The most important reason that pushes Akamai Technologies to disperse its servers geographically is infrastructural issued. The system of Akamai’s products works in the next way: after receiving the request from the user about any file (video\images\music\etc.) system pass this request to the nearest Akamai’s server, where a copy of web-site that is needed is situated. So there is no need to pass the whole way from the user’s computer to the server of web-site (it could be even in the opposite part of the world!), but only to the nearest Akamai’s server. This system helps to short the way between the user and files he want to receive, so, as a result, the speed increase in times and you can avoid all standard problems with file’s streaming. So, geographical disperse in needed to increase the speed of Internet traffic – in fact, this is the main product of Akamai Technologies.
If I had a need of Internet content traffic, I will totally use an Akamai’s products. First of all, the problem of gap between the Internet demand and infrastructural abilities is growing from year to year – so, almost any company that stream some files through the Internet is facing with problem of slow connection or any other problems with streaming. Akamai Technologies proved on practices that its system works and help to avoid all these problems. Secondly, the branch of Akamai’s clients is really impressive. Such companies as Apple are using its products for years, so it proves that use of such a system is important part of nowadays Internet-performance. The quality of products you provide and, as a result, satisfaction of your clients should be on the first place, and without Akamai Technologies it is almost impossible if you work with Internet streaming.
Akamai provides one of its products called Advertising Decision Solutions that helps to analyze the Internet traffic through geographical disperse, age, intensity. It could be used for marketing targeting, so the companies could better identify their client’s needs or even just to find new clients (for example, contextual add). So, in fact, Akamai provides information for the advertising and it is the next step, how the companies will use this information.
The main reasons why major businesses do not distribute their videos using B2B networks like Bittorrent are infrastructural issues and safety. On the one hand, the idea of B2B networks looks almost the same as Akamai’s technology – to disperse files on different serves (computers in case of B2B networks) in order to minimize the way between the provider of the files and receivers. But what works on P2P market not always works well in case of huge businesses. Such P2P networks like Bittorrent could not provide stable traffic in case of huge traffic pressure – because they are using not huge servers like Akamai does, but personal computers of usual users. And this will not be working well when tens of million users will try to stream one file in the same time. Moreover, it will face the safety issue, because the responsibility will be dispersed among too many peoples\companies.
In my opinion, users should pay for the traffic that they are using. There should be different types of packages (plans) that are divided by the speed the user will be used and the amount of traffic. So, if you are watching movies or streaming on-line shows through the Internet – you need to buy a more expensive plan that will allow you to do so. In opposite, if you need the Internet for mailing or news (some simple task) there is no need to pay for high-speed traffic. The second variant could be, also, good decision for companies and their internal usage of Internet.
REFERENCES
Traver, Kenneth Laudon and Carol G. E-Commerce 2012, 8/e for DeVry University. Pearson Learning Solutions, 10/2012. VitalBook file.
Official web-site of Akamai Technologies. Retrieved on 13 of July, 2016. https://www.akamai.com/
