Concurrent, a global player in multi-screen video delivery and media data intelligence solutions, today unveiled a new software-based video solution that enables fixed-line and mobile broadband operators to boost the performance of over-the-top (OTT) video services, while also creating new revenue opportunities and reducing operational costs. With growing consumer demand for online video, communications service providers (CSPs) are facing increased traffic across their core, metro, and access networks. Video traffic associated with services like Netflix, Apple TV, YouTube, and Amazon Prime Instant Video has resulted in increased network congestion, rising Internet peering costs, and added transit expenses for service providers. In response, CSPs are demanding solutions that both reduce costs by more efficiently managing third party traffic on their networks and generate revenue by enabling them to participate in the value chain associated with OTT video streaming services.

Concurrent’s next-generation transparent caching solution optimizes the online video traffic being delivered over service providers’ high speed data networks, while creating new revenue generation opportunities.  Using Concurrent’s system, service providers can analyze Internet traffic in real-time to identify the most popular streaming video content and software downloads, including Apple iOS®, Google Android™, and Microsoft Windows® updates. Popular content is cached at the edge of the service provider’s network to enable subsequent consumer requests for the same content to be served locally, resulting in network bandwidth savings, faster data services, improved video quality, and enhanced service consistency. In addition, Concurrent’s solution offers a variety of advanced features that enable service providers to offer value added services such as content acceleration, content adaptation, and broad-spectrum audience measurement that spans multiple online services.  As part of its unified solution portfolio, Concurrent’s transparent caching software is integrated with its market leading multi-screen content delivery solution, providing customers with a common architecture for deploying on-net, off-net, and enhanced OTT video services.

“For too long, CSPs have perceived online video to be a traffic problem rather than a business opportunity. As online video continues to proliferate, service providers have continued to struggle to optimize their networks to handle the increasing volume of video while trying to launch their own multiscreen video services to subscribers,” said Frost & Sullivan’s Mukul Krishna, Senior Global Director, Digital Media. “Frost & Sullivan’s research on the emerging Global Transparent Caching Market has shown tremendous potential for rapid market growth, with market revenues to exceed half a billion dollars over the next three years at a robust 30 plus percent CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate). This growth is expected to be powered by CSPs’ investment in technologies to not only better manage their networks for video, but also eventually launch their own CDNs, as any business model for online video hinges on quality of experience and quality of service.”

“The demand for OTT services continues to rise, presenting broadband service operators with new challenges and new opportunities,” said Dan Mondor, President and CEO of Concurrent.  “Concurrent’s transparent caching solution delivers more than just cost savings.  We have introduced a host of new features that enable revenue generation.  By improving quality of service, offering improved service consistency, and exposing better, more insightful audience measurement data, Concurrent positions service providers to play a central role in the value chain associated with OTT video streaming services.”

Concurrent’s transparent caching solution consists of an intelligent edge caching server, an Internet traffic analyzer, an integrated policy control system, and a video analytics package. The solution can be deployed as a stand-alone system or as part of Concurrent’s unified content delivery solution on the same hardware infrastructure. Customers already using Concurrent’s unified content delivery solution can apply a software upgrade to add transparent caching features to their current deployments. Concurrent will be conducting transparent caching trials with major service providers this summer.

Categories: OTT, Press Releases