by With the exponential growth of internet and digital medium in India in the last few years, the demand for fast and seamless delivery of digital content has also increased manifold. This has opened up opportunities for Content Delivery Network (CDN) providers in the country to serve the needs of consumers as well as businesses. In this article, we take a look at some of the leading CDN providers in India and how they are catering to the digital content needs of the nation.
Emergence of indigenous CDN providers
As internet penetration increased in India a few years back, most large websites and Over The Top (OTT) players were dependent on global CDN providers like Akamai, Cloudflare etc. for content delivery within the country. However, with India’s data sovereignty concerns and need for solutions tailored for the local internet ecosystem, indigenous CDN providers started emerging to address these issues.
Some of the early players who established themselves well are Cloudflare, Cloudinary, Megh, JSPL etc. These companies built extensive edge network within India along with capabilities to deliver all types of digital content including videos, images, software downloads etc at scale. They also provide value added services like web acceleration, route optimization, DDoS protection etc. targeted for the Indian market.
Rise of Telco backed CDNs
In the last 2-3 years, telecom operators in India have also started focusing considerably on this adjacent opportunity area. Major operators like Reliance Jio, Airtel, Vodafone-Idea have either set up their own CDN business or tied up with global technology partners to roll out robust CDN networks across the country.
This has ensured ubiquitous coverage even in remote areas. Their solutions are also integrated with the operators’ network systems allowing for seamless content delivery using telco infrastructure. For example, Jio offers JioCloudenabled CDN solution which has presence across all major towns in India through Jio PoPs. Similarly, Airtel offers Airtel Cloud Delivery Network (CDN) with assets deployed at 150+ PoPs.
Factors driving the CDN market
The India India Content Delivery Network has been forecasted to grow at a CAGR of over 30% and reach around $1 Billion by 2026. This tremendous growth can be attributed to following factors:
– Surge in video consumption: Video now accounts for over 80% of all internet traffic globally. With affordable data plans and superior quality smartphones, video consumption is increasing rapidly even in rural India which is driving demand for CDN solutions.
– Growth of OTT platforms: India currently has half a billion OTT video subscriptions which are expected to cross 1 billion by 2024. CDNs play a crucial role in optimizing OTT content delivery and ensuring seamless playback.
– Rising mobile internet users: India will soon have over 1 billion smartphone users, most of whom would be using mobile data for video streaming, downloads etc. CDNs help optimize content for mobile devices and networks.
– Digitalization push by Government: Programs like Digital India, Startup India etc. are promoting internet based services across sectors like education, healthcare, financial services etc. This is generating huge volumes of digital content requiring efficient delivery.
– Proliferation of local content: With success of Made-in-India video apps, interest in local music, movies and language based content is also rising exponentially. CDNs can deliver such culturally relevant assets effectively.
Key challenges and solutions
While the potential of CDN market is immense, there are also some roadblocks like availability of international bandwidth, complex topology of Tier 2/3 cities networks, diverse consumer needs across regions. However, indigenous CDN providers are innovating to address these challenges:
– Extensive caching of assets across 1000+ PoPs ensures content is always served from the nearest location reducing latency.
– CDN nodes are directly integrated with telco MPLS/IOTC backbones eliminating dependence on international ports.
– Real-time monitoring and analytics provide insight into network health and consumption patterns helping make adjustments.
– Solutions are customized as per client requirements – be it specific file formats, localization, device types etc. to serve varied consumer segments.
– Dedicated delivery solutions are launched for communities/regions with distinct online behavior and preferences.
*Note:
1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
