14 DAY TRIAL // Most people aren't aware of what Akamai is or what it does, yet they're probably using it every day. The content distribution network helps plenty of websites better handle international and high volume traffic and has built a very solid infrastructure around the world.
But the company has also been getting pummeled in the stock markets, it's lost about half its value in the past year, making it a prime target for an acquisition.
And there are plenty of vultures circling around, according to some rumors. One of the biggest, or at least the most interesting, would be Google which was rumored to be interested or in talks to buy Akamai.
The rumor was responsible for a huge spike in Akamai share price, but others were quick to pour cold water over it, people inside Google have denied any talks or interest in the company.
However, there are those, in the ad industry, that believe such a deal is in the works and that Google wants to get its hands on Akamai. Whether this is based on something solid or is more wishful thinking remains to be seen. It wouldn't be too surprising either way.
The more important question though is whether Google should be interested in Akamai or not. There are some advantages, access to valuable data about a lot of web activity for example, but also the big hassle of merging the Akamai and Google infrastructures, if Google would choose to do so.
Akamai handles a lot of traffic each day. What's more, it has a very large and diverse set of customers, so the data it could provide Google, which is always hungry for more info on user behavior, could be very valuable.
That said, it may have a hard time leveraging that data, other websites may not be too appreciative of Google snooping around and knowing exactly how they do. Microsoft for example, a long time Akamai customer, would be none too happy.