Akamai content delivery network still needed by Apple
Akamai content delivery network demand from Apple is still likely to be high, even though Apple are working on their own CDN, a new report has predicted. Apple’s development of an in-house 
content delivery network has been widely documented. Whilst it was first assumed that all data delivery would be moved over to the CDN, a report by CDN analyst Michael Bowen, claims that the Akamai content delivery network may still benefit greatly from Apple, along with their other current clients thanks to some interesting upcoming developments.
It is believed that the Akamai content delivery network will still be used by Apple for large software updates, such as those to its OS X and iOS operating systems. In the report, Bowen states that “Apple is reportedly building out its own CDN network for its own benefit as the company has a new streaming music service and could add a streaming video service. We believe that Apple has used Akamai’s CDN capabilities in the past, and while Apple could be building out its own CDN, we believe that Apple could continue to be a customer for Akamai, especially during large software updates that require significant scale that its own CDN may not yet be able to handle.”
Akamai Content Delivery Network Demand
In addition to this, other customers of the Akamai content delivery network are developing new services that will also take advantage of the Akamai CDN. These clients include Verizon Communications, who are launching an over-the-top video service that takes advantage of the Akamai content delivery network, and AT&T.
Writing on the wider CDN industry, Bowen commented on the falling prices but increasing demand for CDN services, something the Akamai content delivery network should benefit from.
“Traffic is expected to increase at an extremely fast pace over the next several years, while pricing should decline fairly predictably,” Bowen wrote. “Consumers demand for increasing amounts of data driven by mobile and video viewing should outweigh the pricing pressure.”