India content delivery network market

India Content Delivery Network Market size was valued at US$ 792.5 million in 2023 and is expected to exhibit compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.3% from 2023 to 2030.  

The CDN market in India has been witnessing substantial growth, driven by the growing appetite for online content, increased digital media consumption, and the expansion of the e-commerce industry. Factors like improved internet connectivity, widespread smartphone usage, and the adoption of streaming services have played a significant role in boosting the demand for CDN services. Service providers in India cater to various sectors, such as media, entertainment, e-commerce, gaming, and education, offering solutions like content caching, video streaming optimization, website acceleration, security features, and load balancing to improve the delivery of online content to end-users

India Content Delivery Network Market: Regional Insights

 The adoption of CDN (Content Delivery Network) services has been significant in various regions of India. In the Western region, which includes Mumbai, Pune, and Ahmedabad, there is a strong market for CDN (Content Delivery Network) services due to the presence of media and entertainment companies, e-commerce firms, and IT businesses. Mumbai, as the financial capital, also serves as a key center for CDN infrastructure in this region.

The Southern region, encompassing cities like Bangalore, Chennai, and Hyderabad, is known for its vibrant IT and technology industry. This has contributed to the growth of the CDN (Content Delivery Network) market in the region, with numerous IT companies, research institutions, and media production houses driving the demand for CDN services.

The Northern region, particularly Delhi NCR (National Capital Region), has a significant market for CDN (Content Delivery Network) services. Delhi, along with neighboring areas like Noida and Gurgaon, being major centers for businesses across industries, experiences a high demand for CDN (Content Delivery Network) services. The region's large population, presence of e-commerce firms, media companies, and government institutions further contribute to the demand.

In the Eastern region, cities like Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, and Guwahati are witnessing growth potential in the CDN (Content Delivery Network) market. Although comparatively smaller than other regions, the increasing digital adoption, e-commerce activities, and the presence of educational institutions have resulted in a rising demand for CDN (Content Delivery Network) services in this region.

The Central region, including cities like Jaipur, Indore, and Bhopal, is gradually emerging as a market for CDN services. These cities are experiencing digital transformation and an increase in online content consumption, leading to a growing need for CDN (Content Delivery Network) infrastructure in the region.

Figure 1: India Content Delivery Network Market Share (%), By Region, 2022

India Content Delivery Network Market- Drivers

Rising Internet Penetration in India

The number of people using the internet and accessing online content has increased significantly in India. CDNs are used to ensure faster and more reliable access to websites, applications, and media content as a result of the rising demand for effective content delivery due to increasing internet users. For instance, an e-commerce website that encounters a significant increase in traffic during a festive season sale. By utilizing a CDN, the website can effectively manage the surge in visitors by delivering product images, descriptions, and other content through a network of distributed servers. This ensures that users from different parts of India can access the website swiftly and without any delays, even during peak periods. In the absence of a CDN, the website might face slower loading speeds, potential periods of unavailability, and an overall subpar user experience. Consequently, this could result in customer dissatisfaction and missed opportunities for sales.

Rise in E-commerce

In recent years, the e-commerce industry in India has experienced rapid expansion. CDNs are used for speeding up and protecting access to e-commerce websites, reducing latency, and reducing page load times as the number of online shoppers grows. This makes it possible to shop online without any problems that increases sales products. For instance, imagine a popular online fashion retailer that offers a wide range of products. During a major sale event, the website experiences a massive influx of visitors trying to access the latest deals and make purchases. Without a CDN, the website's servers may struggle to handle the increased traffic, resulting in slow page load times, timeouts, and potential website crashes.

Accelerated Mobile Internet Speeds

Rising demand for CDNs along with the introduction of high-speed 4G networks and the upcoming deployment of 5G networks are expected to drive the market growth. CDNs are essential for maintaining a high-quality user experience because these faster internet speeds enable the delivery of rich media content, immersive experiences, and real-time applications. By utilizing a CDN, the sports streaming app can ensure that the live video feeds and on-demand content are delivered efficiently to users across various regions in India. When a user accesses the app to watch a live match, the CDN optimizes the content delivery by selecting the closest edge server to the user, reducing latency and buffering.

