Today, there is only one CDN that can challenge Akamai on its features set, scale, and performance, and that’s EdgeCast. Presently, Akamai has one feature that EdgeCast doesn’t, the WAF (web application firewall). However, in the coming months Edgecast is very likely to introduce a web application firewall, thus closing the gap. If Verizon decides to invest $50M to $100M in EdgeCast this year to build out its infrastructure, Akamai is going to tested like never before.
2015 is going to be a critical year for Akamai, and will decide whether they will be able to reach the $5B milestone by 2020. Verizon has every single Fortune 1000 as a customer. Verizon can easily walk EdgeCast into each of those accounts, and start upselling EdgeCast services. The best part is that Verizon already has a relationship in place with those customers, so Edgecast doesn’t have to start from scratch. Its the ideal situation for EdgeCast, as it will be in a position to capture some of Akamai’s business. Internally, Verizon uses a significant amount of CDN services itself.
That business is likely to move over to EdgeCast, providing an additional $50M to $100M in annual revenue, making Edgecast a $200M/year CDN. Akamai is going to have a full plate of competition, having to contend with EdgeCast, Incapsula, Faslty, and the new Limelight, if they decide to acquire Alert Logic. One thing is certain, if Limelight fails to buy Alert Logic, or another security company, the gap between EdgeCast and Limelight Networks is going to widen. How much revenue will EdgeCast generate in year 2015? My educated guess is $400M. Akamai vs EdgeCast in 2015