Akamai

Akamai Technologies runs one of the largest distributed computing platforms on the planet, with thousands of servers spread across hundreds of locations in over 130 countries. The company started in 1998 as a spinoff from MIT, solving the problem of website congestion by caching content close to end users. Their CDN handles everything from static assets like images and video to dynamic API responses and whole-site delivery. On the security side, Akamai offers a web application firewall, bot management, DDoS protection, and a DNS-based firewall. They also provide a range of cloud optimization tools, including image and video compression, load balancing, and edge compute via their EdgeWorkers platform. Akamai is a major player in the enterprise space, serving ecommerce giants, media companies, and large financial institutions. Their pricing is custom and negotiated based on traffic volume and service level, making it less suited for small personal projects but a staple for high-traffic businesses.