Customer spotlight: Rhapsody International cranks up IT infrastructure for global expansion
Rhapsody International, the parent company of leading subscription music services Rhapsody and Napster, gives members unlimited on-demand access to a global catalog of more than 32 million tracks, whether they’re listening on a PC, laptop, Internet connected home stereo or TV, MP3 player or mobile devices. In December 2011, Rhapsody International acquired Napster International and is now available in 19 countries worldwide.
As Rhapsody International looked to bring Napster to new markets across Europe and Latin America, Rhapsody needed to address a new set of customer demands. An Internap customer since 2010, Rhapsody must make sure its IT infrastructure can provide the scalability, storage and speed required to ensure subscribers consistently enjoy a premium streaming experience.
Managed Hosting
With a growing footprint across Europe, Rhapsody International needed to optimize the content delivery to Napster. To solve this problem, Rhapsody added Internap’s managed hosting service in London, which significantly streamlined the exchange of content through faster performance and reduced latency.
Colocation footprint
The continued global expansion of Napster meant a huge increase in the amount of data that must be transmitted and stored. As a result, Rhapsody International secured options to increase their colocation footprint in Internap’s Seattle data center, including more power and racks, to accommodate the influx of data. High-density power capabilities allow Rhapsody International to continue scaling up their storage needs and get the most out of their colocation services.
Performance IP
Rhapsody’s global account management services uses Internap’s Performance IPTM service, which ensures the data is transferred as efficiently as possible. Instead of relying on a single ISP, Internap’s internet service leverages up to 11 major carriers simultaneously. All Internet providers experience outages and latency at some point, so having multiple carriers reduces the risk of poor performance. In addition, Managed Internet Route Optimizer™ (MIRO) analyzes Internet performance across the globe, and makes intelligent route adjustments based on real-time data. By finding the fastest route available with the lowest latency, Rhapsody International can provide a better quality music streaming experience for users.
Through managed hosting, colocation and Performance IP services, Rhapsody International has set the stage with the right IT infrastructure foundation to accommodate their expansion needs. With a solid business model and an eye for even more growth in the near future, the scalability of their infrastructure will continue to be a critical part of their strategy.
Learn more about how Rhapsody International uses Internap’s services.
