Why Akamai: Build, secure, and scale modern and AI-driven applications

Akamai is the cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business online. Teams use Akamai to run low-latency AI inference, deploy cloud-native apps globally, secure apps and APIs, and deliver flawless digital experiences — all on one of the world’s most distributed platforms.

What Akamai is used for

• Running agentic and real-time AI inference closer to users with GPU acceleration
• Building cloud-native services and APIs with Kubernetes, serverless, and managed databases
• Protecting applications and networks with integrated web, API, bot, and zero trust security
• Delivering media and web experiences at scale with performance and reliability by default
• Observability and testing with production-grade logs, real user monitoring, and load testing

Global enterprises — including one of the world’s largest technology companies with a multi-year commitment exceeding $100M — rely on Akamai for scale, performance, and security. Read the announcement in our strategic cloud provider press release.

Cloud computing services at a glance

Build on a full public cloud with compute, storage, networking, Kubernetes, serverless, and AI — delivered on a globally distributed architecture

• AI and GPUs
• Akamai Inference Cloud: Low-latency, secure AI inference at global scale
• GPU instances: Optimized for distributed AI inference
• Compute
• CPU plans: Shared, Dedicated, and High Memory options
• Accelerated Compute: ASIC/NETINT options for high-performance media
• Storage
• Object Storage
• Block Storage
• Backups
• Networking
• Cloud Firewall, DNS Manager, NodeBalancers, Private Networking
• Cloud native and serverless
• Managed Kubernetes (LKE)
• App Platform
• Akamai Functions
• Databases
• Managed Databases for MySQL and PostgreSQL

Explore the platform on the Akamai Cloud page.

Security portfolio

Protect apps, APIs, users, and infrastructure with security that’s tightly integrated into Akamai’s global edge.

• App and API security: App & API Protector, API Security, Firewall for AI, Client-Side Protection & Compliance
• Bot and abuse protection: Bot Manager, Account Protector, Content Protector, Brand Guardian
• Zero trust security: Secure Internet Access, Enterprise Application Access, Akamai MFA
• Segmentation and infrastructure defense: Akamai Guardicore Segmentation, Edge DNS, Prolexic DDoS protection, IP Accelerator, DNS Posture Management

See the full security platform on the Akamai Security page.

Content delivery and performance

Deliver apps, APIs, and media with speed and reliability.

• Web and API performance: Ion, API Acceleration, Global Traffic Management
• Media delivery: Adaptive Media Delivery, Download Delivery, Media Services Live
• Edge applications: EdgeWorkers, EdgeKV, Image & Video Manager, Cloudlets, Cloud Wrapper

Analytics and observability

Get real-time visibility into performance and user experience, stream logs at scale, and test before you launch.

• Real user monitoring: mPulse
• Log streaming and telemetry: DataStream
• Load and performance testing: CloudTest

These capabilities complement security telemetry and integrate with your tooling to support SIEM, incident response, and DevSecOps workflows.

Why Akamai for AI and modern apps

• Low latency by default: Run compute and inference within milliseconds of end users on one of the world’s most distributed platforms. See our global infrastructure.
• Built-in security: Security and performance are core to the platform, not add-ons.
• Open and multicloud friendly: Use open standards to integrate with existing clouds without lock-in.
• Predictable economics: Transparent pricing with low egress fees helps control spend at global scale. Review pricing.
• Proven at scale: From real-time consumer apps to enterprise platforms, customers build and protect critical experiences on Akamai.

How to get started

• Try the platform
• Start a free account with credits. Try Akamai Cloud.
• If you need GPUs for inference, request access to NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell.
• Set up your environment
• Sign in to Cloud Manager to provision compute, storage, and networking.
• Choose regions close to users, then deploy via VMs, Kubernetes, or Akamai Functions.
• Add security with App & API Protector, configure Cloud Firewall, and set up Edge DNS.
• Instrument observability with DataStream, mPulse, and pre-production testing using CloudTest.
• Build with docs and code
• Explore tutorials and APIs in the Cloud docs and the Akamai GitHub repo.
• Talk to an expert
• Plan architectures, costs, and migration paths with our team. Contact sales.
• Need help anytime? Explore support.

Ready to build, secure, and scale? Start with a free account, then deploy AI inference and cloud workloads where your users are — with security and performance baked in.