PeerApp Announces New Revenue-Sharing Model
While there were many discussions about content delivery network (CDN) federation at this year's Content Delivery Summit, including a Cisco-led initiative and a derivative model from Level 3 called Bit Mile Peering, PeerApp's approach—in the form of its new Content Service Expansion initiative—augments traditional federation approaches.
Offering a framework via which pure-play CDNs and service providers can collaborate in enhancing content delivery, as well as generating shared revenue, PeerApp sees its approach as an immediate and practical way to move towards network functions virtualization (NFV).
PeerApp's announcement is newsworthy due to the fact that it already has a CDN/service provider partnership underway. PeerApp has an agreement in place with Limelight and Edgecast, allowing the use of transparent caching and website acceleration technologies to be placed in standard co-location facilities in key service provider locations.
The move towards NFV signals another round of virtualization, with an emphasis on software-defined network virtualization, primarily via extensible APIs. To further grow the NFV model, PeerApp says it's actively engaged with standards bodies—namely ETSI—to provide insight to their working groups with regard to practical issues faced by NFV integrations.
Watch our interview with PeerApp's Charlie Baker at Streaming Media East.
Tim Siglin: So today at Streaming Media East 2013, in the Red Carpet Interviews, we’ve got Charlie Baker, who is with PeerApp, and PeerApp has actually made an announcement that I’d like Charlie to talk a little bit about. Charlie, talk about your title first and then tell us what the announcement was.
Charlie Baker: Sure. So I’m Director of Product Management at PeerApp and basically the announcement is called Content Service Extension, and what that is is a relationship between CDNs, and we did the announcement with Limelight and EdgeCast, where the CDNs can extend their footprint into an operator network using resources available like a transparent cache, and the operator actually has a chance to participate in the value chain for video delivery.
Tim Siglin: So effectively, you’ve got a pure-play CDN figuring out some way to work with the service provider.
Charlie Baker: Exactly.
Tim Siglin: And there are other models out there in the marketplace. We’ve heard about Federation for a number of years. I think Level 3 yesterday talked about their Bit Mile Peering as a way to monetize what’s different between the way that you’re doing it versus the way that some of those other scenarios that have been out for a couple months.
Charlie Baker: Sure, and they’re all valid scenarios and I think each operator has their own approach to how they’re solving problems. The conversation we’ve been in with our operator customers has been focused on how they build the network going forward. We hear these numbers of the internet’s going to be 200 terabits per second in 2016. They can’t just keep adding routers and adding more fiber, so they’re looking at ways to architect the network. They’re deploying things like transparent caches in the network to help them actually serve that content at a higher quality closer to subscribers, and with those assets in the network, it gives them a way for them to deliver content and monetize the content on the network. So it’s a different approach from just a peering relationship or Federation, and Federation’s still valid on top of this, as well. We kind of call Content Service Extension a pragmatic approach. Operators are putting caching in the network. They have a way that they can actually leverage those resources.
Tim Siglin: So I want to make sure I understand and don’t put words in your mouth. When you’re talking about the pure-play CDNs, and you mentioned EdgeCast and you mentioned Limelight, one of the arguments Limelight has always had is we don’t need to necessarily put content close to the customers in the way that Archimede [ph?] does but now you’re it’s transparent caching in the operator network that the CDN can also leverage. Does it change the model for the way the CDNs are delivering or does it just augment within a particular use-case?
Charlie Baker: It’s more the augmentation scenario and you can think about if caching’s deployed in operator networks where CDNs don’t have good reach, it gives them geographic reach. It allows them to have high quality because they’re using resources close to the subscriber and they’re not investing in putting their own servers on a network. One of the panel discussions we had yesterday was around Google Play and the new music service they’re rolling out, and Google has caches all around the world in operator networks. Will they have their music service running on those caches and will the operator be allowing a music service for free and not making any revenue?
Tim Siglin: Exactly. Competing against something they may already be offering, as well. So with this Extension model, I’m assuming that what we heard in your announcement with this press release, and of course what you talked about yesterday at the Content Delivery Summit, is this the final version of the Extension. Is there more and where do you see it going as you move forward?
Charlie Baker: So this is the first iteration. It’s kind of the most simple use-case that we can talk about and it’s very quick actually. We have some different demonstrations and trials going on right now but the Extension services, services means more than just the global CDN going forward. So we’re excited as we’ll roll out more information about it.
Tim Siglin: Okay. Very good. So you’ve been listening to Charlie Baker from PeerApp and Charlie, appreciate you being here with us today on the Streaming Media Red Carpet.
Charlie Baker: Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
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