Akamai Unveils Akamai Connected Cloud and New Cloud Computing Services

Offering a fundamentally different approach to cloud that integrates core and distributed computing sites with a massively scaled edge network

BEIJING, Feb. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the cloud company that powers and protects life online, today launched Akamai Connected Cloud, a massively distributed edge and cloud platform for computing, security, and content delivery that keeps applications and experiences closer and threats farther away.

The new strategic cloud computing services and architecture will be available in Asia Pacific-Japan (APJ) for developers to build, run, and secure highly-performant workloads closer to wherever businesses and users connect online. Akamai announced:

• Four new enterprise-scale core cloud computing sites across APJ in 2023, in Chennai, Osaka, Jakarta, and Auckland. Like Akamai's existing 11 core sites, including core sites in Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Mumbai,  the new regional sites will plug into the Akamai backbone — connecting them to the most distributed edge network on the planet. The new sites will contain cloud computing services acquired from Linode, and will become the template for additional core sites that Akamai plans to roll out across the globe.
• More distributed sites. In addition to the planned new core sites, Akamai has identified more than 50 cities globally in which it plans to begin rolling out distributed sites this year, to bring basic cloud computing capabilities into difficult-to reach-locations currently underserved by traditional cloud providers.
• Aggressive new cloud egress pricing. The new pricing structure is able to use the power of Akamai's network to drive the cost of cloud egress by bringing CDN-like economics to cloud data transfer. The new egress pricing model is designed to result in significantly discounted egress rates relative to the hyperscalers and alternative cloud providers.
• New ISO, SOC 2 and HIPAA standards compliance, available immediately. The new standards compliance reflects Akamai's focus on the security of its cloud computing services and customer data within, and allows customers to move workloads among Akamai and other public clouds.
• Akamai Qualified Computing Partner Program. This new technology partner program is designed to provide Akamai customers with solution-based services that are interoperable with Akamai Connected Cloud. The services will be provided by Akamai technology partners that complete a thorough qualification process, ensuring they are readily available to deploy and scale across the globally distributed platform.

"We're taking a fundamentally different approach to cloud computing — building on 25 years of experience scaling and securing the internet for the biggest companies in the world," said Dr. Tom Leighton, Akamai's Co-Founder, and CEO. "Akamai is building the cloud the next decade needs."

"The launch of Akamai Connected Cloud comes at a time where the Asia Pacific & Japan region continues to experience rapid advancements in digital transformation. As organizations look to address the diverse infrastructure and network capabilities across markets, while decreasing costs and increasing agility through multi-cloud and open-source architectures, there are tremendous growth opportunities with the cloud," said Parimal Pandya, Senior Vice President, Sales, and Managing Director, Asia-Pacific.

In building out Akamai Connected Cloud, Akamai is adding core and distributed sites on top of the same underlying backbone that powers its edge network today — spanning more than 4,100 locations across 134 countries. More specifically, Akamai is placing compute, storage, database, and other services closer to large populations, industry, and IT centers. The result is designed to be a continuum of compute, from core to edge, enabling companies to more efficiently build, deploy, and secure performant workloads that require single-digit millisecond latency and global reach. Industries such as media, gaming, SaaS vendors, retail, and government are examples where these requirements are in high demand today. 

"Akamai's leadership position at the edge enables us to scale everything we touch: We scale content, putting digital experiences closer to users than anyone. We scale cybersecurity, keeping threats farther away from business and people. Our customers know us and trust us for this scale. Now we plan to scale cloud computing, to provide customers with better performance at a lower cost," said Leighton.

According to IDC, the public cloud services market in Asia/Pacific is forecasted to reach USD$165.2 billion in 2026¹, and one in three companies has been predicted to generate more than 30% of their revenues² from digital products and services in 2023.

"The cloud's next phase requires a shift in how developers and enterprises think about getting applications and data closer to their customers. It redefines how the industry looks at things like performance, scale, cost, and security as workloads are no longer built for one place but are delivered across a wide spectrum of compute and geography," said Dave McCarthy, Research VP, IDC. "Akamai's innovative rethinking of how this gets done — and how it is architecting the Akamai Connected Cloud — puts it in a unique position to usher in an exciting new era for technology and to help enterprises build, deploy, and secure distributed applications."

Akamai is already enabling regional customers to manage decentralised application architectures and deliver consistent experiences across their regional operations.

Rajkumar Ganapathy, Chief Technology Officer, Zolvit, said, "One of our key goals was to consolidate our infrastructure for better management, flexibility and to save costs. We were looking for a single cloud provider that aligned with all our requirements and Akamai Connected Cloud was our preferred choice because of their simple, affordable, and accessible infrastructure and superior support that put our team at ease."

Akamai Connected Cloud is under the leadership of Adam Karon, Chief Operating Officer, and General Manager of Akamai's Cloud Technology Group, where he has led teams focused on enabling today's leading media, gaming, and software companies to deliver the best possible experiences — at scale — to their customers on any device, anywhere, and helping carriers operate high-performing and cost-efficient networks.

"Cloud is a stepping stone to solving larger business challenges," said Karon. "Business leaders are looking to continue the momentum of digital transformation and stretch the boundaries of what's possible for their organizations in an increasingly digital world. Our distributed scale is designed to deliver highly-performant cloud computing everywhere our customers' business connects online, empowering them with the speed, flexibility, performance, and connectivity they need to grow without compromise, innovate without friction, and delight customers without fail."

For more information, visit our cloud computing solutions page.

About Akamai Technologies

Akamai powers and protects life online. Leading companies worldwide choose Akamai to build, deliver, and secure their digital experiences — helping billions of people live, work, and play every day. With the world's most distributed platform — from cloud to edge — we make it easy for customers to develop and run applications, while we keep experiences closer to users and threats farther away. Learn more about Akamai's security, cloud computing, and delivery solutions at akamai.com and akamai.com/blog, or follow Akamai Technologies on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Akamai Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act

This release contains statements that are not statements of historical fact and constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements about expectations, plans and prospects of Akamai. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors including, but not limited to, the failure of our investments in innovation to generate solutions that are accepted in the market; effects of competition, including pricing pressure and changing business models; impact of macroeconomic trends, including economic uncertainty, the effects of inflation, increasing interest rates, foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, securities market volatility and monetary supply fluctuations; conditions and uncertainties in the geopolitical environment, including sanctions and disruptions resulting from the ongoing war in Ukraine; continuing supply chain and logistics costs, constraints, changes or disruptions; defects or disruptions in our products or IT systems, including cyber-attacks, data breaches or malware; failure to realize the expected benefits of any of our acquisitions or reorganizations; changes to economic, political and regulatory conditions in the United States and internationally; delay in developing or failure to develop new service offerings or functionalities, and if developed, lack of market acceptance of such service offerings and functionalities or failure of such solutions to operate as expected, and other factors that are discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and other documents periodically filed with the SEC. In addition, the statements in this press release and on our quarterly earnings conference call represent Akamai's expectations and beliefs as of the date of this press release. Akamai anticipates that subsequent events and developments may cause these expectations and beliefs to change. However, while Akamai may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, it specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Akamai's expectations or beliefs as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

¹ IDC Press Release, Asia/Pacific* Public Cloud Services to Reach US$165.2 Billion in 2026, according to IDC Forecast, 28 September 2022

² IDC Press Release, Asia/Pacific* Leads the Shift to Digital-First with 1 in 3 Companies Generating More Than 30% Revenues from Digital Products and Services By 2023, IDC Predicts, 2 November 2021