Current Real World Edge Computing Use Cases
Introduction
Edge computing allows for the organization, optimization, and real time analysis of data. It does this by moving compute resources closer to where the data is generated. Edge computing could be taking place in an on-prem server room in a office or directly on a piece of machinery. When combined with cloud computing, edge computing can result in significant cost savings and latency reduction.
Many resources online will only describe the basics of edge computing, in this article we will be going deep on some real world examples of edge computing.
Companies Using Edge Computing
SWIM.AI
SWIM.AI has developed an edge compute platform that executes real-time analytics for the enterprises, and equipment manufacturers. They have open sourced a lot of their platform, which can be found here on the SWIM.AI Edge Compute Platform GitHub
MobiledgeX
MobiledgeX assists telecom operators with managing and improving their own edge clouds. MobileedgeX was founded by Deutsche Telekom so it is safe to say they extensive experience working with large enterprise scale telecom firms.
Ori
Ori performs is an edge computing developer ecosystem that allows for the management of edge, cloud, and on prem hardware. Ori allows for workload management through their portal. They also offer their Ori Global Edge network, which allows for computation on a global network of edge computing devices.
Wearable Devices Becoming More Compute Heavy
Wearable gadgets such as smart watches are steadily gaining market share in the fitness industry. However, these devices are expected to also increase rapidly in the fields of personnel organization and operational safety.
For example, to monitor the working environment of personnel in buildings and at factories, data about every employee wearing a smart watch can be gathered and transmitted to an on-prem workstation. The supervisor can then oversee the condition and location of every employee, reducing operational downtime and health risks.
Additionally, as smart watch computational power improves with faster embedded technology the watches could be used for immediate calculations and real time analytics. For instance a watch could calculate optimal paths for package picking. A company currently working to replace antiquated warehouse rugged tablets with smart watches is Lucasware.
Edge Computing Flops - Not All Ventures Succeed
Edge Gravity was an accelerator/internal-startup created by Ericsson. Edge Gravity was suppose to be a foray into telecom and datacenter network edge computing. However, they did not succeed mainly due what analysts said was an overbearing parent company. Edge Gravity did succeed in securing massive partnerships with companies such as Equinix, Limelight, Rogers Communications, KDDI, Hargray Communications, Mytel, Telenor, US Cellular, Veon, Optus, Taiwan Mobile, Telstra Corp., Vodafone, Bharti Airtel, SingTel, Telefónica, NTT DoCoMo, China Unicom, Chunghwa Telecom, Mobiphone and Telkom Indonesia.
However, even tons of partnerships does not mean a venture into an innovative field such as edge computing will succeed.
Reference: What Went Wrong at Edge Gravity?