CDN Ecosystem 2.0

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This is part two of the Content Delivery Network Ecosystem diagram. The diagram below includes 16 of 17 USA based CDNs. The objective of the diagram is to visually represent each CDN in the ecosystem. In my original post, I purposely left out some of the CDNs like Internap.  The diagram includes a new circle which I call the “Low Profile” CDNs. The Low Profile CDNs have been around for about a decade operating in status quo mode, not making much noise in the press, nor growing rapidly like a Fastly or EdgeCast. Regardless, they still occupy an important place in the CDN ecosystem.

Some of the Low Profile CDNs even have Fortune 1000 divisions as clients.  Not every CDN has a mission to go public. I found the best way to classify a CDN is by specialization or niche functionality. No one CDN is the best in every single category, not even Akamai. With that said, Akamai is the only CDN that offers every type of functionality available in the ecosystem. Some CDNs are better than others, in offering a particular type of CDN service, like security, or mobile content acceleration. The diagram is a work-in-process, and as I receive new data points, it will updated accordingly. The CDNs that were left out the previous diagram that are included in this one are Amazon Cloudfront, Internap, Mirror Image and Cachefly.

CDN Ecosystem 2.0

CDN Ecosystem Chart
CDN Ecosystem Chart
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