An enterprise content delivery network (eCDN), sometimes called an enterprise CDN, is a layer of software or hardware that distributes video inside a corporate network, so that a live stream crossing the WAN once can reach thousands of employees. A public CDN such as Cloudflare or Akamai speeds delivery to the internet edge; an eCDN takes over from there and handles the last stretch inside the firewall.

How an eCDN Works

Diagram of an enterprise content delivery network: one video stream crosses the corporate WAN and an eCDN distributes it locally to viewers at each office.

An eCDN sits between your video platform and your viewers, and does three things.

It reduces the number of streams crossing the network. Rather than every employee pulling an individual stream from the video platform, the eCDN delivers a small number of streams into each site and distributes locally from there. This is where the bandwidth saving comes from.

It applies policy to video traffic. eCDNs can prioritize specific streams over other traffic on the same links, encrypt streams in transit, and restrict access to viewers who are authorized to watch which matters when the broadcast is a results announcement or a restructuring update.

It reports on what actually happened. Viewer counts, join and drop rates, bitrate and rebuffering by location. For an IT team, this is usually the difference between believing an event went well and knowing it did.

 

The Four eCDN Delivery Methods

Most eCDNs use one of four delivery methods, and the right one depends on your network more than on your video platform.

Method How it works Network changes needed Best for
Multicast Routers duplicate one stream only where paths to viewers diverge Multicast enabled across routers, switches, and wireless controllers Wired corporate networks where multicast is already configured
Peer-to-peer Viewing devices on the same subnet share the stream with each other None Fast deployment, and viewers on Wi-Fi or VPN
Caching A local appliance or server holds a copy of the stream at the site An appliance or server at each site Branch offices with predictable, repeat viewing
Hybrid Combines methods and falls back automatically when one is unavailable Depends on which methods are combined Mixed estates: headquarters, branches, and remote workers in one broadcast

Multicast sends a single stream that network routers duplicate only where paths to viewers diverge. Bandwidth stays effectively flat regardless of audience size. It is the most efficient method, and it requires multicast to be enabled across routers, switches, and wireless controllers.

Peer-to-peer distributes video between viewing devices on the same subnet, so only a few copies cross the WAN. It needs no network changes, which makes it the fastest to deploy, but it consumes local device resources.

Caching stores a copy of the stream on a local appliance or server, typically at a branch office, so employees at that site pull from the local cache rather than from the video platform. It suits sites with predictable, repeat viewing.

Hybrid combines methods, falling back automatically when one is unavailable: multicast on the wired corporate network, for example, and peer-to-peer for viewers on Wi-Fi or VPN.

Large organizations rarely settle on one. A single town hall may reach headquarters over multicast, branch offices via cache, and remote workers peer-to-peer, all from the same broadcast.

 

Vbrick’s eCDN solutions cover multicast, peer-to-peer, and caching from a single platform. See how the delivery methods compare, or talk to our team about which fits your network.

 

Where Microsoft Teams Fits

Teams town halls are the most common reason an enterprise starts looking at an eCDN, so it is worth being precise about what Microsoft covers and where a third-party eCDN still has a job to do.

Microsoft eCDN is Microsoft’s own peer-to-peer option, built on browser-based WebRTC, with no agents or appliances to install. Since April 1, 2026 it has been included with Teams Enterprise licenses such as E3 and E5 rather than sold as an add-on. It covers Teams town halls, Teams live events, and Viva Engage, and Microsoft’s meetings and events feature comparison marks it as unavailable for standard Teams meetings and Teams webinars. Microsoft also supports third-party eCDN providers for town halls and live events, selected in the Teams admin center under the video distribution provider setting.

Where a third-party eCDN earns its place is coverage. Peer-to-peer on its own does nothing for a branch office with predictable repeat viewing, and nothing for a network where multicast is already enabled and effectively free. Teams is also rarely the only place video is broadcast: if all-hands runs on Teams but training, executive updates, and the on-demand library run somewhere else, one eCDN across every platform is simpler to operate than one eCDN per tool.

