As digital consumption continues to grow, Chadwick Kinlay, Director, Marketing & Communications at Epsilon discusses the importance of simplifying and accelerate the multi-IX strategies with Software-Defined Networking.
Chadwick Kinlay, Director, Marketing & Communications at Epsilon
End user experience defines success for digital services today. Content streaming platforms and cloud-based applications and services can fall flat if they offer low quality of experience, even if they have excellent user interface. No matter how good the service seems, end users will just tune out, turn off and unsubscribe.
Across markets, enterprises serve a variety of end users who demand a consistent, high-quality user experience anywhere around the world. However, user behaviour is changing dramatically, particularly in regions experiencing strong demands for digital services.
The growth in global cloud, content and digital communications is driving the need for efficient exchange of traffic at the world’s internet hubs. This increased consumption poses new challenges for enterprises to deliver exceptional digital experiences.
One way of achieving this is through peering, which is the arrangement of traffic exchange between networks. A large internet service provider (ISP) could allow traffic from other ISPs in exchange for traffic on their backbone network, and also exchange traffic with smaller ISPs to reach regional end points. This allows us to experience the internet as we know it.
To optimise the end user experience globally, enterprises should consider peering at internet exchanges (IX). An IX provides a neutral peering point between service providers and networks, facilitating the exchange of internet traffic within an enabled physical location known as an internet exchange point (IXP). To peer at an IX, members will need to have a point of presence (PoP) at the exchange point.
The challenge is finding a simple way to peer globally without the hassle of managing multiple relationships with various service providers and IXs, while continuing to capture new revenue and seamlessly grow in new markets.
In 2019, We are Social revealed the number of global internet users grew by 9.1%, reaching 4.39 billion people online. Cisco further stated video streaming is set to nearly double by 2022, accounting for 82% of internet traffic.
With this sheer number of users, the last thing enterprises want is for their digital services to have poor performance or be completely unavailable. In the long term, how can enterprises keep up with immediate demands, and at the same time, deliver a consistent, high-quality user experience?
Implementing a Multi-IX Strategy
In the age of digital experience, peering at IXs facilitates better upstream connections, which allows enterprises to bring their services closer to end users. They need flexible and scalable connectivity that enables access to new markets seamlessly, so they can focus on innovating and attracting new customers.
However, enterprises may find themselves managing multiple contracts and connections to multiple IXs. It gets complex when they want to serve subscriber demands across regions and peer in unique markets globally. Remote peering is a faster and more cost-efficient method for accessing multiple IXPs without the need for a physical presence. This can be done through a global connectivity provider with pre-existing connections to the peering platforms.
The use of multi-IX strategy paves the way for peering at global IXs. With a software-defined networking (SDN) platform, remote peering is made even simpler by reducing the number of suppliers and overall network costs. This also allows for better control over bandwidth capacity, which significantly enhances end users’ online experience when using bandwidth-sensitive applications such as video on-demand and online gaming.
An SDN platform makes managing a multi-IX strategy simple and efficient, while having the ability to optimise the end user’s experience whenever and wherever they might be. It allows for self-service provisioning of connectivity services to the IX of their choice and automates the process of peering. End-to-end connectivity can be easily managed via a single platform with complete visibility over the network performance.
The Future for Enterprises
To truly differentiate themselves in the hyper-connected world, enterprises must ensure they can meet user expectations, or face fading into obscurity. Content is king, but in the experience economy, it is all about how efficiently it can be delivered to end users.
As digital consumption continues to accelerate, peering will become the most efficient way to deliver the best online experience for cloud-delivered applications and content. Enterprises that procure and manage their peering strategies via SDN platforms will be in the driver’s seat and have a global peering ecosystem both today and into the future.
To learn more about remote peering in action, read our case study: Optimising User Experience Globally with On-Demand Remote Peering.
