CDNetworks Integrates Web Performance and Security for Media and E-Commerce Industry

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - Feb 28, 2017 - E-commerce is witnessing explosive growth. According to Frost & Sullivan, the global e-commerce market, which amassed more than US$1.5 trillion in 2015, is projected to exceed US$3.0 trillion by 2018.^[1]

This fast expansion in e-commerce is driven primarily by improvements in technology and the increasing pace of technology adoption. With the proliferation of smart phones, tablets and wireless networks, more and more consumers have jumped on the Internet bandwagon and grown increasingly confident in dealing with online activities and transactions.

The increased confidence has resulted in impatient and demanding online consumers. Research by Frost & Sullivan shows that the slow loading time of Web pages is one of the main reasons why customers move from one e-Commerce company to another. This page-loading delay - also known as latency - translates into a loss of customers and revenue, not to mention the negative impact on a company's brand. For instance, an e-commerce website making daily sales of $100,000 is expected to lose $2.5 million annually due to a one-second page delay^[2].

"Consumers evaluate their online service providers continuously during every login,

at every purchase, and at every return" -- Frost & Sullivan

Video: How Important is Website Loading Speed for E-Commerce?

United in the Face of Latency

For global e-commerce company Shopify, which hosts over 40,000 active online retailers worldwide, it faces the constant challenge of ensuring the best user experience for shoppers in a multitude of countries from US and Europe to Australia and New Zealand. And as its customer base of online merchants grow around the globe, the challenge becomes more acute.

"We needed a single solution to address the existing large volume of site traffic in the US, Canada, and Europe while at the same time allowing for global growth, particularly in Australia," shares Mr Dale Neufeld, Director of Technical Operations at Shopify.

As for Arirang, Korea's leading global broadcaster, it needed to deliver a smooth and uninterrupted delivery of its content to viewers scattered around the world, especially the live streaming of videos. And its challenge was exacerbated by the rise in popularity of watching broadcasts on mobile devices.

Arirang management realised that the company needed to create a Web environment in which viewers can catch its programmes smoothly across multiple devices, be it desktops, mobile devices or smart TVs. Since its viewers are scattered around the globe, establishing such a Web infrastructure would be a costly exercise for the company. 

Combating Latency with CDN

Shopify and Arirang are instances of how the growing consumer demand for fast and uninterrupted access to applications and websites have companies scrambling for solutions to reduce the inherent Internet latency and congestion. And most companies find subscribing to Content Delivery Network (CDN) services the most viable option. A CDN handles the Web infrastructure demands in a cost-effective manner, freeing companies to focus on their core business areas.

CDNs can accelerate Web performance and bring the content -- be it static, dynamic or mobile -- closer to consumers, thus reducing latency and speeding up page-loading. According to Frost & Sullivan, one second of speed boost increases sales by 3% per customer^[3].

Read the Frost & Sullivan whitepaper here - http://www.cdnetworks.com.sg/resources-whitepapers/e-commerce-retailers-the-next-billion-opportunity-are-we-ready

Shopify turned to CDNetworks, a global CDN service provider to accelerate its web applications and content.

"With CDNetworks' local Points-of-Presence, our Australia-based merchants get the same performance as in North America. Neither Shopify nor our customers have to invest in data centres or co-hosting," says Mr Neufeld.

Since subscribing to a reliable CDN solution, Shopify merchants have enjoyed 100 percent uptime of their online stores. This has not only optimised the end-user experience on the merchants' websites, but also helped Shopify grow its business. "We can attract those customers who want to focus on their business, not on the IT needed to run and optimise their websites," Mr Neufeld adds.

For Korean broadcaster Arirang, tapping on CDN services to accelerate its content has allowed it to provide stable and high-quality live broadcasts to both local and overseas viewers. In addition, users are now able to enjoy Arirang's programs on smartphones, tablet PCs and other mobile devices anytime and anywhere. And the global performance of its applications and content is achieved without the company incurring a huge cost in infrastructure investment.

"The issue with video quality, to which most of the complaints raised by customers on the bulletin board relate, has been decisively resolved by CDNetworks' Media Acceleration service. I would like to thank the company for the way it actively resolved the different unexpected issues that occurred in the service,"shares Mr Yoon Hyeon-Kyeong, Senior Manager of New Media Team at Arirang.

Video: A Content Delivery Network (CDN) Takes a Load off IT's Shoulders 

Minimising Latency without Compromising Security

Alongside the latency issue is another equally, if not more, important issue of security. Cyber attacks can render a company's website and services unavailable for hours, or even days, resulting in loss of revenue and consumer confidence. And the situation is aggravated if such attacks result in a breaching of customers' data.

According to a Cloud Security Alliance report^[4] on the top threats faced by organisations using cloud-based solutions, DDoS attacks, data breaches and permanent data loss are among the major security threats that caused long-term implications.

Mr Jerry Chung, Head of Southeast Asia & Pacific, CDNetworks, shares, "A robust CDN needs to integrate enhanced Web performance and cloud security technology, with features such as 24x7 monitoring and Web Applications Firewall technology to counter cyber attacks."

As more consumers get connected to the Internet and increase their spending and activities on the Web, companies across industries will face increasing pressure to cater to the online needs of their customers. And the challenge is compounded by the geographical dispersion of their customers around the world, accessing their services and applications on any platform 24x7x365.

"Businesses simply want to offer their customers around the globe a unified experience -- fast and secured access to their websites and online services. The right CDN service provider can boost Web performance and protect companies from cyber attacks that can cripple their core infrastructure. This frees up precious time and resources for companies to focus on their core business areas and not worry about their online presence, costs and technology scale-up," says Mr Chung.

Speed and Security with CDNetworks

Companies looking to deliver a superior online user experience and increase revenues can get in touch with CDNetworks for a two-week trial to see the difference in the performance of their websites.

They can contact CDNetworks at http://www.cdnetworks.com.sg/trial-and-benefits/, enquiry.sg@cdnetworks.comor +65 69081198.

About CDNetworks

CDNetworks is a global content delivery network with fully integrated Cloud Security DDoS protection and web application firewall. Our mission is to transform the Internet into a secure, reliable, scalable, and high-performing Application Delivery Network. CDNetworks accelerates more than 40,000+ websites and cloud services over a network of more than 200+ global PoPs in established and emerging markets including China and SEA. We have been serving enterprise customers for 15 years across industries such as gaming, finance, e-commerce, high tech, manufacturing, and media. CDNetworks offices are located in Singapore, the US, UK, South Korea, China, and Japan. For more information, please visit: http://www.cdnetworks.com.sg