Content Delivery Networks

As promised previously, I'll dedicate this post to Content Delivery Networks. The goal of CDN is to improve the performance of networked applications, whether on a private network or over the Internet.

CDN is a distributed set of interconnected surrogate servers offloading traffic from the origin server. When a user makes a request, the intelligent CDN platform redirects the request to the best server capable of answering, in order to deliver the best performance and user experience.

CDN's performance is measured by the hit ratio, the ratio of requests served by surrogates instead of the origin server. Hit ratio depends on the nature of data: It is more suited to static and basic dynamic data and it's not suited to security sensitive data and data modified concurrently by different users.

CDN is a great solution for businesses that depend on networked applications, typically online e-commerce websites. First, the CDN solution will improve and harmonize the customer's experience, leading to a more loyal customer and a better conversion rate thus generating more revenues. Second, a CDN System will help simplifying and improving the efficiency of the webserver infrastructure:

• Reduce infrastructure (Internet access, servers..) by offloading traffic to CDN provider's surrogate servers.
• Avoid sizing the infrastructure to the peak traffic making it more effcient.
• Avoid the complexity of evolving the infrastructure in order to absorb more traffic (load balancing systems, heavy investments ..).
• Increase the availability of infrastructure by leveraging the availability of a redundant and distributed CDN platform.

In the following Prezi slides, I try to explain the different components building a CDN system and the different possible architectures and their stakes. This presentation is inspired from the great book by Dinesh Verma on CDNs.

Personnaly, my first experience on CDN was with Orange Labs, where we tried to leverage a CDN for a Video on Demand service. And now, I am excited about designing and proposing CDN solutions to my customers, since Orange Business Services and Akamai (leader global CDN provider) have signed a strategic partnership in November 2012: Orange will commercialize Akamai's solutions and will extend Akamai's CDN on their networks.

Achraf

The generation Y manifesto

I have recently read several articles on the rebellious behavior of generation Y in the professional environment. I was very intrigued by the exactitude of the this generation's description since I belong to it. Therefore, I decided to write a manifesto of my generation, explaining our professional expectations and our vision of the Enterprise.

I - We simply want to have fun at work! it doesn't mean we are not serious in what we do, because when we believe in something we will do the impossible to realize it. Fun in work means good working environment: interesting nature of work, informal and dynamic social interactions and playful-comfortable office environment.
We haven't built a wall between professional life and personal life. One is the continuation of the other. We don't compromise either one of our lives: we want to continue our boxing and piano courses, spend time with our family, travel the world, but in the same time we aspire continuous professional evolution. The companies who understood this paradox have put in place flexible work environment: flexibility in work time and work place. Of course this flexibility is built on the foundation of mutual trust.

II - We don't believe in pyramid organizations! we grew up on social networks, where organization is flat. Anyone can poke anyone.

III - We want modern working tools. We want a Google like Information System: simple and accessible anytime from anywhere. We want an open Information System: full access to Internet (multimedia, social networks...) and enabled on our personal devices.

IV - We are radical in our relation with our company. In order to be loyal, the company has to prove its investment in this relation: career development, training, promotion, responsibility. Otherwise, we won't wait a lot before starting a new relation with a new company. Nevertheless, when the relation is going well, we are extreme in it, we put all of our energy in it, and we talk proudly about it on every occasion.

V - We are not afraid of asking questions. We don't take everything as a sacred postulate, and dare to ask why.

VI - We want to make the world a better place.

The importance of Application QoS in the transformation of telcos

Currently, I am working on a WAN optimization RFP. The goal is to optimize the performance of the customer's networked applications by deploying physical probes behind WAN accesses.
there are two main domains in WAN optimization:

• Application QoS: It's about monitoring and controlling the traffic of networked applications in order to satisfy the performance requirement of these applications according to their business importance.
• Application Acceleration & Optimization: Accelerating the performance of an application can be done on different levels:
• Network level: TCP optimization, byte caching and compression..
• Application level: there is a myriad of solutions on this level, starting by simple protocol spoofing (ex: CIFS) to advanced solutions like Content Delivery Networks. I'll dedicate a post to CDNs very soon.

Many constructors provide WAN optimization solutions: Riverbed, Ipanema, Cisco... each constructor is more specialized in a domain. below is an image provided by Ipanema on their optimization solution:

I think that these technologies will be more and more critical to business in the future. Nowdays, business rely totally on the Information System which is being moved to the cloud. It means that everything passes through the WAN access, and thus critical applications should be protected smartly.

Telecom service providers are integrating this approach more and more. The historical proposed solution is to upgrade the WAN access and increase bandwidth. This approach doesn't resolve the problem, it just  postpones it. On modern WAN networks, Class of Services is implemented, and it allows the prioritization of important traffic in case of network congestion. Its a good basic network level solution but it's very limited. It should be combined with previous solutions to have a serious application optimization.

I believe that telecom service providers should start thinking about integrating these solutions in their standard network products in order to accelerate their transformation into service providers and not only dumb bit pipes.
This approach will help them get to know more their customers by understanding their applications, and thus detecting big business opportunities.

Achraf Souk

Understand price discrimination and take advantage of it!

