Akamai outlines its position on cloud computing

BANGALORE, INDIA: Akamai Technologies, Inc., the leader in powering rich media, dynamic transactions and enterprise applications online, is releasing today the first in a four-part series of white papers offering perspective on cloud computing.

The white paper, 'A Perspective from the Edge of the Cloud', provides a framework for evaluating the cloud computing marketplace by exploring enabling technologies, current offerings, and challenges.  The paper also considers Akamai’s role as a provider of cloud optimization services that are designed to help cloud computing fulfill its promise to deliver flexible, efficient, business-critical infrastructure for the enterprise.

“Akamai is in a unique position to help enable enterprises to pursue their cloud strategies,” said Tom Leighton, chief scientist and co-founder, Akamai.  “Services for cloud optimization are a vital part of our total offering, and go well beyond Content Delivery Network (CDN) cache-based technologies.  Akamai addresses the inefficiencies in application, transport, and routing layer protocols, and offers products for enterprises designed to ensure the security and continuity of their cloud-based strategies.  This paper looks at enabling technologies that reside at the edge of the cloud.”

A Perspective from the Edge of the Cloud examines the components of a cloud computing model that include cloud virtualization technologies and cloud optimization services, as well as the principal offerings from within the cloud that are Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). 

Akamai believes that enterprises will use all aspects of this emerging cloud model, and already sees established enterprises demonstrating a desire to leverage the cloud in a modular way.  The ability to migrate and run components of Web applications across various cloud platforms – based on the business requirements of the application – is expected to be a fundamental part of how enterprises migrate to the cloud.

 A single site, for example, may use IaaS offerings for storage overflow, PaaS for custom application modules, and best-of-breed SaaS applications, along with on-premises origin systems.  Some enterprises have even established private clouds – creating a pool of infrastructure resources, typically deployed within their own firewalls that can be dynamically shared among different applications and functions within the enterprise.

“Consider that the Internet is the common link between all these cloud computing modules, with varying issues around performance, reliability, scalability, and security,” continued Leighton.  “Enterprises are facing challenges presented by multiple cloud offering integrations, as well as challenges inherent to the ‘Internet’ cloud itself.” 

The Akamai difference

Akamai has built the world’s largest distributed cloud optimization network.  Having pioneered the content delivery market one decade ago, Akamai's services have been adopted by the world's most recognized brands across diverse industries.  The alternative to centralized Web infrastructure, Akamai's global network of tens of thousands of distributed servers provides the scale, reliability, insight and performance for businesses to succeed online.  Akamai has transformed the Internet into a more viable place to inform, entertain, advertise, interact, and collaborate.