Evolving Digital Experiences at the Edge

For more than two decades, Akamai has helped businesses develop edge computing solutions tailored to their specific growth and development needs. At the beginning, CDNs emphasized reducing latency and caching static content, but during the last few years, business, entertainment, and daily life have evolved faster than ever in a world with booming content consumption and online interactions.

As a result, companies are more focused on delivering personalized content; increasing end-user engagement across multiple channels; and maximizing performance, data autonomy, and infrastructure at a global scale. In this new paradigm, how can we harness new technologies to enhance digital experiences? How do we ensure the best digital experience for the user? 

Shift to the edge — evolve your application over time

Consumers are increasingly using smartphones and tablets for their daily online activities. The dependency on mobile applications has transformed how we live. Consumers expect authentic and engaging visual experiences; innovative, personalized content; cutting-edge immersive experiences; and the ability to connect to a live broadcast anytime, anywhere. 

The State of Mobile 2022 annual report by data.ai shows that users are spending more than 4.8 hours a day on mobile apps, which has resulted in a tremendous increase in traffic due to consumer demand. The demands of these modern applications are redefining the edge, and consumer expectations have never been higher. 

Today’s digital experiences require a modern CDN

When building the latest digital experiences, leading companies are looking for opportunities to insert business logic as close to the user as possible, looking at what they can move to the edge to minimize latency and improve the user’s digital experience. 

A modern application requires a modern CDN — the way data and business logic will be distributed and consumed in the future will be the prime driver of success. The CDN is no longer sitting in front of the application, but is embedded in the very fabric of the application architecture, with capabilities to shape and power experiences. 

Unparalleled opportunities require functions at the edge

More and more organizations are uncovering tremendous opportunities in adopting edge compute solutions to improve business outcomes. They are reducing the time needed to collect and analyze data, improving response time, and delivering more gratifying digital experiences. 

Visualizing what is possible at the edge is one of the most important tools. Use cases can help illustrate what functions at the edge can enable, such as A/B testing, geolocation, device personalization, data protection, and more. Figure 1 provides a visual example of how these functions translate into a real-world application.

Delivering tailored content boosts revenue

Organizations can take advantage of implementing dynamic personalization at the edge, and use the knowledge of their end users’ preferences, keywords searches, and geolocation to display products that are relevant to the user, or to deliver promotions based on past purchase history or wish lists. Delivering tailored content allows organizations to connect with customers at a deeper level, resulting in increased customer satisfaction and boosts in revenue. 

Ready-to-deploy code samples

Development teams are looking for code samples of how edge compute can make their lives easier and how it can enhance the performance of their applications. The Edge Compute demo site is an interactive code sample repository that offers examples of Akamai’s edge computing solutions (Figure 2). It explores some of the possible functions that can create great experiences for end users. 

The site includes actionable demo source code for each of the use cases, the ability to copy the code, and the link to GitHub to review it in more detail. We also provide access to guides to help you get started, and a direct opportunity to contribute with feedback.

The innovation opportunities you can address are endless. Explore more innovative ways customers compute on the edge to achieve your business goals and exceed the expectations of your audience. 

Learn more

• Whether you’re looking for information on the possible implementations or you’re simply interested in learning more about serverless edge, check out Edge Compute: Use Cases.
• Try out the Learn Akamai portal to explore our on-demand elearning modules and hands-on labs.
• Look for upcoming blog posts detailing how Akamai has helped customers build more powerful digital experiences.