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CDN and online media
23 Jun 22
When at Transparent Edge we explain (to someone with no technical knowledge) what a CDN is, we usually bring up the example of using a CDN in online media. We explain that it’s a technological infrastructure that guarantees a good user experience when reading a digital newspaper. And it does this regardless of where in the world that user is, and where that newspaper has its origin server.
This good experience implies, for example, that the homepage opens immediately after we enter the URL in the browser. Or that the pictures accompanying the articles download instantly. That we don’t notice an interruption (however small) when there are many users simultaneously browsing said website, and that there’s no buffering when playing videos. Besides, it should all look good regardless of the device we’re using.
Today, no media outlet with a significant volume of visitors can operate without a CDN. Other kinds of websites with high concurrency can’t either, clearly. But in this post we will center on what a CDN like ours does for online media outlets.
Managing hundreds of thousands, even millions of users, is a huge challenge. It requires the ability to distribute content swiftly and ensure a proper user experience, while also guaranteeing security in the process.
In a hyperconnected world defined by the internet, online media audiences expect fully updated information wherever they are and regardless of the device they’re using. Any issues with the user experience can lead to website abandonment, resulting in losses, both economic and reputational.
The CDN we offer at Transparent Edge ensures speedy downloads, digital environment security, and uninterrupted service. It does this regardless of traffic spikes, such as those caused by breaking news, highly relevant events, or viral content. All of this is achieved with ease of use for media system teams. This is thanks to our distributed architecture, which shifts part of the application logic to the edge, and through storage and delivery from the cache.
A next-generation CDN must be capable of offering more than what we described so far. We know this because we have prominent online media outlets among our clients. By listening to them and working closely with them, we developed specific functionalities for each one. Below, we describe some areas in which our CDN makes life and work easier for online media.
Journalistic coverage is constantly evolving, and it’s essential to be able to edit, publish, and invalidate content quickly. We guarantee that all users can access the latest version of all content, allowing the media to provide real-time reporting.
Faster loading times help visitor retention, as does creating a personalized experience with variables such as location, device type and language. This is also improved with image optimization and processing.
Loading speed is one of the key factors that enhance organic positioning. In fact, Google rewards high-performance and safe websites, and the use of our CDN contributes to both.
The CDN is the first line of defense: it absorbs denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks without interrupting the legitimate audience’s experience. Our next-generation WAF also analyzes traffic in real-time, looking for malicious requests, and provides visibility on threats to take immediate action against them.
Our CDN delivers video on demand and live streaming, allowing the media outlets to broadcast live events, and also re-playing them in the required formats.
We can provide our own paywall. By using an authorization service provided by the client, our logic at the edge manages the content delivery to the user or the alternate delivery (redirection to subscription or payment).
Now that we’ve highlighted some of the areas in which our CDN makes life easier for online media, we want to mention a technology that enables vital tasks for them: smart routing. Why? Because this allows effective user segmentation and traffic routing, based on specific rules or demographic data. This provides great capabilities to media outlets.
For example, it allows testing, measuring and comparing different versions, so they can make decisions based on data.
Smart routing is also an exceptional tool for complying with different national or regional regulations. For example, when broadcasting sports competitions, movies, series, etc., in some areas and not in others based on broadcasting rights.
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