Akamai Technologies, Inc., the content delivery network (CDN) services provider, and Microsoft Corp. have announced a partnership in which access to the Akamai CDN will be fully integrated into Microsoft Azure. The forthcoming Azure CDN offering is designed to optimise performance of content and applications deployed and delivered on Azure.
As part of the companies' expanded relationship, Microsoft is also bringing to market a series of first-party services that include Akamai's CDN, acceleration and security solutions. Microsoft enterprise customers will be able to purchase any Akamai offering as "self-select" options through the Azure portal or as part of their organisation's Microsoft enterprise agreement. In addition, customers will receive integrated, one-stop service and support from Microsoft and Akamai.
"Through this strategic partnership, Microsoft and Akamai are helping usher in the next generation of content delivery tailored for cloud platform customers of all sizes," said Bill Staples, Corporate Vice President, App Platform, Microsoft Azure. "The Azure CDN combines the intelligent Cloud services of the Azure platform with the delivery advantages of Akamai's world-class and massively-distributed CDN. Further, Azure customers can leverage Akamai's CDN, acceleration and security product portfolio that can be managed and purchased through a single enterprise agreement."
The relationship between Microsoft and Akamai is long-standing. Microsoft is one of the largest content delivery consumers on the planet, with decades of experience in delivering large software packages to big, globally dispersed audiences. Akamai and Microsoft have also collaborated on major software downloads as well as some of the world's largest, highest-profile online events.
"We believe the power of the Azure platform combined with the reach and scale of Akamai's CDN opens a wealth of new possibilities for building and delivering highly-effective, Cloud-based solutions for a host of applications," said Tom Leighton, CEO of Akamai. "From start-ups to established enterprises, businesses need the assurance of scale, performance, and security as more and more applications and workloads move to the cloud. We look forward to collaborating with Microsoft Azure and being a part of their open and flexible Cloud strategy."
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