As with many markets born in the US, we predict that the US content delivery network (CDN) market is poised to experience its comeuppance from Asia, as Korea-based CDNetworks enters the US market in earnest. CDNetworks’ Chief Strategy Officer Steve Chung told us in a recent conversation that after spending the last eight years building its business in Korea, China and Japan, CDNetworks is now intent on expanding its sales and delivery capabilities into the US and Europe, and hiring “a small elite force in the US who are industry veterans”. NetForecast has independent confirmation that CDNetworks has been busily hiring sales and technical staff away from US competitors like Akamai and Limelight Networks, and has been selling seriously into the US since the first of this year.

So it looks like CDNetworks is about to crash Akamai’s party - and it is well positioned to do so. CDNetworks already has infrastructure in place in the US and Europe to meet the outbound content delivery needs of its Asian customers, and it is now able to use these infrastructure beachheads to service US and European customers.

Last December CDNetworks, listed on Korea’s KOSDAQ exchange since 2005, announced $96.5M in private investment from Oak Investment Partners, Shinhan Private Equity and Goldman Sachs International - and plans to use the money to “fuel its rapid global expansion”. Based on past history, CDNetworks will need some of this cash to counter patent infringement legal action from Akamai. But it may be tougher for Akamai to win at this (by now very familiar) game against a Korean dragon, than against its US competitors. We shall see.

Tune in tomorrow for more information about CDNetworks.