Today's increasingly friction-free markets make it feasible for companies to specialize in whatever tasks they are best at, and to market their services at various levels. Some companies perform only one small step in the process, while others perform several and market them as a package. Still other companies perform no technical tasks themselves, but simply package the services of others. For example, many ISPs subcontract with streaming media service providers to include streaming in their Web hosting plans. The question for the Internet broadcaster is what point on this vertical food chain is the best one for their needs.
Large organizations have large and complex needs, and they tend to insist on absolute control.
They also have the capital, personnel and expertise to make things happen just the way they want them to. A large outfit would probably choose some type of co-location arrangement for their streaming servers, just as most do for their Web hosting needs, and contract for other services on an individual basis. These two extremes, of course, are not the only possible arrangements. Organizations of medium size, or those with special needs, may find themselves somewhere in the middle, providing some services in-house, contracting with specialist firms for others, and buying yet others as a package. Furthermore, the size of an organization is only one aspect to be considered.