VZnet Taps CDNetworks to Assist with Regulation and Data Demand Challenge

London – October 14, 2010 – VZnet, the operator of Germany’s largest social network, has signed a new multi-year deal to continue to utilise the services of CDNetworks, a top tier, full-service global content delivery network. VZnet will continue to leverage CDNetworks’ high performance cloud infrastructure to help it minimise page loading times for its online community of over 17 million users.The agreement comes amongst a backdrop of strict data security restrictions in the European Union, associated with the Homeland Security Act. As social network sites look to improve their user experience by hosting content on content delivery networks, it is of utmost importance that this online data is managed in accordance with these regulations. This is particularly the case in Germany where businesses must adhere to exceptionally stringent restrictions on the dissemination of private data online.

The cloud infrastructure will enable VZnet to use CDNetworks’ servers and data centres to quickly and reliably deliver its dynamic and static content to its vast online audience. With the VZnet community making around 80,000 data requests per second, and with 780 million photos uploaded, CDNetworks has made it possible to quickly and reliably deliver this data to its users whilst adhering to current regulations pertaining to online data protection.

More specifically, CDNetworks’ solution has enabled VZnet to accelerate its page load times even during times of peak traffic, such as viral activity which is commonly experienced on social networking platforms. Furthermore, the offering will enable unlimited scalability for VZnet’s growing user base in the years to come.

“The regulatory framework around data security in Europe means that social networking sites are under increasing scrutiny to protect their users’ data. This was an extremely important element of the contract negotiations with VZnet given the high priority that the business assigns to data protection. It is notable that we were the only content delivery provider capable of offering a legally binding agreement on commissioned data processing privacy,” said Robert Gribnau, VP EMEA at CDNetworks.

“The VZnet community is extremely demanding in terms of delivery performance, particularly as regards the uploading of static files such as photos. We look forward to helping VZnet to meet the data demand from its growing user base over the coming years, and the agreement is testament to our good working relationship we have developed with the firm in recent years.”

CDNetworks will be exhibiting at stand 1002 at the forthcoming E-Commerce Expo in London 19th – 20th October 2010.

About CDNetworks
CDNetworks is a top tier, full-service, global content delivery network (CDN), providing technology and services that enable fast, efficient, reliable delivery of content anywhere in the world. CDNetworks offers a comprehensive suite of services and solutions for caching, live/on-demand video streaming, and large file downloads.  Some of the world’s top companies in media, entertainment, technology, retail, and online gaming rely on CDNetworks to maximize their user experience while minimizing delivery costs. With more than 80 points of presence across 5 continents, CDNetworks provides true global coverage and unparalleled network performance backed by personalized 24/7-customer support.  Founded in 2000, CDNetworks has offices in the US, Korea, China, Europe, and Japan.  For more information, please visit: www.cdnetworks.com.

About VZnet Networks
VZnet Networks, based in Berlin, Germany, is Germany’s leading social network. More than 17.2 million members are communicating on our three platforms schülerVZ (www.schuelerVZ.net), studiVZ (www.studivz.net) and meinVZ (www.meinVZ.net) with their classmates, friends and colleagues. Every day more than 2 million photos are uploaded and 13 million messages sent. VZnet Networks Ltd. was created in October 2005 as studiVZ Ltd. and has been part of the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group since January 2007.