Edge Computing is Enabling New Applications in Stadiums and Other Large Venues

C. Drake

Summary Bullets:

• Edge computing is being deployed alongside 5G, WiFi 6, and other technologies to enable new applications in sports stadiums and other large event venues.

• Emerging applications and use cases are broad and include real-time data processing for crowd and stadium management, as well as the deployment of new ‘audience experience’ applications.

Sports stadiums, concert arenas, and other large event venues are poised to become important locations for the use of edge computing, a growing IT trend that involves the use of local, on-site data processing capabilities. The ability to process data locally at ‘the edge’ instead of sending it to a cloud data center for processing makes it possible to run new digital services and applications that require high levels of performance (e.g., high-definition [HD] streaming video) or real-time data processing (e.g., real-time data analytics related to a specific sports event).

Customers and Partners Seek Reassurance About Broadcom’s Plan for Transforming VMware

C. Drake

Summary Bullets:

• Broadcom’s move to acquire VMware raises many questions, including whether Broadcom can integrate a much larger company with a focus on cloud software and application management.
• Key questions about the acquisition include whether Broadcom might change or dispose of existing VMware solutions or alter the relationship between VMware and its customers or partners.

The announcement of Broadcom’s $61 billion (USD) bid to acquire VMware raises a raft of questions, the answers to which should not be expected anytime soon.  Assuming the acquisition gains regulatory approval and is not met with a counterbid before the July deadline, it will be one of the largest technology acquisitions of all time.  This will be a major acquisition for Broadcom, which will need to integrate VMware’s 35,000 employees with its own 20,000-strong workforce.  The acquisition will also significantly enlarge Broadcom’s software business, especially in the markets for multi-cloud, hybrid cloud, and application management solutions.

VMware Expands Its Sovereign Cloud Initiative to Support Customers with Growing Data Sovereignty Requirements

C. Drake

Summary Bullets:

• VMware has expanded its Sovereign Cloud initiative with new partners and cloud-native, developer-centric tools and capabilities.
• The Sovereign Cloud initiative will help VMware and its partners better serve customers in regulated industries, which need to adhere to a growing range of data sovereignty requirements.

VMware’s Sovereign Cloud initiative, announced at VMworld in October 2021, gained traction this week with the addition of four partners (bringing the total to 14), as well as cloud-native, developer-centric capabilities. The initiative is designed to help enterprise customers from regulated industries (such as banking and finance, healthcare, local retail and ecommerce, energy, government services, defense, intelligence, regional telecom, and public sectors) meet their unique sovereign cloud requirements, including those related to data sovereignty and data access and control. It does this by empowering and equipping trusted national or regional cloud service providers with the capabilities they need to support their customers’ data sovereignty requirements.

Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Has Created a Host of Economic, Political, and Ethical Risks for Chinese Tech

C. Drake

Summary Bullets:

• Most Chinese tech firms appear to be maintaining a business-as-usual approach in Russia, despite facing a host of challenges related to the enforcement of Western sanctions.
• Chinese firms that continue doing business in Russia could face secondary sanctions, the risk of reputational damage, and loss of business due to ethical and ESG concerns.

The response of Chinese tech companies to Russia’s continuing war in Ukraine is coming under increasing scrutiny both at home and internationally.  Chinese tech companies doing business in Russia include: mobile device producers Xiaomi and Oppo; cloud service providers Alibaba and Tencent; telecoms and IT infrastructure providers such as ZTE, Inspur, and Huawei; semiconductor producer SMIC; and PC manufacturer Lenovo.

Officially, China remains committed to maintaining ‘normal trade co-operation’ with Russia.  In response, most Chinese tech companies appear to be maintaining a business-as-usual approach, despite facing a host of challenges related to the enforcement of Western sanctions against Russia and its ally, Belarus.

EU Plan to Boost Share of Global Chip Production Must Address Key Challenges

C. Drake

Summary Bullets:

• The EU Chips Act is intended to help Europe compete in the global market for semiconductors, while ensuring that EU industries are protected against future supply shortages.
• The EU’s strategy faces several hurdles, including the funding gap that exists between the EU’s support package and much larger investment packages in the US, South Korea, and China.

