Table of Contents
- Summary
- Market Categories and Deployment Types
- Key Criteria Comparison
- GigaOm Radar
- Vendor Insights
- Analyst’s Take
- Methodology
- About GigaOm
- Copyright
1. Summary
The edge market has been growing by leaps and bounds, despite the fact that many people remain uncertain about what “the edge” is and which technology components enable edge applications. With the rollout of 5G wireless technology and the explosion of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, the market for edge enablement technology is projected to expand exponentially. Industries and municipalities have taken notice of the potential use cases of edge applications and are starting to explore possible deployment models. Edge applications need a place to run, and that place will often be some iteration of the infrastructure edge.
Edge infrastructure is an extension of existing infrastructure found in the public cloud or on-premises data centers, located in close proximity to edge devices and IoT gateways. Applications running on edge infrastructure can perform operations such as:
- Data aggregation and summarization
- Machine learning analysis
- Localized breakout
- Real-time data processing
The infrastructure edge can be broken down into three categories established in our Key Criteria for Edge Infrastructure report: physical infrastructure, core systems, and platform systems. This Radar report focuses on physical infrastructure, also referred to as edge colocation, using the key criteria and evaluation metrics found in the Key Criteria for Edge Colocation report.
Physical infrastructure encompasses the physical resources required for edge solutions, including physical space, power, cooling, and network connectivity. These are resources that a typical colocation facility might provide, but are found in an edge context.
While the use cases for the edge are varied and still unfolding, the need for an edge colocation solution is clear. The transformation of edge applications relies on suitably provisioned locations that support their compute, network, storage, and security requirements. The Radar used in tandem with the Key Criteria report can help you evaluate which solutions meet the unique requirements of your edge application.
How to Read this Report
This GigaOm report is one of a series of documents that helps IT organizations assess competing solutions in the context of well-defined features and criteria. For a fuller understanding consider reviewing the following reports:
Key Criteria report: A detailed market sector analysis that assesses the impact that key product features and criteria have on top-line solution characteristics—such as scalability, performance, and TCO—that drive purchase decisions.
GigaOm Radar report: A forward-looking analysis that plots the relative value and progression of vendor solutions along multiple axes based on strategy and execution. The Radar report includes a breakdown of each vendor’s offering in the sector.
Solution Profile: An in-depth vendor analysis that builds on the framework developed in the Key Criteria and Radar reports to assess a company’s engagement within a technology sector. This analysis includes forward-looking guidance around both strategy and product.