The telecommunication industry has used edge computing for years with proven benefits for end-users and service providers. We see more and more industries developing their edge computing strategies when seeking improved performance, cost-efficiency, and security.

The evolution of the edge computing approach

Many earlier edge computing deployments were based on dedicated function network appliances with integrated hardware and software, which easily led to vendor lock-in situations, limited scalability options, and lengthened time-to-market of new services.

The evolution of cloudification and virtualisation technologies enabled increased predictability and performance, and more and more service providers started to use Commercial off-the-shelf hardware-based applications for edge solutions as well. Today, the majority of Independent Software Vendors already offer commercial systems based on those principles.

At the same time, a strongly growing open-source culture, communities and independent contributors have started to foster industry innovation and create groundbreaking cloud and edge software solutions. Intel Smart Edge Open (OpenNESS), which is deployed in our platform, is also strongly supported by Intel’s roadmap. This ensures that all the latest performance and functional Intel technology features are available in the package and makes the platform future-proof as well.

Addressing challenges of open-source-based edge solutions

Open-source solutions also bring challenges related to readiness for commercial deployments and structured support. Service providers who opt for productising opensource solutions need to ensure that the right competencies and skills are already in-house – because building them from scratch requires investments and impacts both time-to-market and the total cost of ownership of the solutions.

The challenges we saw our customers experiencing inspired us to join forces with Intel and Advantech. Together, we developed a Scalable Edge Reference Platform designed to support several use cases for example in Telecom, Automotive, Smart City, Smart Home and MedTech domains, based on cutting-edge technology coming from Intel and 5G server solutions coming from Advantech.

The scalable edge reference platform and services provided by TietoEVRY are based on decades of telco experience. They bridge the gap between open-source and commercial solutions. In our whitepaper, we describe the setup and advantages of the TietoEVRY Scalable Reference Platform:

• Cloud-native flexible solution, designed and built to exploit the scale
• Intel Smart Edge Open (OpenNESS)-based
• Runs on x86 based COTS (commercial off-the-shelf-systems)
• Optimised for performance

Read more about Tietoevry Scalable Edge Reference Platform on Intel AI Builders’ solution catalogue.

You might also be interested in reading: Taking the cloud-native approach into the DNA of telecom application and infrastructure development

Listen to the related PodCast: Scalable Edge Computing Reference Platform