THE EDGE COMPUTING LANDSCAPE: PLAYERS AND TECHNOLOGY TRENDS

By: Michael Valenti, Senior Research Consultant, and Kasthuri Jagadeesan, Director, TechVision, Frost & Sullivan

Edge computing involves putting data processing and analytics closer to where data is collected, such as gateways, or endpoints. This reduces latency and improves the efficiency of the network, operations, and service delivery. Not least, edge computing reduces operational expenses to support bandwidth more efficiently as well. These advantages are convincing many enterprises to migrate their data to the edge.

Challenge Edge Computing Is Facing At Present

Edge computing is being challenged by the emergence of another advanced technology – cloud computing. Whether bringing edge computing to the private cloud on the premises of an enterprise, or the public cloud used by all, or the hybrid cloud that combines both, this has complicated the migration of data resources to the edge of data networks.

Present Scenario

In response to the above-mentioned challenge, some stakeholders are developing solutions that combine edge and cloud computing to leverage the benefits of both. Hewlett Packard Enterprise, also known as HPE, has initiated its Edge-to-Cloud Transformation Program. HPE begins by evaluating its customer’s operational capabilities, developing a roadmap for them, and creating a cross- functional governance body to make decision to undertake the edge-to-cloud transformation. The HPE partnership will define the edge-to-cloud strategy, help the customer to establish targets, and implement solution architectures and technology solutions to meet those targets.

An early success of the HPE edge-to-cloud program was Cathay Financial Holding Co. Ltd. of Taiwan. Cathay Financial provides banking, insurance, securities, and other diversified financial institutions to clients on the island nation and has registered capital of NTD$120 billion. Cathay Financial used the HPE program to migrate its data to the cloud to drive its digital transformation and make Cathay Financial’s business development more dynamic and scalable.

Success in the highly competitive and lucrative financial market is generating strong interest in the HPE edge computing solution. We can expect similar edge-to-cloud computing solutions to serve in telecom and healthcare applications in the next few years.

Future Roadmap

As is the case with other evolving technologies, there will be a greater degree of specialization in edge computing. This will help edge computing technology developers design solutions that are closer to specific customer needs. For example, Microsoft Azure is developing an edge computing solution with built-in intelligence capabilities.

The burgeoning Internet of Things (IoT) networks that wirelessly link connected equipment and appliances, offer another opportunity for edge computing developers. ClearBlade is focusing on cloud solutions to serve the IoT sector.

The demand for more analytical capabilities within enterprise software is shaping edge solutions such as those being developed by Dell Technologies to make this a strength of its edge solutions. The growth of containerized applications underpins Section.io’s edge offerings, while Edge ConneX has focused on data centers for edge computing systems. In each case, specialization supports the differentiation of each edge computing solution.

R&D EFFORTS

The evolution of edge computing has spawned the formation of startups around the world whose innovations promise novel advantages for computing at the edge. Again, these efforts focus on different capabilities suiting edge computing to serve distinct applications.

Akridata of Los Altos, California, founded in 2018, has developed an edge data platform to simplify artificial intelligence data operation. This will provide more relevant data streams for automotive, retail, and smart city applications.

Bangalore, India-based Aikaan was founded in 2018 to develop its edge computing platform to empower mobility and robotics companies to remotely access, upgrade, and monitor

IoT edge devices and applications securely. In addition, the Aikaan solution continuously self-diagnoses the system, its applications, and an overall network to spot problems that IT teams can remediate faster.

Reactive artificial intelligence is the strong suite of the edge computing solutions developed by ContextAI based in Glienicke, Germany, and founded in 2017. Logistics and retail companies can use these edge computing solutions to leverage real-time data to perform predictive analytics, such as retail stores identifying customer interactions with specific products.

IOTech Systems based in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, also founded in 2017, developed its EdgeExpert solution to enable its oil and gas customers to collect data at any scale from point of generation without the need for the cloud. The British firm also develops edge computing solutions for telecom.

5g Computing At The Edge

An emerging technology that could profoundly affect edge computing is 5G, which can lower latency, provide high bandwidth, and download up to 10 gigabits per second, or up to two orders of magnitude faster than existing 4G networks.

At present, 5G deployment is proceeding slowly due to concerns over its complexity, the focus on bringing the technology to major metropolitan areas first, and the relatively small number of 5G devices in the marketplace. However, at least one major telecom provider is working to bring 5G to the edge.

Verizon has developed its 5G Edge multi-access edge computing (MEC) platform to bring cloud servers closer to data network endpoints to lower latency and accelerate local processing. The company’s 5G Edge can bring private cloud MEC into smart factories, processing data near the point of collection from sensors monitoring assembly lines to improve quality control and distribution. 5G Edge can detect the defects captured by computer vision and reduce scrap rates, while improving the flow of finished parts by guiding automated vehicles on the factory floor. The public cloud MEC version of 5G Edge can track and optimize the delivery of goods to distribution centers and eventually retail outlets and customers.

On the horizon for edge computing will be the development of Edge-as-a-service (EaaS) solutions that will provide users with immediate access to edge deployment upon subscription at the needed scale without the time and cost of building their own edge network. There are some signs this has begun, with Section.io in Boulder, Colorado, developing an EaaS solution that is used by QuantCDN a static Web and Jamstack provider that is based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Another user of the Section EaaS is Drupal, the open-source community whose headquarters is in Portland, Oregon. NTT of Tokyo, Japan, has an EaaS solution that it claims combines private cloud 5G, IoT, and operational technology with edge computing. The versatility of edge computing to augment and complement other advanced technologies will continue to attract research effort and investment in the years to come.

It’s no secret that the clock is ticking on climate change and global warming, with human activities largely to blame, according to some 97% of actively publishing climate scientists. And it is common knowledge that marked rises in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are caused by activities like generating electricity from fossil fuels, air travel, combustion engines, and the building and agriculture industries. But they’re not the only culprits – other areas such as the information and communications technology (ICT) sector also have a role to play in helping to reduce emissions.

The UAE, a leader in digital transformation, aims to achieve Net Zero by 2050 and will host COP28. Balancing sustainability objectives with technological progress should be a priority for enterprises in the country.

Here are key areas to focus on: EMISSIONS FROM HARDWARE

The obvious place to start when considering the ICT sector’s GHG emissions is hardware, with data centres and networks likely to produce most of the sector’s emissions. In fact, the International Energy Agency reports that data centres and data transmission networks are responsible