How to Choose an eCDN

Four questions usually decide it:

Is multicast already enabled on your corporate network? If routing and switching are already configured for it, multicast is the most bandwidth-efficient option available and needs no new hardware. If not, enabling it is a network project.

How much of the audience is on Wi-Fi or VPN? Multicast behaves poorly over consumer VPNs and needs care on wireless. A high proportion of remote viewers pushes you toward peer-to-peer or hybrid.

How predictable are your events? Scheduled all-hands meetings and town halls suit caching and pre-event network simulation. Ad-hoc streaming suits methods that need no preparation.

What does your video platform already integrate with? Microsoft Teams town halls, for example, support eCDN providers through a defined integration, and the choice of eCDN is partly a question of which platforms you need to cover.

The measure that matters afterward is not which method you chose but what happened to WAN utilization during the event, and how many viewers dropped or rebuffered.

eCDN Providers: Microsoft eCDN and Third-Party Options

Microsoft eCDN is Microsoft’s own eCDN for Teams town halls, Teams live events, and Viva Engage. Teams also supports third-party eCDN providers through a documented integration, and Microsoft’s own documentation names Hive Streaming, Kollective, and Vbrick as partners. Vbrick has partnered with Microsoft to provide an eCDN for Teams, including town hall support, and integrates with Webex Webinars as well. Zoom offers Zoom Mesh, its native eCDN, for Zoom Webinars and Events.

The practical difference between providers is rarely the video platform they plug into. It is which delivery methods they support, how they deploy, and what they report:

  • Delivery methods: multicast, peer-to-peer, caching, or a combination. A provider that offers only one method fits only one kind of network.
  • Deployment: browser-based peer-to-peer needs no installs or network changes; caching needs an appliance or server at each site; multicast needs multicast enabled on the network.
  • Platform coverage: which of Teams, Webex, Zoom, and your own video platform the eCDN can serve from one deployment.
  • Reporting: viewer counts, join and drop rates, bitrate and rebuffering by site, available during the event and after it.

Vbrick’s eCDN solutions cover multicast, peer-to-peer, and edge caching from one platform.

eCDN FAQs

An eCDN, or enterprise content delivery network, distributes video across an organization’s internal network so that a stream crosses the corporate WAN once rather than once per viewer. A public CDN moves content closer to the internet edge; an eCDN takes over from that point and handles delivery inside the enterprise.

A CDN, including the enterprise CDN plans sold by Cloudflare, Akamai, and Fastly, caches content in data centers around the world to shorten the distance to the public internet user. An eCDN operates behind the corporate firewall, where the constraint is not distance but the capacity of internal links between offices. The two are complementary: a CDN gets the stream to your network, and an eCDN distributes it within.

Microsoft Teams town halls can saturate a corporate network when a large proportion of employees watch at once. Microsoft offers its own eCDN and also supports third-party eCDN providers through a defined integration. Whether you need one depends on the size of your audience relative to your WAN capacity at each site.

It depends entirely on the delivery method, the number of viewers per site, and the stream bitrate. Savings claims quoted without those variables are not meaningful.

It depends on the delivery method. Peer-to-peer eCDNs run in the browser and need no installs or network changes. Caching eCDNs place an appliance or server at each site. Multicast eCDNs use the network you already have, but multicast has to be enabled on routers, switches, and wireless controllers. Most large deployments combine methods, so the hardware question is answered site by site rather than once.

No. Microsoft eCDN is Microsoft’s first-party option for Teams town halls, live events, and Viva Engage, and Teams also supports third-party eCDN providers through a documented integration. Organizations that broadcast from more than one platform, or that need multicast or caching in addition to peer-to-peer, typically use a third-party eCDN that covers Teams alongside their other sources.

Public CDNs cache content in data centers around the world and serve each internet user from the nearest edge. Enterprise CDNs work inside the corporate network instead, using multicast, peer-to-peer, or local caching to stop a stream crossing the same internal links once per viewer. Organizations that stream video internally usually end up running both: a public CDN to get the stream to the network, an eCDN to distribute it within.