retailing activities, including web merchandising, supply chain management and multi-channel integration. Its 40,000 plus subscribers are senior executives primarily from retail chains, independent stores, catalogs, virtual merchants and brand-name manufacturers. Internet Retailer’s circulation represents the largest multi-channel readership base of any retailing magazine. The magazine also publishes the most widely read e-mail newsletter in retailing, IRNewsLink, which is distributed twice-weekly to 35,000 opt-in subscribers, operates the largest retailing information web site, InternetRetailer.com, sponsors the largest conference in the e-retailing industry and publishes an annual ranking of the 500 largest web sites.

Industry Veteran Hired to Scale Rapidly Growing Business

 WINTER PARK, Fla. – Aug. 3, 2010 – Highwinds, a leader in content delivery, network and IP services, today announced that it has hired Van Macatee as COO of Content Delivery and Network Services. In this role, he will leverage over three decades of global telecom, network and information technologies experience as he takes overall responsibility for all operational aspects of Highwinds’ Content Delivery and Network Services.

“Van has an impressive history of building efficient operations in high-growth companies,” said Steve Liddell, president of Content Delivery and Network Services for Highwinds. “With the recent acquisition of BandCon and our high growth rate, he will be instrumental in ensuring that our customer experience remains a top priority. He is a renowned expert at running successful technical operations and managing groups of talented people in a way that always benefits the customer.”

Macatee’s experience includes high-profile technical leadership roles for the U.S. Department of Defense, Sprint Long Distance, TCI and Level 3. While serving as group vice president, global operations, for Level 3, Macatee organized and ran the company’s worldwide network operations function, overseeing field operations, network provisioning and management, customer service and IT. Most recently, as founder of consultancy The Evermore Group, he assisted international cable and telecom operators in improving their operational strategies, execution and performance.

“Highwinds is a highly profitable company that is growing rapidly, and I am very excited to be part of an executive team that is shaking up the industry,” said Van Macatee, Highwinds’ new COO of Content Delivery and Network Services. “As I take the reins in this new role, my goal is to continuously improve our customer experience.”

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Mar 24, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — EdgeCast Networks, the superior, cost-effective rich media content delivery network (CDN), and ClickStreamTV, a platform for businesses to deliver video quickly and easily, today announced that ClickStreamTV will offer EdgeCast-powered content delivery services with no commitment.

EdgeCast, with sixteen global points of presence, will power ClickStreamTV’s new self-provisioning content delivery services. The EdgeCast network now interconnects with more than 850 user networks around the world, making EdgeCast one of the world’s best-connected and fastest CDNs, and providing an ideal foundation for very fast delivery of online video.

"Enabling ClickStreamTV’s pay-as-you-go CDN service is exciting for us, because it enables us to help smaller businesses we might otherwise miss," said James Segil, co-founder and president of EdgeCast Networks. "ClickStream’s easy interface and their ability to help the non-technical person speed up their video delivery is a win-win equation that we’re proud to be a part of." ClickStreamTV offers a platform-neutral video delivery service that enables even the least technical business owners to bring video online for prospects and customers. Customers ranging from sports promoters to legal educators have used the ClickStreamTV platform to stream video of product demos, entertainment, and live sports events. Business owners can stream content without charging viewers (such as with pre-sales demos) or they can offer content on a pay-per-view basis using ClickStreamTV’s CMS and payment technologies.

"Our customers realize the power of online video, but internet congestion is unpredictable, especially when there’s no way to know what part of the world your next viewer will be coming from," said Kevin Yahl, founder and CEO of ClickStreamTV. "Opening up the EdgeCast network to these customers will solve the vast majority of their streaming and delivery problems." Congestion on the public internet has been growing considerably in recent years, driven in large part by the explosion of online video and user generated content. This poses significant problems for publishers because it impedes video performance, often considerably. By delivering online video from servers closest to the end user, these issues are minimized or eliminated, ensuring a quality experience for users regardless of their location. This new service from ClickStreamTV enables small businesses to leverage a global content delivery service without making any bandwidth or spending commitments.

The ClickStreamTV service is available immediately.

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Atlanta –– March 17, 2010 — Silicon Valley Bank, financial partner to technology companies of all sizes worldwide, led a $35 million debt financing for Highwinds, a content, network and hosted IP services business that offers a comprehensive suite of services including CDN, IP transit, content storage and IP software. Highwinds’ platform and global network are trusted by top brands to deliver live event streaming, on-demand video and large file downloads to millions of global users every day. 

Highwinds, which is venture backed by Alta Communications, General Catalyst Partners and the European Founders Fund, will use the proceeds of this recent financing to refinance existing debt and accelerate its growth.

“With sustained growth, continued success in the market and a desire to have the flexibility to further expand our platform and network to bring valuable content to users around the world, we sought out a banking partner to help us achieve our business objectives,” said Steve Miller, president and CEO of Highwinds. “Because of our favorable financial profile and Silicon Valley Bank’s understanding of our business and market dynamics, they were the ideal partner in executing this all-important new financing.”

“Silicon Valley Bank has been dedicated to helping entrepreneurs succeed for nearly 30 years and through our depth of knowledge about the technology and telecommunications industry, we’re glad to be in a position to lead an important financing for Highwinds,” said Dale Kirkland of Silicon Valley Bank in Atlanta. “Our partnership model enables us to work with our clients and bring in other banking partners as needed since we’re focused on the long-term growth objectives of each company.”

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Netflix March 16 said it signed Akamai Technologies as the primary content delivery network (CDN) for its Watch Instantly streaming service.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Cambridge, Mass.-based Akamai replaces or co-mingles with Netflix’s current CDN, Limelight.

With servers less than 100 miles from all end users, Akamai’s service is considered one of the fastest delivery paths from the server closest to the end user.

Close proximity between end users and servers, especially for high definition files, is considered one of the essential requirements for download and delivery of movies with uninterrupted, smooth playback for users.

Akamai will also assist Netflix with its planned European launch later this year of a stand-alone streaming service.

n addition, Akamai, which at one time marketed one of the first digital entertainment set-top boxes, is the CDN of choice for Apple’s iTunes movie rentals and downloads.

There continues to be much speculation about a pending Netflix app on the Apple’s App store, scuttlebutt Netflix downplays.

“We chose Akamai as our primary content delivery network because we need a strong partner to deliver movies instantly and to be able to meet our ever-increasing demand,” said Andrew Rendich with Netflix, in a statement.

The Los Gatos, Calif.-based online DVD rental pioneer has seen its membership grow exponentially due in part to offering streaming as a value-add to monthly subscribers.

Indeed, by the end of 2009, almost half of the 12.3 million Netflix members had instantly watched a movie or TV episode on either a computer or TV via a Netflix ready device.

Netflix Selects Akamai for Streaming | homemediamagazine.com