Thriving on the Edge: Developing CSP Edge Computing Strategy

Cloud Computing and the Process Integration Era

By G C Network | December 17, 2008

The Industry Advisory Council (IAC) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to fostering improved communications and understanding between government and industry. through its affiliation with the American Council for Technology…

The Tactical Cloud

By G C Network | December 16, 2008

When cloud computing first came in vogue, there was a rather serious discussion about the private cloud concept. The whole idea of cloud computing seemed to argue against implementing such…

“Cloud Musings” Now on SYS-CON Media “Cloud Computing Journal” !!

By G C Network | December 15, 2008

I’m happy to announce that a recent “Cloud Musings” article, “Commercial vs Federal Cloud Computing ” has been reposted on SYS-CON Media’s “Cloud Computing Journal“. Thank you SYS-CON for making…

How to make clouds interoperable and standard !!

By G C Network | December 12, 2008

This has been a huge part of my life over the past few weeks! This is my personal view. WARNING: DON’T EXPECT THE ANSWER TO BE FOUND BELOW !!! There…

The Tension between Public and Private Clouds

By G C Network | December 11, 2008

Last week, during discussion on cloud interoperability and standards in Israel, I saw for the first time a real dichotomy in the value of public (external) and private (internal) clouds.…

Cloud Computing for Continuity of Operations (COOP)

By G C Network | December 10, 2008

Recently, I’ve been focusing on cloud computing for COOP. The way I looked at it, many government agencies are already using commercial shared facilities as COOP sites and that the…

NCOIC Plenary Session

By G C Network | December 9, 2008

Hopping a plane to the west coast today to attend the NCOIC Plenary in Costa Mesa, California. First day “Cloud Computing for Net-Centric Operations” agenda includes: David Ryan, Chief Architect…

Dataline named “Top 100 Cloud Computing Company”

By G C Network | December 9, 2008

SYS-CON’s Cloud Computing Journal included Dataline in its expanded list of the most active players in the cloud ecosystem. In adding Dataline to the “Top 100” list, Jeremy Geelan noted…

Autoscaling into the cloud- Good or Bad?

By G C Network | December 8, 2008

I always thought saw the ability to autoscale into a cloud infrastructure as a good thing. George Reese presented a differing view on the O’Reilly blog recently. “Auto-scaling is the…

Cloudera must be reading the script!

By G C Network | December 4, 2008

“Cloud computing leapt out as the most obvious way to address enterprise large data problems” – Ken Pierce, IT Specialist, DIA-DS/C4ISR “We view Hadoop as the key enabler…[in] optimizing the…

Communications Service Providers (CSPs) are facing significant business model challenges. Referred to generally as edge computing, the possibilities introduced by the blending of 5G networks and distributed cloud computing technologies are redefining how CSPs operate, partner, and drive revenue. A new Ericsson Digital whitepaper entitled, “Edge computing and deployment strategies for communication service providers,†addresses these challenges by providing much-needed insight and actionable strategic recommendations.

Written by Ericsson Director Cloud Strategy Execution Carlos Bravo and Solution Marketing Manager Henrik Bäckström, this new work presents a practical roadmap for how the industry should address the expected US$700 billion in 5G-enabled, business-to-business value. It directly answers the question of how operators can maintain relevance in the face of the current massive industry changes. The most enlightening aspect of the paper was the architectural approach to the design and deployment of advanced edge computing solutions. The four critical components of this approach are:

  • Dynamic orchestration and management;
  • Application runtime execution environment;
  • Connectivity; and
  • Distributed cloud infrastructure.
Two men are smiling for a picture.

Dynamic orchestration and management emphasize a centralized function that maintains awareness of the network topology and resource availability. This capability maintains consistency between user plane gateway functionality and edge applications.  Consistency is critical to the management of non-telco workloads and VNFs. The application runtime execution environment (RTE) is responsible for hosting all enterprise customer applications in a consistent and well-documented edge computing service environment. Documentation is essential to the development and nurturing of the CSP’s application developer community. Connectivity delivers foundational bandwidth, throughput, mobility, and latency requirements. For edge computing, the application developer may specify these requirements. New traffic routing services that coordinate application server requirements and network functionality are also required. In combination, these capabilities enable the Distributed Cloud Infrastructure, which is composed of global, national, regional, and local cloud data centers. The integration of these data centers with the network is also critical.

Figure 1- An architectural approach to the design and deployment of advanced edge computing solutions

Success with this model requires an overall strategy that differentiates on services delivered. This strategy differs from the more common “services description†approach by its ability to solve industry-specific challenges through the provisioning of easy-to-consume application programming interfaces, or APIs. This “broad tent†approach also requires open collaboration with system integrators, hyperscale cloud service providers, and operations technology vendors. System Integrators (SI) are particularly suited to the task of addressing enterprise pain points related to edge computing solution implementation and the integration of vertical industry offerings. Hyperscale Cloud Providers (HCP) deliver cloud infrastructure and platforms. They also bring with them the application developer ecosystems. Operations Technology (OT) vendors have the Internet of Things (IoT) platforms and applications that deliver the real value at the network edge. Since differentiated services must also be easily accessible to application developers, operators should offer APIs that follow industry de-facto standards or adopt APIs that present a common list of attributes.

Figure 2- CSPs must make their services easily accessible to application developers.

This business model approach redefines the telecommunications value chain. It features operators as the provider of new enterprise-focused offerings. The models also enable many and varied use cases across multiple industry verticals. Operators can also differentiate locally while simultaneously leveraging a global edge computing ecosystem.

Following this recommended path leads typically to service provider focus on one, or a combination, of the following high-level strategies:

  • Full Edge Provider – CSP advances a strong go-to-market (GTM) relationship with the enterprise or the application developer/provider, committing to vertical-specific SLAs
  • Partner Edge Provider – CSP resells HCP and OT vendor industry vertical solutions delivered over the provider’s connectivity services. The focus is on use cases that depend on robust connectivity.
  • Aggregator Edge Provider – CSP partners with a content aggregator through a revenue share aaS model. The aggregator commits to SLAs while the CSP provides edge hardware.
  • Limited Edge Provider – CSP focusses on connectivity that supports vertical industry solutions offered by partner HCP, SI and OT vendors

Edge Computing is drastically changing the service provider role. Success will depend on pursuing a collaborative partner strategy that highlights your telco company’s strengths. All of the recommended strategies, however, demand an understanding and focus on enterprise vertical challenges and solutions.

Ericsson Digital Services offer solutions to modernize, digitalize, and shape new business models for Telco operators globally. Our advanced offerings are designed to help you secure, serve, and grow your business and customer base through innovative customer engagement platforms, automated operations, and programmable networks. If you know what your customers are doing, you will know what to do for your customers. Let us help you leverage edge computing to transform your business so you can evolve, scale and thrive in the digital era. Please visit https://www.ericsson.com/en/digital-services/trending/edge-computing.

Disclaimer: This article was sponsored by Ericsson as part of the Ericsson Ambassador Program.

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