Case Study: U.S. Air Force achieves 800% faster geographic data delivery and hundreds of thousands in annual savings with Akamai Technologies

Akamai helps U.S. Air Force improve geographic data delivery by 800% while saving hundreds of thousands of dollars annually

The U.S. Air Force’s GeoBase program provides dynamic maps and large geographic datasets to roughly 1,000,000 users worldwide, but after consolidating content into a central portal it struggled to deliver very large files (up to 25 GB) reliably. Decentralized workflows forced frequent courier shipments (hundreds of DVDs/hard drives weekly), suffered about a 10% delivery failure rate for larger files, and lacked the scalability and survivability needed for global, mission‑critical access.

By adopting Akamai NetStorage and CDN services, GeoBase achieved instant global scalability, removed its single point of failure, and ensured always‑available delivery. Large files now deliver 700–800% faster (web applications about 300% faster), the program reliably serves 350–400 GB/week, and the Air Force saves hundreds of thousands of dollars annually by eliminating physical shipments—enabling centralized access and improved war‑fighting support.

U.S. Airforce

Dave Williams

Contractor for Air Combat Command