In the CDN Ecosystem, there are leaders, followers, innovators and disruptors. Akamai, EdgeCast and Limelight Networks are leaders. Fastly, Yottaa and CloudFlare are innovators. Internap and others are followers. Then there are the disruptors. Out of all the bunch, the CDN disruptors are the ones that cause uncertainty and fear. Their innovation is different, unusual, very forward thinking and totally unexpected. Its rare in the CDN industry to see one company create a service or feature set that is above and beyond what other CDNs are offering, but to see three companies doing it in the same year, simply equates to chaos. Chaos is great in the technology industry, because the less we know about the future and what its going to brings about, the more opportunity there is to prosper, for those who figure it out.
 3 Disruptors of the CDN Ecosystem
Instart Logic with its Software-Defined Application Delivery (SDAD) Service, Incapsula with its DDoS Mitigation Platform and Behemoth DDoS Appliance, and Aryaka Networks with its WAN as-a-service and Enterprise CDN are now in the process of changing the CDN industry for good. All CDNs must adapt to the new reality and create new CDN business models, in order to survive the next few years. It’s no longer okay to be a traditional CDN offering caching, streaming, and the typical CDN feature set. The three disruptors are causing a chain reaction in CDN business model change, and CDNs that ignore the change might not make it. The disruptors are deploying new technologies, such as SDN, big data security, VM software layers, intelligent algorithm based CDN applications, private B2B CDN capabilities, WAN as-a-service, wireless last mile content acceleration and behavioral based security systems. Trying to take in all these technology is overwhelming, but over the coming weeks we’ll dissect it, analyze it and discuss it.