The Content Delivery Network (CDN) market is forecast to grow to US$23.9 billion by 2030 fuelled by the expanding presence in services beyond core content delivery and caching, which includes security (network, content, and enterprise) and edge compute.
ABI Research says the newer areas are supported by current trends like direct-to-consumer streaming, hybrid workforces, and migrations to the cloud. It added that the build-up to the metaverse will also create additional growth opportunities for CDN providers at the network edge, particularly in the latter half of this decade and beyond.
Michael Inouye, principal analyst, metaverse markets and technologies, at ABI Research explains that the metaverse has received quite a lot of attention recently, and while this longer-term vision is certainly exciting, even with the uncertainties, more attention needs to be devoted to the build-up towards this future.
“One critical milestone in the build-up to the metaverse will be the arrival of consumer-friendly smart glasses, which will push more user applications and content closer to the edge, fuelling growth opportunities for CDN providers,” he continues.
Smart glasses create an always-on user experience that pushes experiences into the public domain, which increases demands on mobile networks and the need for lower latency services. The network edge will develop to meet these demands across a range of ultra-low latency (all sub 1 second) needs that span from cloud XR and compute real-time communications and personalization.
Personalisation represents a key market opportunity for CDN providers in the coming years when the metaverse and smart glasses vastly expand the number of touchpoints for applications, content, and services.
Inouye opines that calling the collection of companies covered in this report, CDN companies is a misnomer. Companies that offer CDN services represent a diverse group, with large incumbents with extensive product portfolios like Akamai to smaller companies focused on agility and innovation like Cloudflare who have already brushed off the CDN moniker and are already offering some services more akin to the cloud platforms like AWS, Google, Microsoft Azure, Tencent, Alibaba, Huawei Cloud, etc. who also offer CDN services.
The demand for edge resources is also generating opportunities for new market developments like Open Caching from the Streaming Video Alliance, which creates additional value for ISPs’ private CDNs and brings additional business to companies like ATEME, Broadpeak, and QWILT.
“As the value of personalisation grows and media workflows become more expansive, we expect a greater shift within the more traditional CDN players to follow companies like Limelight Networks which recently announced its acquisition of Edgecast, an early leader in bringing these pieces together under one roof. Steps like this represent another way CDN companies will move closer to the larger cloud companies. The metaverse is still far off but a lot must happen between now and then and the build-up to this future will create opportunities to generate significant market value,” Inouye concludes.
