CDN technology benefits your online operation in so many ways but choosing the right CDN can make all the difference when it comes to your peace of mind. Deploy in-house CDNs can take up a lot of time, efforts, resources and risks. Most enterprises use a specialized CDN provider. But since so many companies have sprung up touting their CDN capabilities, the choice is getting more and more difficult.

CDN providers offer many products, tools and services that improve how your web content is presented; from streaming media to progressive download and dynamic content acceleration . It all depends on your websites size, type of content and growth rate. Keeping all these issues in mind, here are some other factors you must consider when choosing a CDN provider.

Technology:

If your content needs to be supported by a certain technology, make sure that your CDN can provide such a service. For instance there are some top-of-the-line CDN’s that do not allow pseudo-flash streaming or Real Media Streaming. If there any special requirements for your content to be delivered efficiently, make sure your provider can support it. Content owners should also be aware of the basics such as code changes, hardware implementation, real-time reporting, etc. as all these factors contribute towards making the CDN services ideal for you.

Bandwidth concerns:

CDN’s usually charge by the GB based on monthly commitments, so anticipate your needs and get the best package for your web content. Purchasing CDN services makes sense when you have a large load to deliver every month and you need to let someone else do all the heavy lifting. With traffic of more than 500 GB/Month, a regular web host goes down pretty quickly. If your needs are somewhere around this figure, then opt for a CDN accordingly.

Customer support:

Is there a helpdesk number you can call at all times? Are there any technical personnel helping you through the start up phase? Ask similar questions and find out how helpful they are, and if the staff is trained well enough to resolve your issues quickly and efficiently.

Competitive pricing:

Many CDN providers offer similar products and options. It usually comes right down to what you can afford to pay. A number of CDN providers are Pay-As-You-Go. But more CDN suppliers offer start up accounts at $700.

Instead of getting attracted by al the bells and whistles, just pay attention to your needs and not your wants. Make sure that your chosen CDN provider has the capability to deliver on its commitment in the future. It will probably be a minimum of 12 months term commitment and your decision should be solid.