Akamai Opens New HQ In Cambridge

Akamai Technologies will unveil its new Cambridge headquarters in a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday.

The tech company will move more than 7,500 employees into a 19-story tower on Broadway Street in Kendall Square. It will be the tallest office building in the neighborhood, according to the company.

Akamai, which bills itself as the "command center of the internet," has been in Cambridge for over 20 years. The company's services include everything from protecting websites from hackers to making sure you can stream a video or sports game online.

But the fastest growing part of the business is cybersecurity. The company helps secure websites for a range of sectors, including banking, media and e-commerce, as well as government. Akamai co-founder and CEO Tom Leighton said the company's security business has grown at a rate of about 30% a year in terms of revenue.

"We're investing a lot in security — in staying ahead of entities that would steal identities, steal money online, protecting our customers websites from defacement or denial of service," Leighton said. "So I think there's a lot of growth ahead for Akamai both in the region and globally."

Akamai won't be adding additional jobs with its move to a larger headquarters,  Leighton said. The new headquarters will bring together employees who were previously spread out across five different buildings, he said.