Edge compute: use cases, business opportunities and growth strategies
If edge computing is an area of interest to you or a key part of your strategy and growth plans, our edge insight and support could help
What is edge computing and why focus on it now?
Edge computing brings processing capabilities closer to the end user/device or the source of data. New technologies and demand for new applications means the time is ripe for edge. Consumers want low latency for content-driven experiences and enterprises require local processing for security and resilient operations. Those who want to add value in this space need to understand the business models, the use cases and define a clear go-to-market plan, including operators who can use edge computing to grow revenues outside connectivity.
See our edge computing articles, research and webinars below or talk to us about your project.
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Edge research and insight
We work with telecoms operators and the leading technology companies in the ecosystem on edge computing. These insight pieces can help you understand and capture the opportunity.
Overview
About edge compute and edge cloud
An overview of edge computing and edge cloud to highlight the key questions being asked by the wider ecosystem and telecoms operators who are exploring the opportunity
Service
STL Partners edge use case service
STL Partners has launched a new use case service. The detailed use case pack and accompanying analyst time will help to drive alignment, educate stakeholders and accelerate edge computing strategies through marketing leading analysis and evaluation.
Article
Telco edge computing: What’s the operator strategy?
Edge computing is a strategic opportunity for telcos. We examine the driving needs and applications for telco edge computing, describe the market and the options for telcos, discuss their partnerships with hyperscalers and recommend key actions.
Article
Digital health at the edge: Three use cases for the healthcare industry
The healthcare industry must transform to meet growing demands on medical infrastructure and expertise. Edge computing will help drive this transformation and the move towards digital health, while also providing a potential role for operators in the ecosystem.
Article
Does IoT need edge yet – and will it need it in the future?
The Internet of Things industry is growing rapidly, with use cases in smart homes, industry 4.0, autonomous cars and more. Meanwhile, operators’ deployments of edge computing infrastructure are also accelerating. How can IoT benefit from edge computing and what are some of the key use cases and requirements for the future?
Research
Cloud gaming: What’s the telco play?
This report explores how the cloud gaming market is likely to evolve and what this means for telcos. Beyond providing better connectivity through 5G and edge computing, there are several ways in which telcos can add value to the cloud gaming ecosystem.
Article
Smart Mobile Labs Q&A: Edge computing applications to limit the impact of COVID
The economic impact of COVID-19 on all types of businesses and industries globally goes without saying, but it has also put new strains on telecoms networks. Should we accelerate distributed/edge computing? Rüdiger from SML provides his views on this and which edge-enabled applications can support the front-line, as well as business continuity.
Article
SK Telecom: The road to the world’s first 5G MEC platform
SK Telecom is a leading operator, having already launched 5G in April 2019. It is now one of the first service providers to begin the journey to make edge computing real and develop its own MEC platform – for both distributed MEC and on-site MEC. We explore how in this case study.
Article
AWS, Azure & Google at the edge: How much of it is telco edge computing?
With the flurry of recent announcements, it looks like the hyperscalers are making big bets on telco edge. However, how significant is telco edge in their overall strategy? Is telco edge key for edge computing? Are the telcos partners or customers? And what are the differences in approaches between the hyperscalers?
Article
Edge computing investments are just beginning
With all the hype, it’s difficult to determine how important edge is right now. How much is being invested relative to other technologies? How might this change?
Article
15 Edge computing companies to watch in 2020
In this article, we have provided a spotlight on 15 companies (in no particular order) who are making waves in edge computing and are “ones to watch” in the next couple of years
Article
Shadow Q&A: A cloud gaming company’s views on 5G and edge
Are 5G and edge relevant for cloud gaming? We spoke to Shadow – a cloud gaming company – to dispel the myths.
Article
Telcos can disrupt AR/VR gaming models with edge computing
Edge computing can revolutionise the AR/VR gaming industry and provide an additional revenue source for telcos. Telcos can offer an edge cloud platform to gaming companies, which will bring the compute capabilities from the AR/VR headset to the edge cloud.
Interactive tool
Edge computing ecosystem tool
An interactive tool that maps out where different companies are positioned across the edge computing ecosystem
Article
Edge computing: Changing the balance of energy in networks
Energy consumption levels across networks and data centres are on the rise due to the advancement of the internet and cloud-based services. To combat these challenges, edge computing can be utilised to change the balance of energy across a variety of use cases and applications.
Article
Artificial intelligence: a killer app for edge computing?
