Akamai Technologies
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| Type | Public (NASDAQ: AKAM) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1998 |
| Founder(s) | Tom Leighton Daniel M. Lewin |
| Headquarters |  Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States |
| Key people | George H. Conrades, Chairman; Paul L. Sagan, President & CEO |
| Industry | Internet hosting services |
| Products | Content delivery |
| Revenue | ▲$790.92 Million USD (2008) |
| Net income | ▲$145.14 Million USD (2008) |
| Employees | 1,578[1] |
| Website | http://www.akamai.com/ |
Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), pronounced [ɑkɑmɑɪ][2], is a company that provides a distributed computing platform for global Internet content and application delivery, whose headquarters are in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company was founded in 1998 by then-MIT graduate student Daniel Lewin, along with MIT Applied Mathematics professor Tom Leighton and MIT Sloan School of Management students Jonathan Seelig and Preetish Nijhawan. Leighton still serves as Akamai's Chief Scientist, while Lewin was killed aboard American Airlines flight 11 which was crashed in the September 11 attacks of 2001. Akamai is a Hawaiian word meaning smart or intelligent.
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[edit] Content delivery to a user
Akamai transparently mirrors content — sometimes all content including HTML and CSS, and sometimes just media objects such as audio, graphics, animation, and video — from customer servers. Though the domain name (but not subdomain) is the same, the IP address points to an Akamai server rather than the customer's server. The Akamai server is automatically picked depending on the type of content and the user's network location.
The benefit is that users can receive content from whichever Akamai server is close to them or has a good connection, leading to faster download times and less vulnerability to network congestion or outages.
In addition to image caching, Akamai provides services which accelerate dynamic and personalized content, J2EE-compliant applications, and streaming media to the extent that such services frame a localized perspective.
[edit] Customers
Akamai's customers include many large internet, media and computer companies.
In 1999 Microsoft and Akamai formed a strategic relationship to enhance internet content delivery.[3] This relationship still exists to this day.
Other customers include CNN and JCPenney. [4]
Arabic news network Al-Jazeera was a customer from March 28, 2003 until April 2, 2003, when Akamai decided to end the relationship.[5] The network's English-language managing editor claimed this was due to political pressure.[6]
In June 2008, The NewsMarket teamed with Akamai to accelerate dynamic content and applications to global media ahead of the Beijing Olympics [7]
[edit] Acquisitions
In March 2005, Akamai signed an agreement to acquire Speedera Networks for 12 million shares of Akamai common stock, valued at $130 million at that time.[8] Both companies also agreed to halt pending lawsuits involving trade secrets and patent infringement.[9] The acquisition was completed in June 2005.[10]
On April 12, 2007 Akamai acquired Red Swoosh in exchange for 350,000 shares of Akamai common stock.[11] The acquisition of Red Swoosh was valued at approximately $15 million, net of cash acquired.
In late 2008, Akamai acquired Acerno, a behavioral targeting firm, and launched a new division, Advertising Decision Solutions.[12]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Company Profile for Akamai Technologies Inc (AKAM)". http://www.google.com/finance?q=akam. Retrieved on 2009-07-02.
- ^ Jeff Stark. "Hawaiian Pronunciation Guide". Visitmaui.com. http://www.visitmaui.com/agents/pronounce.html. Retrieved on 2009-04-02.
- ^ http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/1999/sept99/AkamaiPr.mspx
- ^ http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/ratul/akamai.html
- ^ "Akamai ends Al Jazeera server support". News.com.com. http://news.com.com/1200-1035-995546.html. Retrieved on 2009-04-02.
- ^ "Al Jazeera Denied Akamai Services". Tech.mit.edu. 2003-04-08. http://tech.mit.edu/V123/N17/17aljazeera.17n.html. Retrieved on 2009-04-02.
- ^ "The NewsMarket partnered with Akamai to Accelerate Dynamic Content and Applications to Global Media Ahead of Beijing Olympics". Akamai Technologies. June 09, 2008. http://www.akamai.com/html/about/press/releases/2008/press_060908.html.
- ^ "Akamai to Acquire Speedera Networks". Press Release. Akamai Technologies, Inc.. 2005-03-16. http://www.akamai.com/html/about/press/releases/2005/press_031605.html.
- ^ "Akamai snaps up rival Speedera". CNET News. 2005-03-16. http://www.news.com/Akamai-snaps-up-rival-Speedera/2100-1038_3-5620140.html.
- ^ "Akamai Completes Acquisition of Speedera Networks". Press Release. Akamai Technologies, Inc.. 2005-06-13. http://www.akamai.com/html/about/press/releases/2005/press_061305.html.
- ^ "Form 10-Q for Akamai Technologies Inc". http://biz.yahoo.com/e/070809/akam10-q.html. Retrieved on 2007-09-18.
- ^ "Connect your products and services to a buying audience". Akamai Technologies, Inc.. 2009-04-30. http://www.akamai.com/html/solutions/ads_advertisers.html.
[edit] External links
- Akamai home page
- Traffic Cops Of The Net (BusinessWeek article)
- Akamai: In the Broadband Internet Sweet Spot (article)
- The Motley Fool's analysis of Akamai
- The Akamai Story: From Theory to Practice
- Yahoo! Finance "Akamai Technologies, Inc." Company Profile
- Washington Post profile of the company
- Why do CDNs peer with ISPs?
- 'Akamai & The CDN Price Wars
- Globally Distributed Content Delivery
