The Business Edge Emerges: Deals Highlight Growing Investment in Edge Computing

Edge computing is cool and all. But who’s going to pay to build it, and use it? That’s been the big question facing the emerging edge data center industry, as we noted in our 2020 forecast in predicting that “the economics of edge computing will come into sharp relief in 2020.”

The good news: The Business Edge is here, as seen in a flurry of announcements last week that showcased the many ways stakeholders in distributed computing are stepping up their investment and deploying real-world edge infrastructure. After many months of studying the market, companies are coming off the sidelines and deciding how they want to deploy infrastructure, and with whom.

Last week’s announcements span a range of use cases – 5G wireless, the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) and interconnection – with beneficiaries across the spectrum of digital infrastructure. Here’s a recap:

• Vapor IO announced an agreement with Alef Edge to deploy a mobile edge computing platform in Atlanta and Pittsburgh, with plans to expand to as many as 36 sites as Vapor IO builds out its national network of modular edge data centers.
• Amazon Web Services said it will deploy three new AWS Wavelength Zones on the Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband network in Atlanta, New York City, and Washington DC. Wavelength embeds AWS compute and storage services in the telecom network, enabling developers to use 5G connections to create low-latency apps.
• Regional data center specialist Flexential teamed with American Tower to begin deploying edge computing infrastructure, with an initial deployment in Atlanta. The deal is the first in a planned series of local edge facilities to deploy Flexential’s FlexAnywhere network fabric and cloud on-ramp offering.
•  Equinix announced that Nokia will deploy its Worldwide IoT Network Grid (WING) managed service in multiple Equinix data centers, providing faster market entry and expansion for operators deploying IoT business services.

These announcements confirm that edge deployment will arrive first in major cities rather than remote cell towers, but also may generate business to players across products and industry niches. Case in point: Three of partnerships feature new infrastructure in Atlanta, with deployments at towers, data center modules, regional data centers, cloud nodes and carrier hotels.

As always, the dueling definitions of edge computing have some wondering whether these are actual edge deployments – in effect, whether they are “edgy enough” to be actual edge. As we’ve noted, edge computing  consists of many layers and locations, but the bottom line is that edge business is beginning to materialize across the spectrum. When you stack the definitions atop one another, they form a cumulative “edginess” that will mean more digital infrastructure in more places, and more people paying to build and use it.

Here’s a closer look at the latest announcements.

Vapor IO and AlefEdge

Vapor IO and AlefEdge will be rolling out their software-defined mobile edge (SD-ME) services on Vapor’s Kinetic Edge platform, nationwide. The Software Defined Mobile Edge allows enterprises to deploy edge computing on top of private wireless networks, creating a low-cost path to edge-enabled mobile applications, such as factory robotics, IoT, and other use cases that benefit from applications delivered at the edge of the network.

The combined platforms provide a way to deploy edge computing services onto private networks, including existing LTE, CBRS and Wi-Fi networks, as well as forthcoming 5G networks. The companies say the combination provides the architecture to support “near-prem” requirements that demand ultra-low latency and high bandwidth.

“A programmable mobile Edge has been out of reach for most of today’s enterprises because of the complexity of both deployment and application development,” said Ganesh Sundaram, CEO of AlefEdge. “Placing our service atop Vapor IO’s Kinetic Edge platform enables us to quickly deploy nationally and support ‘near prem’ workloads in the top 36 US Markets. Our services allow enterprises to leverage shared resources while maintaining the benefits of on-prem IT without the overhead of on-site management.”

The AlefEdge SD-ME platform and APIs make it easier for enterprises to implement remote work policies and edge-enabled applications through a programmable network layer.

In January of this year, Vapor IO announced its series C financing, raising a total of $90 million to build out its Kinetic Edge platform in 36 U.S. markets by the end of 2021. “Vapor IO has an aggressive rollout plan that spans the entire U.S.,” said Cole Crawford, CEO at Vapor IO. “Together with partners like AlefEdge we are building the next chapter of the Internet.”

AWS and Verizon

Amazon Web Services has big ambitions in edge computing, built atop AWS Outposts, which are racks filled with turn-key AWS cloud infrastructure. Outposts provide the hardware to run the Wavelength software. Verizon and other early-adopter telcos will deploy Outpost racks in their networks, and use them to offer cloud services to their customers. With Wavelengths, Amazon acts as the vendor to the telecom provider, who sells the services and owns the customer relationship.