Arc XP is an operating system built for media. We were born out of the Washington Post imperative to go from print to digital 10 years ago. We then enjoyed bringing on thousands of sites on our platform around the globe. Arc XP is a SaaS platform, and as all SaaS platforms, we need to extend to our customers' needs.
So while there's one version of Arc XP in the world, each customer extends it to their specific needs in the market. And we introduced recently a new form of extensibility that we call the Integration Framework at Edge. When Arc XP was started, the team made a bet on a cloud native tech stack. What that means is we have a lot of microservices and partners, and frameworks that are used to compose Arc XP today.
As CTO, I need to make sure I'm looking at alternatives for any of our big bets, and that was inclusive of our new Edge Integration Framework. At the heart of our product roadmap is bringing AI together with customer insights for hyper-personalization. The only way to do that is to bring that technology as close to the customer as possible, and that's why we leveraged Akamai's cloud compute platform to do those workloads at edge.
When my team did the analysis of different providers out there, the choice was clear, not only because Akamai was our current provider for delivering at scale, but the innovation they were providing, the openness they provided, helped to build that framework, really accelerated the journey. They helped design an architecture which we knew would be robust and scalable to meet the high-volume needs of our customers. If we had chosen some of the alternatives, I know we wouldn't have gotten to where we are today.
As my team approached building the new Edge Integration Framework, I wanted them to move fast and had a demanding roadmap. So it's important that they could use Akamai and we could partner effectively to hit the pace of delivery that our customers demanded.
We found that we were able to move quickly because we had so much experience with Akamai's APIs, and the knowledge that we were able to take from past implementations really accelerated the work to bring this framework quickly and actually deliver it faster than the roadmap called for.
Enabling hyper-personalization for media customers
Arc XP, an “operating system” built for media, was born out of The Washington Post’s push to transition from print to digital more than 10 years ago. Since then, it has become a key player in the media and entertainment space, helping thousands of websites globally power dynamic, personalized digital experiences. To further this vision, Arc XP decided to develop a more flexible and scalable framework that enabled hyper-personalization and secure integrations for its media customers. In partnership with Akamai, Arc XP leveraged cloud compute at the edge to ensure fast, secure, and efficient workloads capable of serving millions of readers in real time.
Accelerating media innovation with edge integration
When Arc XP resolved to build its Edge Integration Framework, the company had a clear vision: meet the unique demands of its media customers by bringing AI-powered hyper-personalization closer to the end user, at the edge.
“We knew that to deliver personalized experiences at scale, we had to bring the power of AI and customer insights as close to the user as possible,” explained Joe Croney, CTO of Arc XP.
Arc XP’s deep partnership with Akamai, which dates back years, made it an easy decision when choosing technologies to bring the framework to life. It had already achieved success with Akamai’s CDN and security products, so leveraging Akamai’s expertise in cloud computing and edge computing was a natural next step.
“Akamai’s optimized cloud compute platform was the perfect fit for handling these workloads at the edge,” he continued.
A trusted partnership enables speed and scalability
With a demanding roadmap and tight timelines, Arc XP needed to move fast. “We were confident in Akamai’s ability to help us move quickly on this project,” Croney recalled. “In fact, Akamai’s support and our team’s experience with Akamai’s APIs helped us accelerate the process and get the framework up and running ahead of schedule.”
Akamai Professional Services helped Arc XP design a robust architecture incorporating its cloud computing services capable of handling high volumes of traffic:
- EdgeWorkers: A compute solution for executing lightweight workloads at the edge, enabling faster, more personalized digital experiences
- Essential Compute: Akamai’s highly scalable compute solution, ideal for executing dynamic workloads at the edge
- App & API Protector: Akamai’s web application firewall (WAF) solution that quickly identifies vulnerabilities and mitigates threats across the most complicated web and API architectures
- DataStream: A solution that delivers low-latency access log data for near-real-time visibility into what’s happening at the network edge
With these technologies, Arc XP gained security at the edge, along with high performance.
Addressing media industry challenges at the edge
Arc XP’s Edge Integration Framework was designed to meet the core needs of its media customers while seamlessly integrating with third-party services. With a focus on security and bot management, Arc XP equipped the platform to address the evolving challenges of AI technologies in the media industry.
By empowering media companies to secure their content and adapt to AI-driven changes, the framework enables them to better own their audience and monetize their content — especially in response to AI crawlers.
As Croney noted, “With AI crawlers and scrapers increasingly interacting with media content, we must provide customers with the tools to protect their business and control access. Our Edge Integration Framework addresses these concerns while opening new monetization opportunities as they strike agreements with AI companies.”
Arc XP facilitates secure, high-performance routing between its platform and partner solutions, while customers manage their own protection rules directly within each third-party service.
Confidently delivering cutting-edge, AI-driven media experiences
The Edge Integration Framework marks just the first step in Arc XP’s broader strategy to extend its platform through Akamai’s global edge computing services. In the months ahead, Arc XP plans to expand the framework with additional integrations that enhance personalization, content protection, and analytics. “This is just the beginning,” Croney said. “The possibilities for hyper-personalization and agentic workflows are endless. We’re excited to see how AI will further transform the media industry.”
With Akamai’s edge compute and security solutions as a foundation, Arc XP is positioned to deliver faster, smarter, and more secure experiences that meet the evolving demands of the global media industry. “Akamai has been a trusted, reliable, and innovative partner since day one. Its continued innovation and ability to scale with us at the edge have been instrumental in our success. We wouldn’t be where we are today without Akamai,” Croney concluded.
About Arc XP
Arc XP is the content platform and operating system built to power growth for ambitious media companies. Developed by The Washington Post, Arc XP is used by leading media organizations worldwide, including The Irish Times, Libération, L’Express, Madsack, Graham Media Group, and Sky News. Arc XP’s platform helps media companies innovate rapidly, own audience relationships, and grow independent revenue. Arc XP supports more than 2,500 sites globally and delivers billions of pageviews each month. Learn more at arcxp.com.
About Akamai
Akamai is the cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business online. Our market-leading security solutions, superior threat intelligence, and global operations team provide defense in depth to safeguard enterprise data and applications everywhere. Akamai’s full-stack cloud computing solutions deliver performance and affordability on the world’s most distributed platform. Global enterprises trust Akamai to provide the industry-leading reliability, scale, and expertise they need to grow their business with confidence. Learn more at akamai.com and akamai.com/blog, or follow Akamai Technologies on X and LinkedIn.
