hbr akamaitech 804158 rev2010jun8
Harvard Business School case on Akamai Technologies (HBS No. 804-158) tracing the company from its MIT origins through its development of CDNs (FreeFlow), the launch of EdgeSuite in 2001, and evolution into application/edge computing (EdgeComputing). The case covers technical architecture (ESI, CDN components and Internet bottlenecks), business model and go-to-market (customers, resellers, partnerships with IBM/Microsoft), competitive threats, and financial performance (notably recovery by 2003 and growth through 2009). It includes exhibits on Internet architecture, CDN/ESI diagrams, management bios, and income statements.
Questions this document answers
First quarter of 2001.
60% of sales by late 2003.
$45.2 million for Q4 2003.
14,733 servers in 1,072 networks across 71 countries (year-end 2003).
Stock low of $0.56 in October 2002; valuation of $1.8 billion (stock price $14.90) in January 2004.