Content Delivery Network Market

Market Overview

The global content delivery network market size was valued at USD 20.21 billion in 2021. It is expected to reach USD 58.90 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 15.9% during the forecast period (2022–2030).

 A content delivery network, also known as a CDN, is a collection of servers located in different parts of the world that collaborate to deliver content from the internet in a timely and dependable manner. A content delivery network (CDN) is a computer network that allows for the rapid transfer of data and the transfer of assets necessary for loading internet content. These assets include JavaScript files, images, stylesheets, HTML pages, and live videos. Owners of the content, like e-commerce and media company vendors, pay content delivery network providers, network carriers, and network operators to use their data centers as the location for their servers. Additionally, a rise in the number of people using the internet and an increase in the number of people using smartphones and wearable technology are all driving the market globally.

Market Dynamics

Market Driving Factors

Increasing Demand for High-Speed Data Networks and Uninterrupted Live Content Delivery to Aid Growth

The demand for high-speed networks to deliver continuous content and live updates in the range has increased due to the shift toward digitization and adoption of cutting-edge technologies that the global economy is undergoing, such as the internet of things (IoT), virtual reality, and artificial intelligence. The content delivery network is the architecture used to support services for latency-sensitive devices for provider types such as autonomous driving, factory automation, remote surgery, mission-critical communications, and virtual reality and augmented reality entertainment. These service providers require a latency of less than one millisecond and an error rate of no more than one lost packet every 105 packages. The capacity of content delivery networks to operate on low-latency networks contributes to the acceleration of market expansion.

Growing Use of Rich Media and Video and Enhanced Video Streaming and Online Gaming to Drive Market

The activity of uploading high-quality video to a website and streaming online video over the internet is time consuming and expensive for the end-user. It requires a stable internet connection that is both fast and reliable and a solid IT infrastructure. The content delivery network solves the problem of both the source and the destination having multiple points of presence, which enables content to be made available across the globe. It is possible to shorten the distance between the customer and the content server by positioning the server close to the end-users location. Since there is less congestion in the content delivery network, performance is greatly enhanced, which leads to a significant acceleration of online gaming and video streaming quality. A common cause of network congestion is when many users attempt to access a website simultaneously. Redirecting users to content that has already been replicated relieves network congestion, improving overall performance and user experience.

Global Penetration of Smartphones and Wearables to Boost Market Progress

The use of smartphones across developing economies has been steadily growing due to a wide variety of factors. These factors include an increase in the income per capita, an affordable price point, the availability of multiple low-cost options with significant features, and other factors. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies now have a bring-your-own-device policy, and more people than ever are working from home. The content delivery network is being utilized by many businesses and educational establishments to supply customers with various services, including video and gaming.

Market Restraining Factors

The Complexity of the Architecture and the Security Technology to Hinder Market Growth

The content delivery network has many dispersed points of presence for servers because it is a local server-based service. As a result, it might encounter some issues, like end-to-end encryption, where the content and the server's security system should only be readable by the end-user. However, there is a chance that it could become compromised, and anyone from the outside could keep a record of the user's search history.

This technology prevents potential mediators, such as internet service providers, mobile network operators, and the manufacturer of smartphones, from reading search history and exploring content by denying access to it. In the case of a content delivery network, servers are only encrypted for communication; however, encryption may fail occasionally, and the service provider may be able to access the data through tracking of history. The attack known as distributed denial of service is the most typical issue in content distribution networks (DDoS). An attempt to maliciously disrupt the regular traffic of a targeted server, service, or network by overwhelming the target or its surrounding infrastructure with a flood of internet traffic is known as a distributed denial-of-service attack (or DDoS attack for short).

Key Market Opportunities

Increasing Demand for Service-Based and Service Architecture to Spur Market Opportunities

The significant shift of businesses toward digitization and the growing penetration of service infrastructure among various industry verticals will increase the use of service-based content delivery networks. Service-based content delivery networking provides connectivity tools to businesses in any industry vertical, which includes a rich content delivery system. Any company can deliver its content utilizing various devices such as HTML platform, multi-point of presence and distributed networks, and many others. In addition, an increasing number of end-users are gravitating toward service-based CDN services because of the cost-effectiveness, which drives the global content delivery network market growth over the forecast period.

