The Limelight Mobility team has been hard at work with a new software update, and a new website dedicated to all things Limelight REACH. The latest software version is Release 4.11, and it focuses on access to REACH through a number of new APIs. New API functions include the ability to:

• create, read, update and delete content collections in a REACH account
• create, read, update and delete videos in a content collection
• check the status of all video jobs associated with a video being processed by REACH

Limelight announced a new partnership with Demandbase yesterday to help B2B marketers deliver targeted, personalized website experiences. The deal brings Demandbase’s Real-Time ID technology to the Limelight Dynamic Site Platform, and lets companies take advantage of real-time data to target customers and prospects.

According to a recent national study conducted by Demandbase, corporate websites are second only to personal connections and referrals in generating new sales leads. Given that reality, it’s critical for organizations to make the most of their websites in the sales process, and that means using available data to tailor the site experience for different audiences. A static website can present a company’s basic information, but a dynamic one delivers content in a context that makes it valuable.

Yesterday’s announcement coincided with the start of the Eloqua Experience event in San Francisco, where Limelight and Demandbase showed off data-driven targeting with a product demo. Here’s a look at how a website might appear to four different visitors. In the fictitious example above, the four personalities are as follows: Minnie has provided some generic information about herself, Anon’s presumed location is known because of his IP address, Bill is self-identified as a CEO and fits one of the company’s target audiences, and Pierre is an existing buyer, and a repeat site visitor.

The CDN industry is defined by the problem it tries to solve, namely the need to deliver content more efficiently and effectively. But traditionally, CDN services have referred to content acceleration on the web, and that definition no longer tells the whole story.

Over the last year, the cable industry has begun to talk with great enthusiasm about its own CDN models. Because there is simultaneous interest from cable operators in delivering content over the Internet, the definition of CDN for cable has been a bit muddled. However, when cable companies talk about CDNs in the near term, one of the problems they’re most interested in solving is how to improve delivery of video-on-demand content. Where VOD is concerned, the problem is not about how to optimize IP delivery, but how to optimize delivery of traditional cable (or QAM-based) video content.

Many of the same lessons apply to VOD CDNs that we’ve learned in the Internet world. Cable companies are looking to create VOD CDNs in order to distribute content more effectively by storing popular video at the edge of the network. Comcast so far has been most active on this front, building out a national CDN, and increasing its VOD library to roughly 25,000 video titles.

Beyond the VOD problem, operators are venturing into CDN territory with IP content, but solely for video delivered within their own cable footprints – so-called on-network CDNs. For off-net delivery services, operators are still offloading content to traditional CDN providers. Broadband Technology Report has an excellent article examining the difference between on-net and off-net CDNs, and how cable operators are looking at the future of video delivery. There is still a lot for the industry to figure out on the technical front, but a large part of the CDN solution will ultimately come down to the relationships operators can build with other delivery partners. Cable won’t go it alone, and, increasingly, we’ll see a greater intertwining of networks and network technologies to support content delivery from a large range of video providers.

Content marketing has been on the rise for years, but many companies are still feeling their way around publishing on the web. Here are three quick tips for creating a successful content publishing program.

1. Aggregate and Syndicate - Aggregation can do three things: reinforce a message, help fill the content pipeline, and introduce third-party insights. Syndication feeds your content across multiple channels, and makes the most of any assets you develop.

2. Use Video – A video might get fewer hits that an article or a blog post, but the visitors that do click are more engaged, and therefore of greater value. Video also gives you access to new distribution channels (think iTunes), and helps with search engine optimization.

3. Deliver Performance – Your content is only as good as the end-user experience you can provide. Don’t get bogged down with content that won’t load, or video that won’t play. Plan for online traffic peaks and scale for audience and content growth.

Two of our executives hosted a webinar last week with Information Week on Solving Web and App Management Issues through Infrastructure Outsourcing. The premise of the presentation (now archived for on-demand viewing) is that the benefits of cloud-based infrastructure extend beyond reducing hardware costs. There are also scale, software and security advantages to consider.

The beginning of the presentation centers on how website and application management have evolved significantly in recent years. For example, the number of servers required to run a single website or application has grown substantially. This is partly because web content has grown more dynamic, but also partly because developers often operate under the assumption that computing and storage resources are virtually free. Resource optimization isn’t a priority when there’s no quantifiable cost. That has a big impact on the scale of infrastructure required to support online assets.

On the software side of the equation, there are new complications in web and app management because of online performance expectations, and also the need to manage distribution across multiple platforms. These are critical concerns for IT, but they’re also not core competencies for most organizations. By outsourcing infrastructure components, companies can also address these issues through services like website and application acceleration, and mobile delivery optimization.

The discussion becomes more complicated when you add in security concerns, but here again, there can be advantages to infrastructure outsourcing. For example, supporting premium content and commercial transactions introduces issues of controlling rights-based access and managing requirements like PCI compliance. For some organizations, these issues are best managed in house. For others, it makes sense to offload non-core functions and focus on other business priorities.

The Information Week webinar goes into far more detail on these topics and related issues. Take a listen and view the slide deck at your leisure for further insights from David Reisfeld, GM of Limelight Content Delivery Solutions, and Jason Thibeault, Senior Director of Solutions Marketing.

