Akamai Announces New Cloud Computing Capabilities for Streaming Video at 2023 NAB Show

Focuses on improving streaming video quality, customization and cost;

Also unveils CMCD enhancements and new computing partners for media workflows

LAS VEGAS, April 17, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ: AKAM), the cloud company that powers and protects life online, today introduced new cloud computing capabilities for streaming video at the 2023 NAB Show. The features are designed to help OTT operators deliver higher quality and more personalized video experiences to viewers. They can also help operators achieve lower, more predictable operating costs and improve content monetization efforts. In addition, Akamai announced enhancements to its support for the Common Media Client Data (CMCD) specification and highlighted the latest members of the Qualified Computing Partner program.

Cloud power, scale
OTT services today drive the types of complex applications and demanding workloads that Akamai’s cloud services are ideally suited to handle. Built on Akamai Connected Cloudthe massively distributed edge and cloud platform for cloud computing, content delivery and security that developers can use Akamai Cloud Services to build, run and secure applications and workloads best suited to where and how their viewers connect. For viewers, that means low-latency, high-performance experiences; for OTT operators, it means global scalability with lower cost and predictable pricing.

“Whether you’re building the app or paying the bills from cloud providers, Akamai’s cloud services are uniquely capable of helping cover the gamut of development, cost control and viewer experience,” said John Alexander, Vice President, Product Management, Akamai. “We’re bringing OTT operators a host of powerful new cloud computing capabilities, scaling them across our global platform and supporting them with Akamai’s content delivery and security services.”

In addition, Akamai is adding new use cases to its EdgeWorkers serverless computing capabilities that address the needs of content customization, rights management, and security for streaming video. The use cases support DASH and HLS streaming protocols:

• Manifest and playlist manipulation: Reduce storage requirements and costs for operators while providing improved viewing experiences for end users by using EdgeWorkers to dynamically adjust manifest file elements such as bitrate order, resolution filtering, and edge subtitles, closer to viewers.
• Program change: Implement faster, more flexible pre-delivery content stitching for both live and on-demand video. Operators can insert content pre-, mid- and post-roll into video streams based on criteria such as geolocation and time of day to satisfy requirements such as rights restrictions or local ratings.
• Watermark: Better track and reduce live and on-demand video piracy with A/B content watermarking compliant with the new DASH Industry Forum (DASH-IF) specification support for all watermarking technologies, encoders and CDNs.

Performance improvements, more insight
To help OTT operators improve the viewing experience and gain additional visibility into video performance, Akamai is expanding its support for the CMCD specification. Created by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the specification enables device-based media players to send playback information to Akamai and other CDNs. Akamai uses CMCD to intelligently prefetch content, which can improve video start time and reduce buffering.

With CMCD support, OTT operators can also benefit from more consistent, reliable metrics for the quality of the viewing experience. The CDN receives meaningful client-side data and provides low-latency, high-volume processing power generate logs which can be delivered to third-party analytics tools for reporting and analysis.

Partner workflow solutions
Akamai also highlights the members of its Qualified Computing Partner program, which provides solution-based services for media workflows. The services are compatible with Akamai Connected Cloud and are available through partners who have completed a thorough qualification process.

• Item: Ateme provides video compression and delivery solutions that help tier-1 content providers, service providers and streaming platforms increase their viewership and engagement.
• Capella Systems: Capella Systems offers software-based VOD transcoding, live encoding and packaging solutions that can be deployed on-premise, in the cloud or as a hybrid solution.
• HarperDB: HarperDB’s distributed application platform simplifies development and data management at scale, reduces complexity and latency, and improves the economics of modern computing.
• Hydrolix: Hydrolix can drive observability for Akamai customers with built-in dashboards and enables real-time data ingestion at any scale, lightning-fast query performance, massive data storage at a fraction of the cost of other services and platforms.
• LiveKit: LiveKit is an open source developer stack designed for real-time video and audio communication, making it easy to build applications for interactive live streaming, conferencing, collaboration or robotics – backed by the reliability and scalability of Akamai Connected Cloud.
• LiveSwitch: LiveSwitch provides critical video infrastructure that powers the most engaging and interactive real-time communication and entertainment experiences on the web.
• Macro meta: The Macrometa Global Data Network enables new dynamic, real-time services such as intent-based content discovery, tailored recommendations and powerful cohort mapping for Direct Ad Insertions (DAI) and Server Side Ad Inclusion (SSAI).
• Scalström: The Scalstrm media platform offers the ability to select and match features including continuous live recordings, real-time advertising/replacement, content repackaging and adaptations to different streams for different device types.
• Unified Streaming: Unified Streaming, which provides solutions for complex streaming challenges, partners with Akamai to enable faster deployment of virtual channels, including FAST channels, among many other solutions.

About Akamai
Akamai powers and protects life online. Leading enterprises worldwide choose Akamai to build, deliver and secure their digital experiences – helping billions of people live, work and play every day. Akamai Connected Cloud, a massively distributed edge and cloud platform, puts apps and experiences closer to users and keeps threats further away. Learn more about Akamai’s cloud computing, security and content delivery solutions at akamai.com and akamai.com/blog, or follow Akamai Technologies at Twitter and LinkedIn.

Contacts:
Chris Nicholson
Akamai Media Relations
+1.508.517.3703
(email protected)

Tom Barth
Akamai Investor Relations
+1.617.274.7130
(email protected)

SOURCE Akamai Technologies, Inc.