India Content Delivery Network Market- Opportunities

Cloud Adoption

The rapid adoption of cloud computing services in India creates a lucrative opportunity for CDN providers to meet the growing demand for integrating CDNs with cloud platforms. This integration enables businesses to effectively deliver content from the cloud, combining the optimization capabilities of CDNs with the scalable resources and computing power of cloud platforms.

Rising Video Streaming Services

Due to the affordability of smartphones and the availability of high-speed internet connectivity, video streaming services has increased in India. CDNs speed up the delivery of video content, reduce buffering, and ensures smooth playback. CDN providers benefit from rising demand for their services given the proliferation of video streaming platforms.

Mobile Internet Expansion

The expansion of mobile internet usage in India has created a significant growth opportunity for Content Delivery Network (CDN) providers. With a large portion of the population accessing the internet through smartphones, there is a pressing need to optimize content delivery for mobile devices, reduce latency, and enhance overall performance. CDNs play a crucial role in meeting these requirements and capitalizing on the growing market for mobile internet. By offering mobile-focused solutions, CDN providers can cater to the unique needs and challenges of mobile internet users. These solutions involve a range of optimizations designed to improve the user experience on smartphones and tablets. For instance, CDNs can implement mobile device detection to identify the type of device accessing the content. This allows them to deliver optimized versions of web pages and media specifically tailored for mobile viewing, ensuring faster load times and better rendering on smaller screens.

India Content Delivery Network Market- Trends

Increased Demand for Video Delivery

The increased demand for video delivery in India has prompted CDN providers to enhance their infrastructure and offer advanced features such as adaptive bitrate streaming. By optimizing content delivery, CDNs can deliver high-quality video content to a large user base, ensuring an immersive viewing experience regardless of network conditions or device capabilities. As the popularity of online video continues to grow, CDN platforms will continue to evolve and innovate to meet the evolving needs of businesses and content creators in India and around the world. For instance, Akamai Technologies which is a leading CDN provider with a global network of servers focused on efficient and secure content delivery. To meet the rising video consumption in India, Akamai has been actively expanding its CDN infrastructure, specifically targeting the requirements of video streaming.

Multi-Cloud and Hybrid Cloud Adoption

Indian businesses are increasingly adopting multi-cloud and hybrid cloud strategies. In order to provide unified content management and delivery across various cloud environments, CDN providers are aligning their services to facilitate seamless integration with various cloud platforms. Cloud-based applications and content delivery are now more flexible, scalable, and resilient. For instance Indian businesses that have implemented a multi-cloud strategy incorporating AWS and Azure can benefit from Cloudflare's CDN services for unified content delivery. Cloudflare's integration with AWS Cloud Front and Azure CDN enables businesses to efficiently manage and deliver their content across both cloud platforms, streamlining their content delivery processes. This integration simplifies content delivery workflows for businesses operating in multi-cloud environments.

Security and DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) Mitigation

CDN providers in India are continuously enhancing their security capabilities in response to the ongoing threats and risks posed by online dangers and digital attacks. To guard against malicious activities, advanced security features like SSL/TLS encryption, Web Application Firewall (WAF), and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection are added to CDNs. Secure content delivery and the safety of online businesses and their customers are guaranteed by the integration of security measures into CDN infrastructure. For instance Imperva Incapsula provides a wide range of security services seamlessly integrated into their CDN platform, aiming to protect online businesses and their customers. Their CDN infrastructure includes advanced security features like SSL/TLS encryption, Web Application Firewall (WAF), and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection. SSL/TLS encryption plays a vital role in secure content delivery by encrypting data transmitted between the CDN and end-users, thereby preventing unauthorized access and ensuring the privacy of data.

India Content Delivery Network Market- Restraints

Lack of Awareness and Education

Despite the fact that CDN usage is rising in India, content providers and businesses are still unaware of its advantages. Numerous associations may not completely grasp how CDNs can upgrade site execution, further develop client encounters, and enhance content conveyance. To encourage CDN adoption in the market, education and awareness campaigns highlighting their benefits are still essential. For instance a small e-commerce startup in India might be struggling with slow website loading times and frequent downtime. However, the business owners may not be aware that implementing a CDN can significantly improve their website's performance by distributing content closer to their customers, reducing latency, and enhancing overall user experience. Without adequate knowledge about CDNs and their benefits, the e-commerce startup may continue to face these issues and miss out on potential growth opportunities.

