TelecomTV TelecomTV
  • News
  • Videos
  • Channels
  • Events
  • Network Partners
  • Industry Insights
  • Directory
  • Newsletters
  • Digital Platforms and Services
  • Open RAN
  • Cloud Native Telco
  • Telcos and Public Cloud
  • The Green Network
  • Private Networks
  • Open Telco Infra
  • 5G Evolution
  • Access Evolution
  • Edgenomics
  • Network Automation
  • 6G Research and Innovation
  • Security
  • More Topics
  • Network Partners
  • Industry Insights
  • Directory
  • Newsletters
  • |
  • About
  • Contact
  • |
  • Connect with us
  • Digital Platforms and Services
  • Open RAN
  • Cloud Native Telco
  • Telcos and Public Cloud
  • The Green Network
  • Private Networks
  • Open Telco Infra
  • 5G Evolution
  • Access Evolution
  • Edgenomics
  • Network Automation
  • 6G Research & Innovation
  • Security
  • Connect with TelecomTV
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Help
  • Contact
  • Sign In Register Subscribe
    • Subscribe
    • Sign In
    • Register
  • Search

Edgenomics

Edgenomics

Big hitters tackle the industrial edge

Ian Scales
By Ian Scales

Oct 7, 2021

Preparing for Edge Cloud:  Source Appledore Research

Preparing for Edge Cloud: Source Appledore Research

  • The cloud edge has become a favoured battleground for equipment vendors
  • And it’s still evolving, which means there is all to play for as two of the industry’s big hitters arrive to claim a slice
  • Here’s a look at the opposing approaches of VMware and Nokia

The Cloud Edge market looks as wide open as ever as big hitters from the vendor world swoop in to claim a presence. Recent arrivals include VMware and Nokia who claim they have new positionings to talk about. 

In the UK VMware has teamed up with edge computing pioneer Ori Industries to solve one of the big cloud conundrums: How to adequately create linkage across different cloud edges so that users don’t feel themselves locked in to one provider. 

The goal of the partnership is to facilitate an enterprise implementation of edge computing across hybrid, telco and multi-cloud deployments, say the companies, who claim that the interoperability of VMware Telco Cloud Platform and Ori Global Edge reduces complexity, increases service velocity, and manageability of cloud-native service delivery at the edge.

According to Robert Curren of Appledore Research, providing options going forward for customers is a key requirement. 

“Users are always reluctant to concede control to a vendor or service provider,” he says. “They often feel they have a growing and unpredictable avalanche of data coming in [from their campus, say] which needs to be processed. They don’t want to find themselves stuck with an inadequate cloud edge solution up the track.”

Having a fully-functioning edge facility that connects to any cloud environment from telco to hybrid to multi-cloud is an important way to allay that fear since users can theoretically contract extra applications or capacity on an adjacent cloud.

The Ori Global Edge on VMware Telco Cloud Platform uses multiple points of presence (PoPs) that connect to the CSP infrastructure at one end and different clouds on the other end. This means CSPs can offer multi-access edge computing (MEC) capabilities and reduce their backhaul costs through intelligent workload placement, it’s claimed (read more about this solution here). It has also released VMware Edge at VMWare World which it described as a  product portfolio that will enable organizations to run, manage, and better secure edge-native apps across multiple clouds, anywhere.

Going private 

At the other end of the ‘cloud-to-edge-to user’ continuum is Nokia, which - typically for the Finnish company - has gone for a more premises-oriented solution with its just-released Industrial Edge, an offering it describes as the "first off-the-shelf, mission-critical Industrial Edge to accelerate the enterprise journey to Industry 4.0."

Nokia claims it’s addressing a new category of Industry 4.0 applications that require integration with industrial systems and networking solutions. It combines on-premises, mission-critical edge, workload lifecycle management and simplified Industrial IoT integration in a 'one-stop' industrial edge digitalization platform. 

One of Nokia’s differentiations with this one is that the solution is priced ‘as-a-service’ based on consumption, which provides a welcome low-cost entry point, scalability and full control over data.

The drumbeat urging organisations to take their applications to the telco network edge “ignores the very obvious ability for an enterprise to install their own server on their premises and run software on it (something they have done successfully for years). And why not?” asks Appledore Research‘s Francis Haysom.

Nokia says it’s following an ecosystem-neutral approach so enterprises gain real flexibility and may swiftly adopt edge innovations from the public cloud, industrial partner cloud and industrial ISV applications, given their ability to wander about in the cloud and add specialist applications to their software estate. 

The key point is that only the demanding industrial workloads, requiring fast processing and lightening response times (and of course high reliability) need have space reserved for them on the speedy on-premises industrial edge. (More information is available here).

Differentiation is certainly what’s needed as the edge market heats up.  

“Everyone is in the game now and there’s a lot of movement,” says Robert Curren. “And that agility is also important for telcos, who need to expand their offerings and create reasons for users to shoulder the expense and take the risk involved in moving to the cloud. Users want an advantage that might provide a final push to make it worth doing,” he says.

Related Topics
  • Analysis & Opinion,
  • Business Models,
  • Edgenomics,
  • Enterprise,
  • Finance & Banking,
  • Fixed Access,
  • Global,
  • Manufacturing & Industry 4.0,
  • Mobile,
  • News,
  • Nokia,
  • Telco & CSP,
  • Telecoms Vendors & OEMs,
  • VMware

More Like This

5G Evolution

Verizon and Centech unveil results of 5G Development Hub

Jan 20, 2023

Access Evolution

What’s up with… América Móvil, Telxius, Telia, global broadband growth

Jan 17, 2023

Edgenomics

Digital Edge and Zenlayer partner to build one-stop edge cloud service hub in East and South-east Asia

Jan 17, 2023

Open Networking

Unlocking the power of partnership

Jan 11, 2023

The Great Telco Debate 2022

Why edge is ‘table stakes’ for telecom

Jan 6, 2023

Email Newsletters

Stay up to date with the latest industry developments: sign up to receive TelecomTV's top news and videos plus exclusive subscriber-only content direct to your inbox – including our daily news briefing and weekly wrap.

Subscribe

Top Picks

Highlights of our content from across TelecomTV today

0:46

The Cloud Native Telco Summit returns this September!

8:32

Azita Arvani on Being a Female Leader at Rakuten Symphony

16:19

AT&T Amy Zwarico on securing telco applications in the public cloud

1:44

Join us for the greatest industry debate of the year!

TelecomTV
Company
  • About Us
  • Media Kit
  • Contact Us
Our Brands
  • DSP Leaders World Forum
  • Great Telco Debate
  • TelecomTV Events
Get In Touch
[email protected]
+44 (0) 207 448 1070
Connect With Us
  • Privacy
  • Cookies
  • Terms of Use
  • Legal Notices
  • Help

TelecomTV is produced by the team at Decisive Media.

© Decisive Media Limited 2023. All rights reserved. All brands and products are the trademarks of their respective holder(s).