Artificial intelligence and edge computing are both buzzwords within the industry in their own right. But, they should also be considered together – AI as a key use case for edge computing, and edge computing as a key enabler for AI to deliver on performance and keep costs down. In this article we’ll discuss opportunities and challenges, as well as a couple of key use cases for artificial intelligence at the edge.
Article
How edge computing will support digital transformation in the oil and gas industry
Improving operational efficiency is paramount in the oil and gas industry: it is capital intensive, price sensitive and (can) operate in extreme environments. Digital transformation has become critically important and is being aided by the rise of IoT, AI and AR/VR. In this article, we share our thoughts on how edge computing can also play a key role.
Article
What’s blockchain got to do with edge computing?
Edge computing enables a network for blockchain, but what’s blockchain’s role in edge computing? Why blockchain could enable a truly open distributed cloud marketplace.
Article
Five edge computing use cases for the manufacturing industry
The manufacturing sector is poised to be an early adopter of edge computing, taking advantage of its benefits to accelerate digital transformation. Latency, data security, flexibility and reducing bandwidth are all key factors for the five edge manufacturing use cases we evaluate in this article.
Webinar
Edge computing from the front line: developer case studies
Much of the discussion around edge computing has focused on use cases which are still hypothetical.
This webinar presented case studies “from the front lines” of developers & enterprises testing edge computing today across different applications.
Article
5 things edge computing app developers want telecoms operators to know
The telecommunications industry interested in edge computing must listen to the requirements of developers who will run their applications at the edge. These developers want clarity around delivery, orchestration and pricing.
Article
What’s in an edge computing platform?
The term “platform” often refers to many different things and becomes even more confusing when linked to a new, not well-defined domain such as edge computing. We seek to clarify what an edge computing platform is and provide examples of the edge platforms being developed today.
Article
Mobile Edge Computing: What is Mobile Edge Computing?
Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) – formerly known as mobile edge computing – is a type of edge computing that extends the capabilities of cloud computing by bringing it to the edge of the network.
Webinar
Edge business models and how to execute them
A joint webinar with MobiledgeX and STL Partners exploring edge cloud business models and the value proposition for application developers in augmented reality.
Research
Five viable telco business models
How telcos can commercialise multi-access edge computing? We present five business models for telcos, demonstrating quantified revenue streams and costs.
Article
Decoupled cloud connectivity pricing models for edge
We discuss how encouraging applications to move workloads to the edge to reduce backhaul costs will inadvertently mean telcos need to re-evaluate their pricing models
Data chart
Investment in edge start ups
Our data snapshot shows that venture capitalists and other investors see the value in the edge cloud market, as the number of start-ups continues to grow in this space
Article
What can telcos learn from Amazon?
AWS built its customer base by moving from a test bed to a permanent option for IT and computing. Engaging application developers is crucial for growing the edge cloud
Article
How does edge computing architecture impact latency
This article answers that question mapping out the potential “level of edge” and where different operators have announced they are testing or planned to deploy edge nodes.
Article
Why 5G needs edge more than edge needs 5G
4G and edge will drive 5G coverage and applications. This would boost service demand and offer growth for telcos at a time when there is still scepticism for the 5G business case
Research
Turning vision into practice
Our Telco edge computing: Turning vision into practice research gives an overview of the telco opportunity and seeks to address the key challenges for operators pursuing edge
Article
Edge computing news in 2020
Edge computing is a rapidly growing industry and evolving ecosystem. This article aims to keep you up-to-date with some of the key developments within edge computing. Check back each month for our update on M&As, partnerships, product announcements and other strategic plays.
Data chart
How advanced are the industry’s edge strategies?
Our data snapshot shows the telecoms industry is yet to embrace edge and most are still trying to understand the market, particularly the telecoms operators.
Article
CDN: what is edge CDN and virtual CDN (vCDN)?
Content and gaming providers face increasing competition to offer users the best quality of experience in the face of increasing demand for fast and high-quality streaming. The COVID-19 environment has put new strains on the network that means it is much more difficult to ensure delivery of content in a way that optimises user experience. There are two key trends emerging in CDN that could address this challenge: edge CDN and vCDN.
Research
What edge developers want from telcos now?
The use of edge computing is accelerating rapidly in applications. Through seven case studies we outline what developers want from edge computing, and how telcos can support them
Meet the edge computing team
Philip Laidler
Partner and Consulting Director
Dalia Adib
Principal Consultant and Edge Practice Lead
Tilly Gilbert
Senior Consultant
Darius Singh
Senior Consultant
Murrough O’Brien
Senior Associate