SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (Dec. 11, 2019) -- Fastly, Inc. (NYSE: FSLY), provider of a global edge cloud platform, today released its “Behind the Screens” retrospective detailing 2019’s notable milestones in internet infrastructure, from the increased adoption of modernized protocols, to the growth in reach and capacity of global high-speed internet, and more. Fastly’s CTO and co-founder, Tyler McMullen, anticipates that these advancements, combined with the rise of WebAssembly and the extension of code portability across platforms and devices, set the programming world up for achieving broader value from serverless computing.
The State of Internet Infrastructure in 2019
This year saw a groundswell of grassroots protocol improvements, sweeping shifts toward encryption due to increased focus on data privacy, and a preview into WebAssembly’s possibilities at the edge, as well as:
2020 Ushers in True Platform Independence Through WebAssembly
Walker reports that 2020 will be the first year customer experience outweighs price and product as a key differentiator. Brands must deliver those experiences at lightning speed and with steadfast reliability across a growing number of devices and platforms to keep end users happy. McMullen anticipates that, supported by these notable and ongoing infrastructure evolutions, 2020 will see the platform-independent natures of Wasm and the WebAssembly System Interface (WASI) help bring those experiences to life through more portable programming across platforms and devices.
Today, companies typically build code across many different platforms: internal servers, cloud and serverless computing, mobile phones, and even embedded devices. Meanwhile, the way programming develops software still looks like it did when there was only one platform to deploy to. Alongside the power of serverless computing, more portable programming possibilities opened up by Wasm mean developers can deliver the fast, reliable end user experiences brands and enterprises are counting on them to build.
“Imagine taking code that you’ve written, and running it not just on the place that it was intended for, but at scale, across entirely different platforms,” says McMullen. “Think laptops, watches, TVs, or a camera that's plugged into your network at home — not to mention at the edge, on and off a server, and everywhere else. If it catches on the way we believe it might, and alongside the growing serverless computing landscape, it will fundamentally change how people around the world approach programming next year.”
Fastly President Joshua Bixby adds, “We’re dreamers at Fastly, and we’ve been dreaming about making more things possible at the edge since the company was founded eight years ago. A world built on serverless computing and greater portability in programming means we can take those big ideas and combine them with the power of the edge technology available to us to further our mission: to help brands deliver the experiences their end users expect, and help them maintain the trust our customers work so exceedingly hard to build with their communities.”
To read more about the internet’s major infrastructure milestones in 2019, check out the “Behind the Screens” retrospective. Read about Fastly CTO Tyler McMullen’s thoughts on what to expect in 2020 in his latest blog post.
Fastly facilita la conexión de las personas con todo lo que les gusta. Gracias a la plataforma de edge cloud de Fastly, los clientes pueden crear experiencias digitales extraordinarias de una forma rápida, segura y fiable. Esto se consigue procesando, distribuyendo y protegiendo las aplicaciones de nuestros clientes lo más cerca posible de sus usuarios finales: en el borde de Internet. La plataforma de Fastly está diseñada para aprovechar al máximo la arquitectura moderna de Internet, para ser programable y para agilizar el desarrollo de software con una visibilidad inigualable y una latencia mínima. De esta forma, los desarrolladores pueden innovar manteniendo el rendimiento y la seguridad. Fastly tiene como clientes a muchas de las empresas más destacadas del mundo, como Pinterest, The New York Times y GitHub.
This press release contains “forward-looking” statements that are based on Fastly’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to Fastly on the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause its actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These statements include, but are not limited to, those regarding the expected value from and growth of serverless computing, and expectations regarding the impact of WASM and WASI on portable programming across platforms and devices. Except as required by law, Fastly assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Important factors that could cause Fastly’s actual results to differ materially are detailed from time to time in the reports Fastly files with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including in its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2019. Copies of reports filed with the SEC are posted on Fastly’s website and are available from Fastly without charge.