ASHBURN, Va., May 26, 2020
/PRNewswire/ -- The Internet Ecosystem Innovation Committee (IEIC),
an independent committee that promotes internet diversity and
resilience through the formation of new global internet nexus
points, today announced that Akamai (NASDAQ: AKAM) has joined as a
founding member.
Dr. Vinay Kanitkar, Chief
Technology Officer – Global Carrier Strategy and Akamai Fellow,
leads Akamai's Network Optimization team and will be representing
the company alongside representatives of the IEIC's other founding
members. A 2008 recipient of Akamai's prestigious Danny Lewin Award, Kanitkar works closely with
Akamai's network operator partners, focusing on network design and
architecture, and internally on Akamai's technology evolution and
platform optimization. The Akamai network, one of the largest in
the world utilizes over 275,000 servers deployed in more than 130
countries and is integrated within 1,500 networks globally. Akamai
delivers daily Web traffic reaching more than 50 terabits per
second and in 2019 serviced 25.3 million concurrent viewers for the
Cricket World Cup, setting a record for live streaming.
The mission of IEIC is to advocate for a more diverse and
resilient Internet as we transition to a digital economy. The
Internet requires networks to exchange traffic (peering points) and
since the advent of the Internet, these peering points have largely
been concentrated in a relatively small number of buildings where
networks are concentrated. The reliance on a limited number of
peering locations creates risk and limits opportunity for more
communities to participate in the Internet's growth and economic
potential.
Large internet business models like Akamai are acutely aware of
the limitations and dependency on Internet exchange points that are
critical to their success. The IEIC's mission is to collaborate
with communities globally to create new internet nexus points
through partnership with local municipalities, academia and
businesses.
"The vision of the IEIC aligns perfectly with my interest in a
more diverse and resilient Internet ecosystem," Kanitkar said.
"Working with Internet luminaries like Vint
Cerf and the growing group of IEIC Founding Members that are
technology visionaries in their own right is an exciting
opportunity and honor."
"Dr. Kanitkar plays a key role architecting the networking
ecosystem of the world's largest content delivery network," said
Dr. Vint Cerf, Google Chief Internet
Evangelist and co-Founder of the Internet. "We welcome his
participation and leadership as we advance the mission of the
IEIC."
"Now more than ever during these uncertain times we are all
witness to increasing demand for capacity and performance that is
putting stress on the Internet," said Clint
Heiden, Founder of the IEIC and Chief Revenue Officer of QTS
Realty Trust. "We welcome Dr. Kanitkar's contributions to the IEIC
as we emphasize the importance of optimizing the Internet
reliability required to support the new digital economy."
The IEIC recently announced an upcoming Virtual Summit Series
beginning in late May 2020 featuring
notable industry leaders including Dr. Vint
Cerf and Dr. Ken Washington.
The online series will address key considerations for enterprise
and government leaders in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic that
is reshaping our society into a global remote workforce. Each
Virtual Series event will feature a live 20 minute keynote address
from a recognized industry leader followed by 40 minute panel
discussions with participating CEOs, CTOs, and COOs from industry
giants, universities and municipalities such as Google, Ford Motor
Company, Bank of America, Cigna, Uber, Hilton, Telia Carrier, CenturyLink, Ciena, Blade,
Freddie Mac, Telxius, Virginia Commonwealth University,
Henrico County and others.
About Akamai
Akamai secures and delivers digital experiences for the world's
largest companies. Akamai's intelligent edge platform surrounds
everything, from the enterprise to the cloud, so customers and
their businesses can be fast, smart, and secure. Top brands
globally rely on Akamai to help them realize competitive advantage
through agile solutions that extend the power of their multi-cloud
architectures. Akamai keeps decisions, apps and experiences closer
to users than anyone — and attacks and threats far away. Akamai's
portfolio of edge security, web and mobile performance, enterprise
access and video delivery solutions is supported by unmatched
customer service, analytics and 24/7/365 monitoring. To learn why
the world's top brands trust Akamai, visit www.akamai.com,
blogs.akamai.com, or @Akamai on Twitter. You can find our global
contact information at www.akamai.com/locations.
About the Internet Ecosystem Innovation Committee
The IEIC is an independent committee that promotes Internet
diversity forming new global Internet nexus points. The mission of
IEIC is to partner with communities globally to create new Internet
nexus points through public and private partnerships with local
municipalities, academia and businesses. The Founding Members of
IEIC are industry luminaries from many of the world's most
respected companies and leaders including: Vint Cerf/Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), Clint Heiden/QTS (NYSE: QTS), Steve Alexander/Ciena (NYSE: CIEN), Rafael Arranz/Telxius, Jason Black/Uber (NYSE: UBER), Bank of
America, Mark Boxer/Cigna (NYSE:
CI), Barbara Boyan/Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU),
Andrew Dugan/CenturyLink (NYSE:
CTL), Staffan Göjeryd/Telia Carrier
(VSE: TEL1L), Jon Greaves/QTS (NYSE:
QTS), Asher Kagan/Blade,
Vinay Kanitkar/Akamai (NASDAQ:
AKAM), Michael Leidinger/Hilton
(NYSE: HLT), Vinay
Nagpal/InterGlobix, Frank
Nazzaro/FreddieMac, and Ken
Washington/Ford (NYSE: F). For additional information visit:
www.ieicco.com
IEIC Media Contact:
Carter B. Cromley
(703) 861-7245
ccromley@cox.net
Akamai Media Contact:
Chris
Nicholson
(617) 444-2987
cnichols@akamai.com
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SOURCE Internet Ecosystem Innovation Committee (IEIC)