Fastly’s mission is to make the web a greater place for all experiences: quick, secure, and fascinating, in line with Kip Compton, who joined the corporate as Chief Product Officer in January 2024 earlier than being promoted to Chief Govt Officer in June this yr.

Fastly was based by Artur Bergman to allow content material supply networks (CDNs) to deal with unpredictable updates, and this turned the inspiration of Fastly.

Over time, safety points akin to distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) assaults got here to the fore. To guard the supply of purposes, content material, and software programming interfaces (APIs), Fastly added safety to its platform, which has since develop into the fastest-growing a part of its enterprise.

One other challenge was the trade-off between velocity and person expertise. Whereas caching supported quick web experiences, it turned jarring for customers to go to an e-commerce web site with out getting a personalised expertise.

In response, Fastly created an edge compute functionality for personalization to be delivered with out sacrificing efficiency.

“Our mission has constructed up as the corporate centered on delivering nice experiences and what constitutes an ideal expertise,” mentioned Compton.

The platform technique

Whereas safety is Fastly’s fastest-growing enterprise, its CDN stays a serious entry level for brand new prospects. “All of our providers run on a unified international platform, so every little thing works collectively seamlessly,” mentioned Compton. Many shoppers now begin with safety and later increase into CDN or compute, benefiting from the consistency throughout the platform.

In line with Mike Shaver, VP of Safety Merchandise Engineering, this unified strategy units Fastly aside. “Our supply, compute, and safety merchandise will be blended and matched — all secured the identical method by our WAF, DDoS safety, or AI bot administration,” he defined. Constructed on open net requirements like HTTP, JavaScript, and WebAssembly, Fastly’s platform permits builders to combine simply and apply the identical data throughout its providers.

Shaver added that Fastly’s observability is equally versatile: “You should utilize our dashboard for full visibility or export the info to your most popular observability system.”

AI, bots, and the battle for content material

A rising business concern is the stability between coaching giant language fashions (LLMs) and defending mental property. Compton mentioned the subject now surfaces in practically each buyer assembly. Corporations with high-value content material need Fastly to assist them perceive which bots are visiting their websites, why they’re there, and to regulate or monetise that entry.

“There’s a giant distinction between scraping for coaching information and fetching for real-time responses,” Compton defined. “Many shoppers need to monetize these in another way.”

The standard ad-supported mannequin labored with serps that drove clicks to publishers’ websites — however it breaks down when LLMs ship data instantly, bypassing content material homeowners. Fastly’s AI bot mitigation service, paired with its partnership with TollBit, helps publishers regain visibility and discover new monetization fashions.

In line with Mike Shaver, VP of Safety Merchandise Engineering, the surge in AI scraping bots caught many off guard. “Six months in the past, AI bot administration wasn’t even on most CISOs’ agendas,” he mentioned. Now, organizations are struggling to resolve what content material needs to be accessible for AI coaching and what have to be protected.

That is the place Fastly’s “visitors classification engine” offers that management — distinguishing between human customers, useful bots, and adversarial ones. “Retailers need consumers to get by however not rivals scraping stock,” Shaver famous. “Navigating these gray areas will take extra work.”

In the end, AI will increase the worth of content material, however a sustainable mannequin for creators is crucial. “Legal guidelines and conventions will lag behind the expertise,” Compton mentioned. “This must be addressed at a societal and political stage — with out a mannequin for content material creation, it’s onerous to see how tradition will be sustained.”

Path to profitability

Compton additionally addressed the corporate’s choice in 2023 to scale back its headcount by about 11%, a transfer made earlier than his tenure as CEO started.

“That was a troublesome choice, however one thing that was wanted,” he mentioned. “It allowed us to take a detailed take a look at our organisation, groups and investments, and align them with what our prospects actually wished from us.”

Compton mentioned this self-discipline, mixed with enterprise development, lately allowed Fastly to information the market that it will be free money movement constructive for the fiscal yr – “an necessary milestone on our path to profitability”.

Requested about future development, he mentioned acquisitions will proceed to play a job, balanced with in-house growth and partnerships. Nevertheless, he expects future offers usually tend to be smaller, “tuck-in” acquisitions quite than large-scale mergers.

Deal with APAC

Compton pointed to the corporate’s elevated deal with the Asia-Pacific (APAC) area, together with the latest appointment of a Singapore-based APAC chief, Nicola Gerber.

He recommended Fastly had not beforehand resourced the area to its full potential. “We’re bringing in additional management and extra deal with the area normally, and definitely in Australia and New Zealand,” mentioned Compton. “These have been key markets for us.

“We see numerous alternative right here, and I’m enthusiastic about a few of the adjustments we’re making to extend our focus within the area.

The web is evolving quick — from AI-driven content material challenges to the following wave of safety innovation. Learn the way Fastly’s unified platform helps organizations keep safe, scalable, and prepared for what’s subsequent. Uncover Fastly’s platform →