It has been ages since I've written in my blog! I haven't lacked inspiration nor ideas, but I haven't respected two rules for materializing them:

• When inspired, you just go and start writing! don't postpone it until "you have the complete text ready in your mind"!
• Shut off all sources of diversion while writing! (facebook for example ;p )

In this article I am sharing with you some techniques in order to save money in your online shopping.

First, I will start with some theory. Price Discrimination is a marketing concept of pricing same goods differently in order to maximize the value of sales and profits. The concept is explained in the following supply&demand graphs (Wikipedia) :

In the top diagram, a single price strategy is applied to all customers. The total revenue generated by this strategy is represented by area PAQO.

In the bottom diagram, a price discrimination strategy is applied to customers by dividing them into two segments:

• D1 segment: it's the low elasticity segment, non sensitive to price.
• D2 segment: it's the high elasticity segment, very sensitive to price.

According to the strategy of price discrimination, a higher price is charged to D1 segment, and a lower price is charges to D2 segment. By doing so, the total revenue generated is the sum of the two areas: P1BQ1O and ECQ2Q1. The sum of these areas will always be greater than the area without discrimination. In this way, we maximize the value of sales and profits!

To set up price discrimination, we must know how to recognize the category of a customer (which segment) in order to apply the appropriate pricing scheme.
Many e-commerce websites have implemented intelligence modules to classify customers by analyzing their behavior on the website. When you understand the logic of these modules, you can adapt your behavior in order to be classified in the D2 segment and have better prices!

The typical behavior of D2 segment is hesitation before undertaking a transaction. For example, you create a profile on the e-commerce website, then add a product to your basket, and continue with the buying process until the payment phase, and then cancel everything!! Normally, if some intelligence is implemented on the website, you will later have a personal promotion, coupon or even a call from the company!

Another typical characteristic of D2 segment, is its low fidelity to his current provider. This provider continuously verify the willingness of their customer to leave to another provider. When the provider identify this intent, he proposes some promotions to the customer in order to retain him. For example, many Mobile Operators (in highly competitive markets like France) implement on their websites an alert that is triggered whenever a customer goes to the line cancellation section to read the contractual conditions.

Now go and make the most of these techniques !

Free Mobile: Simplicity laws applied to business

Today in France, everyone was waiting for the launch of the new low cost french mobile operator Free Mobile. Free was up to its promise of proposing unlimited mobile plans at half of the practiced prices. Two plans are proposed: 

• Unlimited plan for 20 euros / month: Unlimited calls in France, and to 40 international destinations, unlimited sms/mms, unlimited wifi, and 3G data
• Social plan for 2 euros / month: 60 min of voice communications and 60 SMS

I watched the morning launch presentation by the CEO Xavier Niel, and I would like to talk about two points on the positioning of Free Mobile.

The first point is about simplicity. In a previous post I wrote about the laws of simplicity (Reduce, Organize, Time..). For me, these laws applied by Free to their new mobile offer makes it a really beautiful piece of art.

1. The Reduce rule: reduce number of offers to only two, reduce offer complexity, reduce price, reduce control: no engagements, no usage restrictions, reduce services, reduce options, reduce contract clauses..
   - The image of the offer can't be clearer and simpler in the mind of the consumer, no need for catalogs, no need to think to choose the right offer.
   - The resulting chain value/cost structure of this simple offer should be also simple: simple sale process, no need for sales advisers, simple after sales services, simple information system, simple advertisements.. all of which are factors for lowering the costs of the offer! take for example their after sales services, they don't need to learn about sophisticated offers, so this service can be externalized easily, and if not, more client issues can be treated more rapidly thus needing less personnel.
2. The Organize rule: The offer is organized in a new innovative way: the mobile subscription and the financing of the mobile phone are separated. This way for example you pay 20 euros per month for your communications plan and 15 euros per month to pay your iPhone "loan". This way of organizing the offer gives the consumer the freedom of financing the mobile phone he wants in the way he wants. As a whole, the organisation of the offer is very simple. Speaking of iPhone, Apple has adopted the same simplicity in their offer: Only one phone, the iPhone!
3. The Time rule: The consumer needs less time to understand the offer, to choose his plan and to get the offer (online). We consumers, we love our time, and prefer not spending it on comparing offers, reading catalogs, talking with sales advisers..
   The time savings are also valid in all of the value chain processes of Free Mobile.

As a conclusion of this point, Free Mobile has made very quickly a simple and strong representation in the mobile brands evoked set.

The second point is about the aggressiveness of the offer presentation in the launch. This was for me the very negative point of the positioning of Free Mobile. In his presentation, the CEO was very aggressive and disrespectful toward other brands of mobile providers. For example he kept telling the audience that the current mobile operators were stealing money from consumers, he criticized the complexity of their offers, their prices and practices. He may be right, but I don't think that he should be doing that, but rather focus on the innovation and the advantages of his offer. As a consumer, I don't like the seller whose only arguments are the defaults of his rivals.

The launch of Free Mobile on the french mobile market will certainly disrupt it, which is a good thing. I am looking forward to see how free will deploy and develop their offer, market, and their mobile network, and also how rivals will respond.