Since Cisco announced a strategic partnership with Qwilt in 2020 to launch a new Content Delivery Network (CDN) as-a-service offering based on open caching, we're excited to say the solution has seen several successes to date, deployment is accelerating and it's gaining worldwide momentum.

January 28, 2022

4 Min Read
A Unified and Distributed Global Content Delivery Network Is More Than a Vision

Since Cisco announced a strategic partnership with Qwilt in 2020 to launch a new Content Delivery Network (CDN) as-a-service offering based on open caching, we’re excited to say the solution has seen several successes to date, deployment is accelerating, and it’s gaining worldwide momentum. Cisco Edge Cloud for Content Delivery, our streaming media delivery model, leverages open caching architecture at the network edge to completely transform content delivery for Communication Service Providers (CSPs).

By ‘edge cloud’, we’re referring to compute capabilities embedded inside the CSP network that represent a key part of the compute continuum and serve as a control point on the path from the cloud to the end user. This valuable space is coveted by many different players, and leveraging that asset creates clear value potential for CSPs to complement their offering, focusing on specific industries.

So, what makes this edge cloud special? While we often talk about latency, it isn’t necessarily the most critical part of network optimization. Increased bandwidth is a more pressing need and an area where network control and proximity to the end user make a real impact on reducing transit costs, avoiding congestion points, and improving customer experience. Improved latency is a benefit that gains importance as we enter the era of interactive, immersive experiences like Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) that require both high and reliable bandwidth as well as ultra-low latency and jitter. Add to these the notion of end-to-end security for increasingly distributed applications and you can see how the carrier edge uniquely combines all of these benefits.

Streaming content is currently delivered in 4K, but that will soon move to 8K to better support AR/VR applications over a multitude of devices from both wireless and wireline connections. Additionally, CSPs are struggling to address a massive increase in network capacity demands brought on not just by the COVID-19 pandemic that forced so many to work from home, but also by consumer video, gaming, and multimedia usage which is expected to make up 85 percent of internet traffic in 2022, a more than 10 percent jump from five years ago.

The partnership we formed with Qwilt combines our innovative edge compute and network infrastructure with Qwilt’s unique open caching software, cloud services, and open APIs to enable a global network of high-quality streaming content from multiple publishers. One early adopter of our solution was BT Group, the United Kingdom’s leading telecommunications and network provider. Like other CSPs, they were attracted by the high quality delivered by this distributed platform and the benefits of open, global APIs that have been endorsed by the Streaming Video Alliance which includes 101 participating companies today. The initiative to bring content delivery technology closer to the consumer is seen as the best way to improve quality and expand network capacity.

We’ve since signed on several CSPs, and we’re seeing significant traction with many more. In fact, more than 50 global CSPs and content publishers are embracing open caching to help push content delivery in this exciting direction and we’re actively engaged with many of them. For CSPs, our zero-CapEx solution not only delivers the best possible customer experience, but also enables new revenue streams by making them active participants in the content delivery value chain.

Our CSP partners are finding great value in the ability to provide customers with high-quality streaming experiences over their networks. This solution allows them to add multiple terabits per second of capacity and provide cost-effective, high-quality streaming video to their customers. As BT and other CSPs see the importance of establishing a robust content delivery foundation to expand into other edge use cases, they’re looking to integrate content delivery plans into their broader business strategy.

At Cisco we believe our technology, partnerships, and global relationships across both CSPs and enterprises can forge the type of ecosystem harmony that brings new and innovative edge use cases to life. With our successes thus far, Cisco’s edge cloud strategy has become far more than a vision, and there’s so much more to come.

On a final note, we invite you to explore the resources and customer testimonials available on our website.

This content is sponsored by Cisco.

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