Communication service providers (CSPs) are quickly focusing on highly capable and future-proof 5G edge platforms to deliver compelling current and future use cases. CSPs will be able to offer higher value and more focused services to monetize their 5G edge infrastructure for enterprise customers to tap into new revenue streams.
However, choosing the right platform requires looking deeper into the options available. A comprehensive solution includes many different technologies. There are numerous edge infrastructure provider options for CSPs, and having the right partner is essential. This list of six key characteristics can help CSPs make the best choice for a partner, one that will enable their success both now and into the future.
No. 1: An open solution. Use of an open architecture that provides a range of third-party products, technologies and services is key to supporting innovative use cases and faster development of new offerings, leveraging the open standards that make up the platform. This provides more options for CSPs to seamlessly add complementary services and capabilities.
No. 2: AI and analytics at the edge. AI and analytics at the edge are needed for real-time and near-real-time use cases where latency cannot be tolerated, along with support for edge compute and storage that can enable AI and analytics. Many new apps and services that CSPs will deliver need AI and analytics in real time, and that requires running those workloads at the edge.
No. 3: A cloud control plane. A common control plane from data center to edge provides management and orchestration across the entire infrastructure, offering a common developer experience and making it easier for CSPs to integrate and develop on their edge platform. This enhances agility and provides a more modern management paradigm for new services and solutions for CSPs.
No. 4: A large number of POPs. A large number of points of presence are needed to support broad geographic use cases for 5G edge technology, enabling CSPs to focus on the services rather than creating on-ramps. A large population of POPs means less latency and more resources for new CSP services.
No. 5: A robust ecosystem. Shared expertise across a partner ecosystem—including the cloud provider, network equipment provider, device and operating system technology providers and key independent software vendors (ISVs)—is critical. Look to the technology providers that have a track record of creating ecosystems and building partnerships. This is not a go-it-alone venture.
No. 6: Carrier-grade design. Ensuring that scalability, resiliency and reliability is built in is a requirement for success. Support for a very high degree of scalability to meet “peaky” or growing workloads without performance interruptions, leveraging a partner’s edge infrastructure, allows CSPs to scale up any service quickly. Many new CSP services are likely to have demand peaks or highly demanding workloads and will require both speed and scale.
How Google Cloud and Intel Bring 5G Edge to Life
The collaboration between Google Cloud, Intel and their partner ecosystem makes it possible for CSPs to move to the future more confidently and quickly, backed by the power of the innovation and ecosystem.
Google Distributed Cloud Edge is built on the Anthos open source platform, which enables the management of infrastructure and applications across edge, on-premises and multiple cloud environments. Tapping the planet-scale infrastructure of Google Cloud, Distributed Cloud Edge enables CSPs to run RAN and 5G core functions at the edge.
Intel, a trusted, proven source for agile edge technologies, supports this new platform with its world-class compute, storage and network resources. Intel® Xeon® processors provide the compute performance to support any edge applications. Intel also offers Intel Smart Edge Open, a portfolio of software that delivers performant and optimized services. CSPs can more quickly deploy edge-centric services with this offering. In addition, Intel’s FlexRAN is a programmable SD-RAN platform that separates the RAN and data control planes through APIs to provide CSPs with greater agility.
Also, Google Cloud is working with a growing ecosystem of CSP network equipment providers and OSS/BSS, analytics and edge ISV partners, including Amdocs, Matrixx, Netcracker and Nokia. Google Cloud, Intel and their partner ecosystem are focused on bringing best-in-class 5G edge infrastructure and applications to market quickly, to enable CSPs to get started now with their design and development of next-generation services for their customers. Working together makes it possible to leverage the experience, technologies and insight of these industry leaders in a single platform.
To learn more about how CSPs can innovate at the edge, and to attend our on-demand webinar, please click here.
