Content Delivery Services Expected to Grow at a Solid Pace Reports In-Stat/MDR.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 2, 2003

U.S. content delivery services revenues will grow about 20%, in 2003, from the estimated level of $186 million in 2002, according to In-Stat/MDR (http://www.instat.com). The high-tech market research firm reports that growth will come from both existing customers expanding their use of content delivery services, and from new customers subscribing to these services. "Content delivery services are one of the key forces shaping the next-generation Internet and corporate Intranets," said Henry Goldberg, a senior analyst with In-Stat/MDR. "They improve the speed of Web site delivery, provide high-quality video/audio streaming, rapidly download files, and are beginning to extend into distributed computing of Web-based applications."

Recently, In-Stat/MDR conducted a survey of 485 end-user organizations on the adoption of content delivery services or in-house CDNs (where organizations purchase and manage a CDN themselves). About 23% currently use a content delivery itself (either by itself or as a hybrid solution with an in-house CDN), but almost twice as many currently use an in-house CDN. According to Goldberg, "Converting in-house CDN users to outsourced content delivery services should be a key goal of content delivery service providers, because this would greatly increase the market for these services."

In-Stat/MDR has also found that:

-- In terms of revenues and market shares, Akamai is the dominant

content delivery service provider, followed by Cable &

Wireless.

-- While most content delivery service providers guarantee near

100% availability of content on the service, there is

considerable variation in the Service Level Agreements (SLAs)

given on performance. Mirror Image provides the strongest SLAs

on performance, guaranteeing response times better than the

top-performing Web sites, as measured by Keynote. Cable &

Wireless provides independent third-party verification that

their service outperforms the customer's origin server. At the

other extreme, some service providers do not provide any SLA 

guarantees on performance.

-- Three equipment vendors, Cisco, Network Appliance and Nortel

offer complete CDN solutions for service providers to

implement content delivery services. These turnkey solutions

lower the barriers for new service providers to enter this

market, and compete with established content delivery service

providers that have developed much of this technology on their

own.

The report, "Content Delivery Services: Cache Us If You Can" (#IN030836TX), provides an end-to-end analysis of content delivery services including end-user perspectives, content delivery service provider offerings, and suppliers of Content Delivery Network (CDN) equipment/solutions that enable service providers to offer such services. Results of a survey of In-Stat/MDR's Technology Adoption Panel on end-user adoption of content delivery services and in-house CDNs are presented. Detailed profiles of 10 leading content delivery service providers are given, describing their service offerings, key features, customers and competitive strengths. Three suppliers of overall CDN solutions for service providers are also profiled. Market shares for 2002 are presented for the major content delivery service providers serving the U.S. market. The report concludes with a five-year forecast of the U.S. content delivery services market. To purchase this report, or for more information, please visit http://www.instat.com/catalog/cat-tx.htm or contact Rick Vogelei at 480-609-4533; [e-mail]. The report price is $2,995.

About In-Stat/MDR

In-Stat/MDR (http://www.instat.com) offers a broad range of information resources and analytical assets to technology vendors, service providers, technology professionals and market specialists worldwide. The company stands alone in its ability to integrate both supply-side and demand-side research methodologies into a single comprehensive view of technology markets and products. This capability relies on a unique ability to cover the entire value chain from engineering-level technology, through equipment, infrastructure, services and end users.

In-Stat/MDR is part of the Reed Electronics Group, a division of Reed Elsevier (www.reedelsevier.com), a world-leading publisher and information provider. With over 38,000 employees worldwide, Reed Elsevier operates in the science & medical, legal, education and business-to-business industry sectors, providing high value and flexible information solutions to professional end users, with increasing emphasis on the Internet.