The EU Chips Act, announced by the European Commission on February 8, is intended to have far-reaching consequences for Europe’s ability to compete in the global market for semiconductors and for ensuring that EU industries – including automotive and medical device manufacturing – are better positioned to deal with future semiconductor supply shortages.

Equinix Innovates with Partners to Boost Data Center Sustainability, but a Roadmap Is Needed

C. Drake

Summary Bullets:

• Equinix announced its first Co-Innovation Facility, where it will work with partners to trial and develop data center sustainability technologies.
• As a follow-up, Equinix should aim to provide its customers with a deployment roadmap to help them advance their own sustainability plans.

Equinix recently opened its first Co-Innovation Facility (CIF) near Washington, D.C., where it will work with several partners – notably Bloom Energy, ZutaCore, Virtual Power Systems (VPS), and Natron Energy – to trial and develop technologies that enable environmentally sustainable data centers.

Edge Computing in 2022: Alliances and Technology Innovation Will Drive Use Case Development

Summary Bullets:

C. Drake

• Sales of edge computing technology, services, and solutions will rise to US$10.9 billion in 2022, reflecting annual growth of almost 14%.

• Edge computing will enable new and more sophisticated use cases, including vertical edge applications such as AR-based maintenance, AI-enabled video/surveillance, and connected worker apps.

According to GlobalData’s latest forecast, sales of edge computing technology, services, and solutions will rise to US$10.9 billion in 2022, reflecting annual growth of almost 14%. IT infrastructure vendors, telecoms network operators, and cloud service providers will continue to drive new projects and initiatives, as they look for ways of generating revenue from this growing market.

Nvidia Goes “Full Stack” with Latest SUpercomputing and edge announcements

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Summary Bullets:

C. Drake

• NVIDIA has unveiled a swath of solutions that reinforce its commitment to making high performance and edge computing more accessible and applicable to specific use cases.

• Differentiation will be crucial as NVIDIA doubles-down on efforts to target emerging opportunities in supercomputing and edge computing.

At its recent GPU Technology Conference (GTU), NVIDIA unveiled numerous solutions that reinforce the company’s commitment to becoming a provider of high performance computing (HPC) solutions to industries such as healthcare, automated vehicles, and robotics. The solutions announced at GTU also illustrate NVIDIA’s strategy to make its HPC solutions more accessible and available to a larger number of customers, and in different geographical locales, including traditional and cloud data centers, edge locations, and within the Omniverse, a platform developed by NVIDIA for hosting virtual 3D simulations of real physical world environments.

VMware Sovereign Cloud to Address Data Privacy, Market Monopoly, and ESG Concerns

C. Drake

Summary Bullets:

• VMware’s Sovereign Cloud Initiative aims to help customers engage with trusted national and local cloud providers, which meet geo-specific requirements relating to data sovereignty and jurisdictional control.
• The initiative will appeal to those with concerns about potential data privacy abuses, service provider monopolies, and the challenges associated with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitments.

At its recent annual conference, IT infrastructure vendor VMware reaffirmed its commitment to a multi-cloud future – one where the majority of enterprises will store, run, and manage their digital data, services, and applications across multiple locations, including traditional data centers and one or more public cloud data centers.

In Focus Edge Innovators with Disruptive Potential: EdgeConneX, MobiledgeX, and Mutable

C. Drake

Summary Bullets:

• EdgeConneX, MobiledgeX, and Mutable are three edge computing startups whose innovative business models have potential to shape the future evolution of edge computing.
• Central to these companies’ strategies is a focus on providing custom-built solutions and empowering app developers with new infrastructure tools and capabilities at the edge.

Among those companies that will shape the future evolution of edge computing, not all are current tech sector heavyweights.  A new ‘In Focus’ report from GlobalData (“In Focus: Edge Computing”) explores three startups that are targeting emerging edge computing opportunities with innovative business models that have disruptive market potential: EdgeConneX, MobiledgeX, and Mutable.