THE COLUMBIA HOUSE COMPANY SELECTS AKAMAI EDGESUITE SERVICE TO SUPPORT GROWING ONLINE BUSINESS
Akamai EdgeSuiteSM service to enhance the Web experience for Columbia
House`s 16 million members through high-performance content delivery
CAMBRIDGE, MA, September, 5, 2001 - Akamai Technologies, Inc., (Nasdaq:
AKAM), the leading provider of distributed application and content delivery
services, today announced The Columbia House Company, the world`s largest
direct marketer of music, DVD and video home entertainment products, has
selected the Akamai EdgeSuite service to provide increased performance and
scalability for Columbiahouse.com`s popular music, DVD and video
entertainment properties.
With membership in its online music, video and DVD clubs on the rise,
Columbia House needed a solution that could guarantee uptime and provide
unparalleled user experiences for its customers, while simplifying the
intricacies of Columbia House`s Web infrastructure.
"Timely and accurate response to our customers is integral to the success of
Columbia House," said Tom Beauchamp, senior vice president and CIO, Columbia
House. "EdgeSuite`s many performance-enhancing benefits will be
instrumental to maintaining our strong record of excellence in customer
service and to protecting our premier e-commerce brand. In addition,
EdgeSuite will be key to delivering our entertainment services and
promotional campaigns in the most reliable, cost-efficient manner possible."
"Akamai is thrilled to announce its new relationship as a valuable service
provider to Columbia House, which places the utmost level of importance on
its online brand," said Michael Ruffolo, executive vice president, Akamai.
"The EdgeSuite service will enable Columbia House to unleash the potential
of online marketing efforts with greater performance and reliability through
a cost-effective, future-proof solution. We look forward to working
together with Columbia House on its innovative Web efforts."
The Akamai EdgeSuite service enables the assembly, presentation and delivery
of an organization`s data and applications via Akamai`s global network of
over 11,600 servers deployed close to end users at the Internet`s "edge."
EdgeSuite reduces the costs and complexities associated with a business`s
centralized Web serving infrastructure by distributing, managing, storing,
processing, and delivering data and applications across IP networks.
About Columbia House
The Columbia House Company is the world`s largest direct marketer of music,
videos and DVD home entertainment product. With more than 16 million offline
and online club members in the United States, Canada and Mexico, the company
provides direct-to-consumer marketing of more than 12,000 music titles and
5,000 video and DVD titles through its entertainment clubs. The company`s
Website, www.columbiahouse.com, is one of the premier e-commerce brands and
consistently ranks among the Web`s top 25 shopping destinations. Since its
inception in 1955, The Columbia House Company has a proven record of
excellence in database marketing, market segmentation, credit screening and
niche market merchandising. Headquartered in New York City, The Columbia
House Company is a general partnership owned equally by Sony Corporation and
AOL/Time Warner, Inc.
About Akamai
Akamai is the leading provider of distributed application and content
delivery services. These services 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 11,600 servers within over 820 networks in 62
countries. With headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Akamai provides
services to companies worldwide. For information on Delivering a Better
InternetSM, visit www.akamai.com.
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