Online video files are quite large in size that require time and space for delivering the content online. Content delivery networks are geographically distributed servers that help in the fast delivery of the content to the end users. CDNs deliver the content to the end users using the nearest server. This helps in delivering the content seamlessly and at the same time, it provides safety from several cyber attacks namely DDoS (Distributed Denial-of-Service). It attempts to disrupt the file normal traffic of any targetted service by overwhelming it with internet traffic. CDNs read the content request, catch the video content from various servers, and deliver the content through the nearest server.
With the rapid increase in attackers and regular development of OTT platforms, it becomes imperative for these platforms to use content delivery networks that can help in delivering the content to the end users. Apart from this, several reasons made it the appropriate choice for the OTT platforms to use these networks for content delivery.
Benefits Of Content Delivery Networks For OTT Platforms
Some of the major benefits of CDNs include:
Reduced Latency
Latency basically means a time lapse between the request made and the delivery of the content. Since the servers of CDNs are distributed across the world, it becomes easy to deliver the content to the end users. This is since it delivers the content via the nearest server.
Tackles Traffic
OTT platforms have a huge audience base since it provides content at the convenience of the viewers. CDNs allow the OTT platform to reach an endless number of audiences seamlessly, making it the platform to scale dramatically.
Increased Security
With every development comes the development in the hacking world as well. One of the common attacks is overloading the servers with many requests. DDoS is one of those attacks. But CDNs can mitigate all the traffic if servers get attacked. This all is done by moving the content to another server/location. In short, it provides a layer of security.
Better Experience
Using CDNs for delivering content to the end users helps in bringing a better viewing experience to the end users. All this is because it helps in delivering the content via the nearest servers and therefore provides a seamless video experience.
Minimal Charges
Managing your own servers requires huge infrastructure maintenance charges. Having your own servers is quite expensive to maintain since it demands investments in hardware, its maintenance, and staff for the regular maintenance of the same. On the other hand, using CDN is a handy choice as all that you have to maintain is the contract with a CDN provider and that is it.
There are much more benefits to using content delivery networks for OTT platforms. And using it matters a lot since Quality of Experience (QoE) for the end users and the OTT platforms.