Potential vs. Reality: Is Edge Computing Real?

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Cloud Computing Evolves: An Interview with Mats Johansson

By G C Network | June 6, 2019

Recently, Ericsson Digital released an amazing report on Edge Computing and 5G. In it, they explained how distributed cloud computing is paving the way for the future of network communications. They…

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The IoT Nexus: Bosch Connected World 2019 in Berlin

By G C Network | May 11, 2019

Next week, I will be influencing #LikeABosch as I accept an invitation from the company to attend Bosch ConnectedWorld 2019 (BCW19) in Berlin, Germany. This is one of the world’s largest international…

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Survive and Thrive With Digital Transformation

By G C Network | April 17, 2019

First cloud computing then multi-cloud. How can we get ahead of this digital transformation nightmare? These are the laments heard in conference rooms and board meeting around the world. While…

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The “George Jetson” of Today

By G C Network | April 13, 2019

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MWC19: Where Telecommunications and Cloud Meet

By G C Network | March 23, 2019

As a cloud solution architect, my passion is learning the details about how cloud computing uniquely supports specific business cases. This curiosity is what drove my excitement when Ericsson invited…

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Tulane University SoPA Selects “Architechting Cloud Computing Solutions”

By G C Network | February 16, 2019

Last week, Packt Publishing announced that “Architecting Cloud Computing Solutions” by Kevin L. Jackson and Scott Goessling was selected for use by the Tulane University School of Professional Advancement, Applied Computing Systems & Technology Program as the textbook for…

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5G Wireless Technology Connecting Healthcare

By G C Network | February 16, 2019

Healthcare is in the middle of massive change. Called digital transformation by many, this term describes the industry’s pursuit of the many promises offered by connected patients, connected caregivers, and…

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Maria Lensing: The Network Platform for Healthcare’s Future

By G C Network | February 16, 2019

As a girl, Maria and her family traveled to Memphis, Tennessee to get cancer treatment for her sick brother. The miracle she observed, as the healthcare providers saved her brother’s…

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How “Big Iron” Does “Big Regulation”

By G C Network | January 10, 2019

According to Verizon, there were over there were over 53,000 security incidents in 2017, with over 2,200 of those identified as confirm data breaches. A Ponemon Institute study also showed…

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Mainframe Synergies for Digital Transformation

By G C Network | January 10, 2019

In July  of 2018, Broadcom announced its intentions to acquire CA Technologies. In the press release, Hock Tan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Broadcom, said: “This transaction represents an…

Edge computing provides compute, storage, and networking resources close to devices generating traffic. Its benefits are based on an ability to provide new services capable of meeting stringent operational requirements by minimizing both data latency and the need for bandwidth. Based on Google trend data, searches for the term has also grown substantially over the past five years.

Recognizing that web searches are not (yet) the arbiter of all things real, it does indicate a rapid growth of interest in the term. Observations of the information technology industry show a similar trend among application developers, particularly those working in manufacturing, gaming, AR/VR, and automotive.  Their work seems focused on the exploration of quite a few significant business opportunities arising from the introduction of edge computing and 5G. Communication service providers are also mimicking the interest by evolving their centralized NFV infrastructure to distributed cloud infrastructure to build out edge clouds handling telecom applications  and third-party applications. 

While all this activity does support the potential of edge computing and 5G, essential questions remain regarding the potential versus the reality of edge computing. This query was the focus of an Ericsson Digital webinar presentation by João Monteiro Soares, Strategic Solution Manager, Distributed Cloud Ericsson and Alan Evans, Senior Director of Innovation Strategy at Edge Gravity.

These two industry experts focused on four key areas:

  • The value of edge computing to 5G networks;
  • Service provider business growth;
  • Industry early adopter use cases; and
  • Profitable service provider business strategies.

Ericsson projects that this segment will draw 25% of a US$14B-US$129B 5G revenue opportunity anchors their edge computing profitability argument.

Realized numbers depend on specific industry solutions and the rate of user adoption. They argued that telecommunications providers are key players in getting the solutions in place through the investment decisions they make today on testing and validation of relevant technologies, concrete business cases, and business model feasibility. Experiments should be executed to determine the:

  • architectural positioning of industry dependent workloads;
  • extendibility of centralized national architectures to regional and local access sites;
  • deployment of NFVI centralized clouds throughout the network and to the edge;
  • pros and cons of centralized services from a distributed cloud; and
  • end-to-end service provider execution environment.

All of these functions require network transformation and a concerted collaboration effort around building broader, industry vertical ecosystems. All of these activities represent significant departures from the traditional telecommunications sales approach based on capital expenditure and acquisition of industry vertical appliances.

Early adopters of edge computing have discovered that the more lucrative path is towards the provisioning of industry vertical tailored on-demand services that are tempered by various maturing technologies and regulatory environments. This future state supports the operational expenditure of funds by telco customers for the consumption of virtual resources. From an infrastructure perspective, the goal should be establishing a virtualized mobile core in a true cloud-native manner. Customization, network slicing, and infrastructure platform services will all combine to enable service providers to deliver solutions across all multiple verticals, leading ones of which include:

  • Gaming and entertainment;
  • AR/VR Mixed Reality;
  • Critical IoT;
  • Smart Manufacturing; and
  • Smart Automotive
A black background with different types of interest.

To monetize future business models, service providers need to innovate towards the delivery of new services. This journey argues for a platform that is also open to innovation by third parties on top of the foundational network. Service aggregation and revenue sharing are also critical components of these new business models. Telco service provider strategies should encompass both a global industry ecosystem positional view and a local service focus on enhanced regional bandwidth and latency reduction. Technology development remains essential, but it needs to take a back seat to strategic business development activities. This challenging path requires real cultural change that counters the historic technology focus and embraces industry vertical competence and values extended vertical industry ecosystems.

Seventy to eighty percent of the required technology seems to be in place. The remaining technological requirements are determined through industry vertical use case testing across live 5G network environment. I came away from the webinar fully convinced that edge computing is indeed a real opportunity. Revenue and profit realization, however, requires joint development of industry-focused ecosystems by business application developers and telecommunications providers. They must establish joint strategies and specific use case roadmaps today or risk being left behind by their competition. The upcoming SDN World Congress promises to be a crucible for the development and testing of profitable edge computing business models. I can’t wait to find out more about how the most innovative service providers use Ericsson solutions to establish their leadership in this brave new world.

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