A year ago, Akamai acquired Linode for $900 million. At the time, Akamai said that it wanted to combine Linode with its edge platform and security services. Unsurprisingly, that’s exactly what it’s doing now, with the launch of its new Akamai Connected Cloud, a massively distributed cloud and edge platform that includes Linode’s 11 existing hub sites, Linode’s 4,200+ edge locations, Akamai in 134 countries, Akamai’s network capabilities, as well as 50 new local distributed clouds to be deployed in as many cities starting later this year.
Akamai, of course, has long been known for its content delivery network, and in recent years has also added more security and edge computing capabilities to its network. You are now taking the next step by using Linode DNA to build a complete developer platform.
Image Credits: Akamai
“What Akamai has never done, and kind of the next evolution that we’re doing, has been where developers could go to build their applications,” Shawn Michels, Akamai’s vice president of product management, said at a press conference. before today’s conference. advertisement. “So you have this massive, globally distributed network that allows customers to deliver and secure. But now, we need a platform that allows customers to build. Through the Linode acquisition and what we’re doing on our roadmap, we’re really building out our cloud computing technology and services. The first thing we’re introducing today is bringing those three platforms or three sets of services together into a single global platform to create the Akamai Connected Cloud.”
As part of this expansion, Akamai is also expanding Linode’s existing footprint with 13 new hub sites, including three new enterprise-scale sites in the US and Europe, which will connect to Akamai’s backbone. These new sites will be available in the second quarter of the year and will become the template for an additional 10 new sites the company plans to launch worldwide over the course of the next year.
Please note that Akamai deliberately calls these locations “sites” and not data centers. The company isn’t building new data centers for this, but is using colocation facilities, including some that Akamai is already using today.
“We are taking a fundamentally different approach to cloud computing, building on 25 years of experience scaling and securing the Internet for the world’s largest enterprises,” said Tom Leighton, co-founder and CEO of Akamai. “Akamai is building the cloud it needs for the next decade.”
Like some of the larger clouds, Akamai also plans to launch several small local sites in select cities where it will offer basic cloud capabilities that provide low-latency access to its services to local customers. One difference from what Google and AWS are doing, though, is that Akamai wants to focus on cities that are in hard-to-reach places that aren’t currently served by its competitors.
Because of Akamai’s networking expertise, the company expects to be able to offer fairly aggressive starting pricing. However, when asked about pricing, the company did not share any details, beyond its plans to offer very low starting prices. “Our price will be extremely competitive. Given our ability to apply CDN-like economics to cloud egress costs, we expect to be able to offer many enterprise customers egress prices that could be 80% lower than what they are used to,” the company said.
