System73’s edge solutions are revolutionizing the way content is delivered around the world. Each solution has been designed to optimize how content providers reach their end users, to ensure end user quality of experience (QoE) and streamline content delivery in the most intelligent and cost-effective way for the provider.

Following a one-time integration by means of a simple SDK, Edge Analytics, Edge Delivery and Edge Intelligence offer unprecedented levels of visibility, automated mid-stream switching and intelligent content routing that leverage peer-to-peer networks. These solutions not only address current market demands regarding content delivery optimization, they are also aligned with the future landscape of content delivery.

This article explores the various branches of System73 integration into your current content delivery ecosystem, and how our edge solutions can help optimize resources and spending. 

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The System73 SDK: Integrating System73 into your current architecture

There are three variations of System73 SDK available, depending on where the live or VOD content will be streaming from: a web browser, an Android device, or an iOS device. The vast majority of this code is common to all variations, however, slight changes have been made in each case to cater to the specific characteristics and demands of each technology. 

The System73 SDK consists of a library of code that controls a series of processes and actions that operate at various locations in the network. Once integrated, System73’s software uses the valuable information provided by the player and the device itself to optimize many of the processes involved in content delivery and playback.

Simply put, the System73 SDK opens the door to your network, allowing our solutions to view, analyze and, if enabled, make decisions based on your requirements. The SDK is integrated into your ecosystem just once, regardless of the System73 solution in question, or whether another will be activated at a later date. This can be done, quite literally, at the click of a button. 

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Introducing the SDK

Introducing the System73 SDK into your architecture is quick, easy, and allows you to enable any of our System73 edge solutions. In other words, integration is fully agnostic regarding the services content providers wish to access. The SDK itself, however, varies slightly depending on whether customers are broadcasting their content for web browsers, Android or iOS devices. 

Once the System73 SDK is in place, it will be able to seamlessly enable each of our solutions, depending on the visibility and decisioning capabilities required. As long as the SDK has been introduced correctly for web (HTML5), Android or iOS, System73 will be able to read, analyze and make decisions for both live and VOD content. 

The following summaries provide an overview of the three SDK variations System73 provides:

HTML5 integration for web browsers

HTML5 is the most common integration option, given that the majority of live or VOD content providers offer content directly from their own or partner website. System73 SDK transport layer is compatible with the most popular browser engines, such as Google Chrome, Windows Edge, Firefox or Safari. For an updated list of supported browsers please see our public documentation.

Android integration 

The System73 SDK is compatible with most CPU architectures used by Android devices. In order to ensure successful integration, the current minimum requirements are to have installed at least Android API 21 (Lollipop 5.0). However these are subject to change.

iOS integration 

Given the specificities of iOS technology, the only requirements for iOS integration are to have installed iOS 11.0 or later, tvOS 11.0 or later, and the latest Xcode version.

For proficient programmers, integrating any System73 SDK into a content provider’s architecture could take as little as 20 minutes. In other words, as soon as we have the green light, your System73 solution could be up and running almost immediately, thereby facilitating the potential for optimized delivery, QoE and overhead. 

Further information regarding integration requirements can be found here. 

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Integrating Edge Analytics: The king of visibility

If gaining unprecedented visibility over your content delivery network is a priority, Edge Analytics can provide hundreds of QoE metrics that allow you to observe and analyze your network’s performance. These include information regarding average buffer health & filling ratio, rebuffering ratio and more, as well as audience data such as total plays, average audience, sessions by browser, operating system, and connection type. This audience visibility extends down to each individual user viewing your content, updated on a per-second basis, which guarantees real-time control over every connection. 

Edge Analytics can be integrated and installed free of charge, and for some content providers, this solution is enough. This level of visibility allows you to identify areas for improvement and monitor network performance. If a CDN is not fulfilling their contractual obligations regarding throughput, for example, Edge Analytics makes it possible to observe, identify and act on this shortcoming. It is also possible to use data gathered from Edge Analytics to create and issue invoices, given the data is stored on the content provider’s personal dashboard, available to view and download for a period of one year via our public API. 

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Integrating Edge Delivery: Safeguarding content delivery

System73’s Edge Delivery solution has been developed for content providers operating in multi-CDN networks. Edge Delivery is a decisioning tool that enables seamless mid-stream switching from one CDN to another, without affecting end user QoE. Its function is to respond to network congestion, downtime or latency. If detected and they pose a risk to end user QoE, Edge Delivery automates a switch to the next CDN on the list provided by the content steering server. The ordering of this list may be influenced by the content provider, depending on the parameters they wish to prioritize, such as cost or speed.

We have learned from first-hand experience that one of the greatest concerns for content providers is having a backup in place should their first CDN fail. Edge Delivery provides fast, automated mid-stream switching that ensures content delivery and end user QoE. It can be enabled at the click of a button once the initial SDK has been integrated into your architecture. Automating mid-stream switching tasks may assist content providers in reallocating their resources more effectively. Highly skilled and well-compensated human teams responsible for monitoring the network may be better suited to more technical positions where their abilities are better utilized.

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Integrating Edge Intelligence: Offloading more than 90% of streaming traffic

Edge Intelligence has been designed to improve redundancy and implement the most intelligent, optimal and cost-effective rerouting of content to bypass congestion. This AI-based logistics solution is fed with data gathered by Edge Analytics, and therefore forecasts congestion and optimizes transportation pathways to identify and action the optimal content delivery route.

But Edge Intelligence goes one step further by seamlessly leveraging peer-to-peer (P2P) connections to deliver content, drastically reducing the need to rely on CDN bandwidth capacity. System73 can therefore provide significant advantages in traditionally expensive and hard-to-reach regions where CDNs are often sparsely located, and as such, suffer from more latency than in better-served areas. The Edge Intelligence P2P network avoids using devices connected to the internet via a cellular network to relay content so as not to consume their data plan. On the other hand all devices can still benefit from content reception as part of the P2P network regardless of their Internet connection, as this content delivery avoids congestion, increases content proximity and improves overall QoE . 

An optimal P2P network has the potential to offload over 90% of video content downloaded directly from the CDN, freeing up bandwidth, reducing the traffic assumed by individual edge servers, and potentially reducing operating costs for content providers. As a proactive solution, Edge Intelligence can learn to predict congestion and bottlenecks even faster, thereby reducing your dependency on individual CDNs, and, by extension, the need for backup CDNs. 

The potential of the System73 SDK into your content delivery ecosystem is vast. Adaptable for web browsers, Android, and iOS systems, it facilitates fast integration with minimal coding requirements. It is free to install and can be up and running within an hour. 

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Depending on the solution you wish to enable, this one SDK allows System73 to provide unprecedented visibility over your content delivery network, ensure optimal QoE for all end users, provide a backup in the face of network latency, downtime and congestion, and future-proof your content network with proactive decision-making based on advanced machine learning.

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For more information or to book a call, visit system73.com.