Frost Radar™: Private Multi-access Edge Computing, 2023

Frost Radar™: Private Multi-access Edge Computing, 2023

Edge computing pushes intelligence, data processing, analytics, and communication capabilities to where the data originates: at network gateways or endpoints. The aim is to reduce latency and ensure efficient networks, operations, service delivery, and an improved user experience. By bringing computing closer to the data source, edge computing enables latency-sensitive computing and greater business agility through better control and faster insights. It also lowers operating expenses, resulting in more efficient network bandwidth support.

The European Telecommunications Standards Institute states that multi-access edge computing (MEC) provides cloud computing capabilities and an IT service environment at the network edge for application developers and content providers. This environment is marked by ultra-low latency, high bandwidth, and real-time access to radio network information that applications can utilize. MEC introduces a new ecosystem and value chain, enabling operators to open their radio access network edge to authorized third parties. This allows for the flexible and rapid deployment of innovative applications and services to mobile subscribers, enterprises, and vertical segments.

5G and MEC technologies drive innovation for consumers and businesses. 5G technology offers lower latency and higher capacity; together with MEC, it brings computing power close to customers, enabling new applications and experiences.

MEC offers improved customer experience, application performance, agility, and speed to market, which will benefit customer applications in public networks and enterprise applications in public and private networks.

The global MEC market evolved quickly in 2021, with more telecom operators and cloud providers reaching agreements and commercializing their offerings.

Telecom operators cannot implement and run MEC alone. They must establish partnerships and an application ecosystem to seize growth opportunities and have started partnering with cloud providers to boost the ecosystem and propel exponential growth.

Three major computing revolutions have occurred in industrial applications: mainframe, client server, and cloud computing. Picking up where these paradigms left off, edge computing is establishing itself as a foundational technology for industrial enterprises, offering shorter latencies, robust security, responsive data collection, and lower costs. It is relevant in hyperconnected industrial environments because its solution-agnostic nature enables its use in applications including autonomous assets, remote asset monitoring, data extraction from stranded assets, autonomous robotics, autonomous vehicles, smart factories, oilfield operations management, machine monitoring, and smart campuses.

Frost & Sullivan analyzes numerous companies in an industry. Those selected for further analysis based on their leadership or other distinctions are benchmarked across 10 Growth and Innovation criteria to reveal their position on the Frost Radar™. The publication presents competitive profiles of each company on the Frost Radar™ considering their strengths and the opportunities that best fit those strengths.