Netflix's skyrocketing customer count, which now stands at about 16 million, also made the job of running and expanding data centers too unpredictable, according to a presentation Cockcroft In addition, the company has been rapidly transitioning from a DVD-delivery outfit to a mainly streaming operation.

For actually streaming the movies to customers, Netflix contracts with companies like Akamai and Limelight, Cockcroft told Cloudscaling. It also runs systems for account sign-up, billing and other needs elsewhere, he added.

The IDG News Service