Alliance Speeds Delivery of Web Services and Applications to End Users For
Akamai Customers Deploying Applications on the Edge of the Network
NEW ORLEANS - April 10, 2002 - Today at Microsoft Tech-Ed 2002, Microsoft
Corp. and Akamai Technologies Inc., a leading provider of secure, outsourced
e-business infrastructure services and software, announced an alliance to
develop EdgeSuiteSM for Microsoft® .NET. EdgeSuite for Microsoft .NET is a
service designed to offer Akamai customers high-performance delivery of XML
Web services and Web applications built on the Microsoft .NET Platform from
the edge of Akamai`s network. The service, which will also be available to
all .NET developers, will integrate the Akamai EdgeSuite services with
Microsoft .NET technologies including Microsoft Windows® .NET Server and
Microsoft .NET developer tools such as Visual Studio® .NET and ASP.NET.
"Both Microsoft and Akamai believe in putting application logic at the
network`s edge, and Akamai is capitalizing on that advantage by creating new
and compelling opportunities for its customers using .NET," said Eric
Rudder, senior vice president of the Developer and Platform Evangelism Group
at Microsoft.
McAfee.com, a leading provider of Web security services and one of Akamai`s
pilot customers for the service, anticipates increased performance and
reliability for McAfee.com customers. Using EdgeSuite for Microsoft .NET,
McAfee.com customers will be able to access XML Web services directly, or on
the "edge," of Akamai`s application network, eliminating the inefficiencies
of requiring multiple routes to access distributed applications.
"The Akamai EdgeSuite solution for Microsoft .NET will allow us to provide a
greater level of service to our customers," said Doug Cavit, chief
information officer at McAfee.com. "By moving the processing of our Web
services to the edge of the network, our customers have access to more
available, scalable and responsive anti-virus services. In addition, this
added intelligence at the edge allows us to reduce the need to build,
manage, secure and overprovision multiple datacenters around the world,
enabling significant cost savings."
"EdgeSuite for Microsoft .NET will significantly enhance an enterprise`s Web
services-based communications and transactions with its customers, partners
and employees," said Chris Schoettle, executive vice president for
Technology and Network Infrastructure at Akamai. "This represents a
significant shift in how enterprises will conduct core business functions
within their Web operations, such as customer service, e-commerce and
inventory management. We are delighted to offer our customers the ability to
distribute their .NET applications across Akamai`s global edge processing
network."
As part of the alliance, Akamai is also piloting a new Web service security
standard based on Microsoft`s continued development of XML Web services
standards. This security module will allow Akamai to offer federated,
flexible security options such as third-party authentication and
authorization.
About Akamai
Akamai (Nasdaq: AKAM) is a leading provider of secure, outsourced e-business
infrastructure services and software. These services and software enable
companies to reduce the complexity and cost of deploying and operating a
uniform Web infrastructure while ensuring unmatched performance,
reliability, scalability and manageability. Akamai`s services give
businesses a distinct competitive advantage and provide an unparalleled
Internet experience for their customers. Akamai`s intelligent edge platform
for content, streaming media and application delivery comprises more than
13,500 servers within over 1,000 networks in 66 countries. With headquarters
in Cambridge, Mass., Akamai provides services and industry-renowned customer
care to hundreds of enterprises worldwide, including dozens of Fortune 500
businesses.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in
software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business
computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed
to empower people through great software - any time, any place and on any
device.
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For more information, press only:
Jeff Young, Akamai, (617) 250-3913, jyoung@akamai.com
Rapid Response Team, Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft, (503) 443-7070,
rrt@wagged.com
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