Today's communication service providers have a unique opportunity: They can grow their connectivity business towards offering high-value managed IT services. Powerful edge devices in combination with fully automated operations are the essential preconditions for tapping into those attractive revenue streams. The network edge must become the focal point of innovation as that's the location where services are instantiated, secured, synchronized, and monitored. It's there where services are handed over to the end-customer and stringent SLAs have to be met. The edge is the cornerstone of service innovation and there can be no room for compromise on functionality or cost.
With the support of major global service providers, ETSI responded to the need for open access networks by establishing the mobile edge computing (MEC) industry specification group in late 2014. More recently, this term was broadened to multi-access edge computing, as all access networks, and not just mobile, require better scalability and lower latency. Edge computing is the foundation for a wide range of new services and service capabilities that are crucial for mobile networks, the internet of things and the fostering industrial automation. MEC solutions are transforming present access networks into open, software-driven service production factories for faster innovation, operational excellence and unprecedented flexibility.