Counterbalance: To address the lack of awareness and education regarding CDNs in India, it is crucial for CDN providers to actively engage in informative campaigns, conduct workshops, and provide educational resources. By showcasing the benefits of CDNs, businesses can gain a better understanding of their potential to enhance website performance, user experiences, and content delivery.

Limited Local Content Availability

To efficiently deliver content, CDNs rely on the presence of local content servers. However, there can be a limited supply of local content servers in India, particularly for niche or regional content. Users in particular regions can experience low content delivery experiences as a result of the absence of a localized content infrastructure. To guarantee localized content availability, CDN providers must make investments in expanding their server presence and working with content creators. For instance, a streaming platform in India may have a vast library of regional movies and shows catering to different states and languages. However, if the CDN provider doesn't have a sufficient number of local content servers in those specific regions, users trying to access the content may experience slower loading times, buffering, or lower video quality. This can result in a subpar user experience and dissatisfied customers.

Counterbalance: While limited local content availability poses a challenge for CDNs in India, CDN providers can address this by establishing partnerships with regional content creators and investing in expanding their server presence. By collaborating with local creators, CDNs can ensure a diverse range of content, improving delivery experiences and meeting the specific demands of users in different regions.         

Figure 2: India Content Delivery Network Market Share (%), By Application, 2022

India Content Delivery Network Market- Segmentation

The India Content Delivery Network Market report is segmented into service provider, application, and end-use vertical.

Based on Service Provider, the market is segmented into Telecom CDN Provider and Conventional CDN Provider. Based on Application, the market is segmented into Streaming Web Acceleration, Gaming, Cdn Storage. Based on End-use Vertical, the market is segmented into Media & Entertainment, E-commerce, TELCO, Healthcare, and Government & Education

CDN storage is the dominant segment consisting of 34.6% market share.

India Content Delivery Network Market: Key Developments

In order to compete in the delivery of content, Google launched Media CDN in April 2022. Media CDN, a platform for delivering content that makes use of the same infrastructure as YouTube, was made launched by Google LLC. Media CDN represents a further expansion of the Alphabet by commercializing the pipes that YouTube uses to deliver streaming video.

In November 2021, Akamai and Queue-IT have joined forces to enhance global online transactions and address the surge in demand. Through this collaboration, Akamai can offer businesses a seamless solution to efficiently manage the challenges associated with increased website traffic. Customers can benefit from an effortless implementation process that seamlessly scales across Akamai's Intelligent Edge Platform, effectively handles online traffic, and ensures fair treatment of website visitors.

In October 2021, Limelight Networks an American company that provides a content delivery network service, used for delivery of digital media content and software announced that that NTT DOCOMO, a Japan-based mobile operator, had integrated Limelight's EdgeXtend, in order to expand its content delivery and to enhance user experiences for an ever-increasing number of viewers all over Japan. By caching content from its ecosystem of thirteen services, the EdgeXtend will make content delivery to DOCOMO customers possible.

India Content Delivery Network Market: Key Companies Insights

Major players operating in the India content delivery network market include Tata Communications Ltd. , Amazon CloudFront – Amazon.com Inc., Cachefly, CDNetworks Co., Ltd., CDNify Ltd., CDNsun, CDNvideo, CloudFlare, Inc., EdgeCast Networks, Fastly, Proinity LLC, Limelight Networks Inc., Skypark CDN, and Level 3 Communication Inc.

*Definition: A Content Delivery Network, also known as a "CDN," is a distributed network of servers strategically positioned in a number of data centers spread out over a number of different locations. A CDN's primary function is to quickly, effectively, and securely deliver digital content to end users including web pages, images, videos, applications, and other media.

Detailed Segmentation:

• India Content Delivery Network (CDN) Market, By Service Provider:
  • Telecom CDN Provider
  • Conventional CDN Provider
• India Content Delivery Network (CDN) Market, By Application
  • Streaming
  • Web Acceleration
  • Gaming
  • CDN Storage
• India Content Delivery Network (CDN) Market, By End-use Vertical
  • Media & Entertainment
  • E-commerce
  • TELCO
  • Healthcare
  • Government & Education