The competition among streaming companies has become so fierce that the media has even referred to it as full-on war. This incredibly competitive space is a reaction to the unprecedented rise in the popularity among consumers of on-demand content and video streaming. According to Cisco, a staggering 70% of all internet traffic was driven by video content in 2017, and it is projected to continue on this upward trajectory, reaching 82% by 2022.
In a recent Wall Street Journal article, Elizabeth Winkler analyzes the race to become the top streaming service, and how companies are attempting to stand out among both established and emerging competitors. Consumers are moving away from cable towards on-demand television – over fifty-five percent of the U.S. households subscribe to a video-streaming service. This shift towards streaming is driving companies to ramp up their programs to stand out. Amazon and Netflix are investing billions to develop new original programming to keep their streaming services from falling behind. However, with a rapidly growing demand for streamed content, providers must offer end users reliable, ultra-low latency connectivity to stay at the top of the pack.
Customer expectations have shifted toward seamless and fast content delivery anywhere, anytime, and content streaming providers are scrambling to accommodate new levels of demand, pushing IT teams to establish data delivery methods that enable ultra-low latency and always-on connectivity.
Without a quality connection between resilient and dependable edge data centers and end users, viewers experience buffering and availability issues, creating a frustrating and poor user experience. With computing and processing power geographically close to where data is being sourced and transmitted, content streaming providers can significantly decrease latency, deliver video content seamlessly and, ultimately, cement a competitive edge.
To learn more, download our whitepaper, Welcome to the Era of Edge Computing.
