Choosing the right enterprise content delivery network (eCDN) can feel overwhelming – and we know it can be tough to know if your selected vendor is the right one for you. That’s why we put together this checklist, grounded in what some of our customers consider to be best practices when it comes to eCDN procurement and evaluation.
Whether you're building your case internally or narrowing down a shortlist of contenders, this checklist is designed to bring clarity, confidence, and structure to your decision-making process.
1. Strategic fit
- Use case relevance: Does the eCDN support your most critical video delivery scenarios – like internal live broadcasts, hybrid events, or all-hands meetings?
- Audience type: Is the solution optimized for internal corporate networks and authenticated users, such as employees and remote staff?
- Scalability: Can it handle enterprise-wide rollouts, seasonal traffic spikes, or global growth?
2. Network performance and optimization
- Bandwidth offloading: How effectively does the eCDN reduce load on your corporate WAN and internet breakout points?
- Latency and failover: Does the platform support low-latency delivery and have robust failover mechanisms in case of peer or node failure?
- Multicast and peer-assisted delivery: Does it offer support for multicast and/or peer-to-peer delivery depending on your network architecture?
3. End-user experience
- Seamless playback: Are users getting smooth video playback with minimal buffering, regardless of location?
- Device and OS compatibility: Does the eCDN work across common browsers and devices without requiring complex setups?
- End-to-end visibility: Can you correlate delivery performance with end-user experience metrics?
4. Visibility and analytics
- Real-time monitoring: Does the eCDN (or additional products offered by the vendor) provide you with network and delivery metrics in real time during live events?
- Detailed reporting: Does it (or additional products offered by the vendor) provide insights by office, subnet, location, device type, or other enterprise-relevant groupings?
- Error analysis: Can it (or additional products offered by the vendor) alert you to issues like packet loss, peer unavailability, or bandwidth bottlenecks?
5. Security and compliance
- Enterprise authentication: Does the eCDN use SSO (Single Sign-On), token-based access, and role-based permissions?
- Data privacy: Is the vendor compliant with regulations like GDPR, SOC 2, and others relevant to your industry?
- Encryption and safeguards: Are video streams encrypted end-to-end, and is peer-assisted delivery securely sandboxed?
6. Integration and compatibility
- Video platform agnostic: Does the eCDN work across different video players and platforms (e.g., Microsoft Teams, Vimeo, Kaltura)?
- Network compatibility: Will it function effectively within your current network infrastructure, including VPNs, proxies, and firewalls?
- API and SDK support: Are APIs available for integration into monitoring, reporting, or internal IT dashboards?
7. Reliability and vendor support
- Proven track record: Does the vendor have references from organizations with similar scale or industry?
- Service level agreements (SLAs): Do they guarantee uptime and performance?
- Support availability: Is there a dedicated support team or account manager? Are escalation paths and response times clearly defined?
Ready to choose the right eCDN?
Did one of the platforms you’re evaluating check all the right boxes? Whether you found a clear winner or still have a few open questions, this checklist was designed to bring clarity and structure to your decision-making process.
If you're still comparing options or want to further evaluate whether Hive Streaming could be the right choice, we’re here to help. Reach out to our team or explore more resources to continue your evaluation with confidence.