All eyes are on Apple today with expectations of a new iPhone announcement. But perhaps nowhere was the shiny gadget maker’s reach and impact felt more palpably than it was last month with Adobe’s launch of Flash Media Server 4.5. You only have to read the second line of the Adobe press release: “With Flash Media Server 4.5, media publishers can extend their already broad mobile reach via Flash-enabled devices, with the new ability to deliver video content to Apple’s iPad and iPhone devices…”

Flash isn’t going away, particularly given today’s limitations around HTML5, but it is being adapted for iOS audiences. With another iPhone on the way, it’s a good to have options.

Much of the discussion at this week’s GigaOM Mobilize conference comes down to a single, simple desire. Everyone wants to build a better mobile app. Across a wide array of panels, a few ideas have surfaced repeatedly. There’s discussion on HTML5 versus native apps, hand wringing over how apps use network resources, and recognition of how consumer expectations are shaping the enterprise environment. Luckily, from those debates, a few clear pieces of advice have emerged. Here’s what panelists at Mobilize have to say:

Leverage HTML5 for your mobile interface. Adam Blum, CEO of Rhomobile, makes the point that although HTML5 doesn’t take advantage of all the device and OS capabilities on smartphones, it can still be used for the front end of app development. App frameworks (like his company’s Rhodes framework), can create another layer that allows developers to deliver more sophisticated functionality below the HTML5 interface.

Be a good network citizen. Developers can get lazy when they’re not directly paying for resources. Scott Kveton, CEO of Urban Airship points out that developers have to be good network citizens, designing their apps to be efficient with resources. It’s good for the user experience, which means it’s also good for the ultimate success of an app.

Don’t design mobile enterprise apps that look like web applications. Sean Whitely, SVP of Salesforce.com, says that enterprises still take an old-style approach to app development. Consumers are used to apps that are simple, targeted and easy to use. Enterprise developers need to adapt for the mobile market.

Back in March, we talked about our gig streaming live and on-demand video for the South by Southwest conference. Well now the official case study is out, and we’ve got a look at why SXSW decided to use the Limelight Video Platform, as well as some of the results from the conference’s first ever live streaming experience.

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The most critical factor in SXSW’s decision to employ Limelight was its integrated video platform and content delivery services. Limelight Video Platform provides video storage, content management, and reporting and analytics capabilities that seamlessly integrate with Limelight’s private global network infrastructure to ensure maximized performance, reliability, and scalability. In addition to the benefit of only working with one solutions provider, SXSW also noticed:

• A simplified workflow through the management of LVP and content delivery services within the same interface
• Faster video ingest
• Increased speed in the transfer of large volumes of video files
• Improved player responsiveness through reduced reliance on a single originating data center, and the caching of the player, playlists, and all metadata information at the network edge
• A better viewer experience provided through the delivery of information on real-time network conditions from the Limelight Internet Health Monitor to the LVP

Starting on October 1st, Facebook will require all Facebook pages be secured through HTTPS. This means little for most Facebook users, who host their pages directly with the social networking site. However, if you have a Facebook page hosted on an external server, you are responsible for obtaining an SSL certificate by the end of this month.

There are several implications stemming from the Facebook deadline. First, and most importantly, it raises the issue of how connected many websites are today. It used to be that websites existed as individual, contained entities, but more and more they now rely on heavy links to third-party content, whether through integration with social networks, ad networks, microsites, shopping carts, games, or other applications. In this case, the fact that many websites integrate directly with Facebook means site managers have to be aware of how the new HTTPS requirement may affect their site performance. If managers don’t address this issue, it could result in site errors come October 1st.

Second, from specifically a security perspective, the Facebook move highlights how certain elements of website publishing are changing. It’s common practice for websites with members-only content, and websites supporting paid transactions to use SSL delivery. However, Facebook may be part of a trend toward greater security across a wider range of domains. And that has an impact on web acceleration and site optimization services. Not all vendors support SSL delivery, and that may become an increasingly important requirement going forward.

Don’t use web acceleration services? Keep in mind that encrypted pages also take longer to load, making site acceleration services even more important with HTTPS content.

It’s been a while since we’ve done a webinar, but we have a new one coming up on September 28th with Information Week. Join us for:

Scale, Software, & Security – Solving Web and App Management Issues through Infrastructure Outsourcing

Date: Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Time: 11:00 am PT / 2:00 pm ET
Duration: 60 minutes
Register Here

Infrastructure outsourcing is about much more than server capacity and distributed storage. New requirements in website and application management are placing increasing demands on IT departments, and many organizations aren’t able to match internal resources to the new challenges at hand. System availability and online performance are at stake, as are the competitive advantages that come with being able to move quickly to upgrade software and support new features and functionality.

This webinar will examine the benefits of Infrastructure as a Service in the areas of web and app performance, software agility, and online security management. Join us to learn about solutions to some of the most common problems facing resource-constrained IT departments today, including:

• Dynamic web acceleration
• Streaming media support
• Cross-platform content delivery
• Content security and policy management