Regional Analysis

The global content delivery network market share is primarily segmented into four major regions: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. 

Asia-Pacific is the most dominant global content delivery network market and is expected to reach USD 18.95 million in 2030, growing at a CAGR of 19.3% during the forecast period. The emergence of high-end technologies like artificial intelligence, fast 5G networks, and the rising need for low-cost, high-speed content access are all driving factors for the market's expansion in the Asia-Pacific region. In addition, Asia-Pacific's IT & telecommunication, BFSI, and retail sectors are investing aggressively in content delivery networks, which is anticipated to drive market growth. LAMEA is expected to have a sizable market share after Asia-Pacific. North America is the third-lowest revenue-contributing region.

Segmental Analysis

The global content delivery network market share is segmented by component, content type, provider type, and industry vertical.

By Components

Based on components, the global CDN market is bifurcated into solutions and services.

The solution segment is the highest contributor to the global market, growing at a CAGR of 15.9% during the forecast period. The solution segment contains a variety of content delivery network solutions, including web performance optimization, media delivery, and cloud security. These solutions enable organizations to maximize the return on their content delivery by enhancing customer service or increasing revenue.

By Content Type

Based on content type, the global CDN market is segregated into static and dynamic.

The dynamic segment is the highest contributor to the growth of global content delivery network market, growing at a CAGR of 16.6% during the forecast period. Dynamic content varies based on user-specific variables such as visit time, location, and device. An active web page will not appear identical to all users but will alter as users interact with it. It contains a live weather forecast and news articles without an HTML script. It is anticipated that market expansion will be made easier as end-user demand for dynamic content increases. Modern websites and service providers must frequently deliver substantial static content to end-users. This information contains images, stylesheets, JavaScript, and video. As the number and size of these fixed assets increase, bandwidth consumption rises, and page load times increase, diminishing users' browsing experience and decreasing the server's available capacity.

By Provider Type

Based on provider type, the global CDN market is divided into traditional CDN, telecommunication CDN, cloud CDN, and peer-to-peer CDN.

The peer-to-peer CDN segment is the highest contributor to the global market, growing at a CAGR of 18.4% during the forecast period. Peer-to-peer CDN usage within an organization is enhanced by factors such as expanding multi-CDN infrastructure, which includes client-side CDN. Peer-to-Peer CDN uses end-device information to determine the optimal ratio of content consumption between edge servers of the content delivery network and other end-devices that provide the same content. This is anticipated to create numerous growth opportunities for the market. Small and medium-sized businesses prefer cloud-based content delivery networks due to their lack of capital expenditures and low maintenance requirements—increased adoption of cloud-based content delivery networks by both large and small businesses.

By Industry Vertical

Based on industry vertical, the global CDN market is differentiated into healthcare, retail and eCommerce, BFSI, IT and telecommunication, media and entertainment, government, and public sector.

The healthcare segment is the highest contributor to the global content delivery network market, growing at a CAGR of 19.4% during the forecast period. The healthcare industry consists of hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and paramedical services. The healthcare industry is rapidly adopting content delivery networks to facilitate faster and more convenient communication content delivery among medical practitioners, patients, and medical assistants. The retail and e-commerce industry is rapidly witnessing the adoption of content delivery networks to empower faster and more convenient communication channels among customers and business owners.

Recent Developments

• May 2022: Citrix Achieved FedRAMP Moderate Status. US government agencies can now leverage the company's market-leading digital workspace solutions to enable secure work anywhere, anytime, from any device.
• March 2022: Akamai Recognized as a Leader in the 'IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Commercial Content Delivery Network Services 2022 Vendor Assessment.
• March 2022: BMG accelerates Google Cloud migration with Rackspace Technology to meet the data demands of the music consumption boom.