• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer, July 27, 2011

How does AudienceScience collect and distribute the mounds of data across the Internet worldwide? It leverages IP services from Internap. Yes, a little geeky on the IT side, but as marketers and advertisers use more data to target ads in real time, knowing how companies speed information from one location to another will become more important.

AudienceScience has relied on Internap's Performance IP network and colocation services in the U.S. since 2006, and recently expanded the partnership to support operations in Europe through its Frankfurt, Germany, data center.

Internap's route-optimized IP service powers AudienceScience's infrastructure to deliver audience targeting, data management and media transaction for real-time bidding and premium media buying and selling.

Amar Khan, vice president of IP services at Internap, said IP service runs on an overlay technology that leverages Internet technologies, or the backbone from other companies, to achieve a higher level of performance. A little out of the ordinary, but it works to provide better performance, he said. "We have patents around overcoming inefficiencies of the Internet such as reliability and performance."

Imagine a handful of parcel shippers offering services that speed a package from the U.S. to Europe. But one has the ability to integrate, analytics, intelligence, data and knows the best route and carrier to speed each package to its destination. That's how Khan describes Internap's services.

Khan said Internap can deliver data packets 20% to 30% faster, compared with competing IP providers such as Level 3 or Akamai. Packets speed across the pipes faster supported by patented technology known as Miro. The reality is there's no one option to deliver packets to multiple destinations across the Internet.

Ad targeting with data has made Internap's business more relevant, as timing and speed becomes a critical factor.