WAN Optimization: In the Cloud or On-Premises? - Page 2

There is however another option, that is now being worked on by Riverbed and Akamai in a new joint effort.

"There is WAN optimization and there is cloud optimization and now Riverbed and Akamai are partnering to solve the challenges of both deployments," Neil Cohen, Senior Director of Product Marketing at Akamai said. "We're going to combine protocol optimization and footprint and give you symmetrical optimization for cloud providers."

The joint Akamai Riverbed effort will see Akamai code land in Riverbed's on-premise Steelhead devices in order to help optimize delivery. Riverbed code will also find its way into Akamai to accelerate data through the Akamai network.

"We're in a new age of Web optimization and whether you look at on premise or service provider models, the challenge is that the world is getting more complicated," Cohen said. "You have to solve problems on your network, in the cloud and for mobile users."

Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.