Amazon Trialling New Content Deliver Service

By Greg McNevin

September 22, 2008: Amazon is giving developers a sneak peak at an upcoming service, announcing that it is testing out a new content deliver service that it says will provide a high performance method of distributing digital content to users all over the globe.

The web-retailer turned cloud computing service-provider has announced the new service in the hope that it will give developers a head start in application planning. It says that the new service will offer both low latency and high data transfer rates for object access, while enabling developers and businesses to get projects off the ground rapidly.

The system works by propagating content over Amazon’s cloud, enabling it to be delivered to the end user from a server geographically close to them, increasing performance and taking the burden off central datacentres.

This enables companies without expertise dealing with complex web operations - or the capital to maintain multiple mirrors around the world - to take advantage of Amazon’s formidable infrastructure and rapidly deliver their digital content to users no matter where there are.

Amazon says that the as-yet unnamed cloud content-deliver system works seamlessly with its S3 storage service, enabling content to be store until needed, then delivered via a single API call.

While it hasn’t released any figures as yet, Amazon says the new service will have no minimum fees or commitments, with users only paying for what they actually use. Another point which could prove attractive for smaller operations wishing for enterprise-level delivery services without the hefty costs.

The company is currently trialling the service with a select group of firms, with a full release expected before the end of the year.

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