AT&T and cloud platform provider Akamai Technologies today announced that they will partner to provide a suite of content delivery network (CDN) and telecom solutions to companies around the world.
The two companies are combining Akamai’s content delivery platform with AT&T’s IP network to deliver exclusive offerings that will be jointly marketed, managed and supported by both AT&T and Akamai, according to a company statement. The companies will initially focus offerings on North America, with plans to expand globally within a year.
The announcement is just the latest in a series of acquisitions and partnerships in the mobile and cloud arena, with more and more companies seeking a strong portfolio to keep up with demand for cloud-based services.
Under the agreement, Akamai will deploy CDN servers at the edge of AT&T’s IP network and in AT&T facilities around the U.S., leading to customer benefits in terms of more efficient content routing and better delivery of digital content, video and Web applications. AT&T said it will transfer its existing CDN operations, customers and service to the Akamai platform in 2013.
“The alliance with Akamai positions us perfectly to deliver premier content delivery solutions to our business customers,” said Anyd Geisse, CEO of AT&T Business Solutions. “By embedding Akamai’s technology within AT&T’s IP network, our customers now have access to a suite of solutions that more than meet their need for content delivery and support. In an environment where companies and consumers alike are accessing video content and other applications online and from a multitude of devices, I can’t think of a better way to address the explosive growth in content that is sweeping across industries like media and retail.”
Paul Sagan, president and CEO of Akamai, said that the partnership “creates a powerful relationship aimed at helping enterprises optimize their online businesses. Together with AT&T, we share a common goal of developing solutions to maximize the Web and mobile end user experience, while driving down network-related costs and improving network efficiencies. We believe there will be tremendous value to customers in deploying within AT&T’s robust IP network, and in jointly going to market with leading content delivery and cloud infrastructure offerings.”
