MobiledgeX, VMware, WWT, Altiostar Launch Edge Push

The race for the edge cloud is heating up as a raft of companies position them for new applications that will be enabled by more flexible edge deployments and Mobile Edge Compute (MEC) infrastructure targeted at industrial and enterprise customers. And of course it will all be connected to next-generation mobile networks, including 5G.

World Wide Technology (WWT), a $12 billion systems integrator focused on service providers (SPs), announced this week that it has partnered with MobiledgeX, VMware, QiO, and Altiostar to deliver industrial artificial intelligence (AI) applications and private LTE/5G networks built on virtualized infrastructure.

Altiostar this week also announced what it claims to be the first container-based, cloud-native 5G radio access network (RAN) software, which will be deployed by Rakuten Mobile in Japan.

MobiledgeX this week released MobiledgeX Edge-Cloud R2.0 for the enterprise edge, which delivers both private and public edge cloud integration for location-specific services. MobiledgeX has added features to target both developers and enterprises with its new edge cloud platform.

All of these moves point to the momentum and heated competition for edge cloud. 5G and virtualization technology are expected to expand the potential for location-based services, data analytics, and low-latency apps that can be built at the edge, using MEC.

To this end, MobiledgeX has announced a catalog of enterprise applications across industry vertical and horizontal market categories. These applications are built on top of an optimized Dell Technologies and VMWare Telco Cloud infrastructure stack and are being distributed with the WWT Platform.

“By partnering with MobiledgeX to offer their catalog of industry vertical and horizontal applications that can be deployed at both the edge of the SP network and on the customer premises, WWT, VMware and Altiostar are enabling the SPs to begin monetizing their 4G/5G infrastructure investments,” said Joe Wojtal, CTO, WWT Global Service Providers, in a corporate release. “QiO is an early example of an application in MobiledgeX’s catalog that connect SPs to industrial enterprise demands.”

WWT officials say that service providers will need to create a new value proposition to win at the edge. Their focus should be on enterprise industry verticals like manufacturing, retail and automotive, says WWT.

(Note: Futuriom analysts are working on the 5G Catalysts: Opportunities at the Edge report, which will be published in April. For editorial input or sponsorship opportunities, please contact analyst@futuriom.com)