Microsoft has acquired Peer5 for an undisclosed amount in a deal meant to use the WebRTC-based content-delivery network (eCDN) to boost live video streaming. Microsoft announced the Peer5 acquisition on August 10.
The technology acquired will be integrated with Microsoft teams according to a statement by the software giant’s officials.
The current Peer5 product runs on browsers, optimizing bandwidth for line-of-business applications. Microsoft officials said that its mesh of networks automatically scales up as the number of streamers goes up. The technology doesn’t need additional installation on user endpoints or changed to the physical network infrastructure, which is cost-effective.
Microsoft’s very own eCDN
The addition of Peer5 will allow Microsoft to have its own first-party product in this arena of communications. The company said it will continue to support eCDN solutions offered by its certified partners. The officials also confirmed that the current Peer5 customers will be able to continue using their existing services.
Peer5 has been using seamless integration with Microsoft Teams, Yammer, and Stream as the main selling point on its website.
It also offers legacy support for live and IE and video-on-demand support for Office 365.
An advantage for Teams
The use of Peer5 as the CDN of choice is advantageous to Microsoft since it reduces the impact of streaming on a device’s other applications, ensuring the video traffic will not get in the way of network performance.
With live streaming becoming more common, this acquisition is an added advantage for Teams, since users gravitate toward solutions that will not impede their ability to work.
Peer5 was founded in 2012, with offices in Palo Alto and Tel Aviv. According to its official website, the staff has experience in big-data analysis, virtualization, and networking. The company is an active participant in the WebRTC space and has membership in the W3C steering committee.
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