With over 100 edge use cases identified, the fast-growing need to power connected devices demands a custom response from vendors.

As connected devices proliferate and their capabilities expand, the need for real-time decision-making independent of cloud computing’s latency and connectivity becomes increasingly apparent. This movement of computational capacity from the cloud to the edge—a phenomenon known as edge computing—is opening up a new sector.

By eliminating the need to access the cloud for decision-making, edge computing enables real-time local data analysis for devices. These devices encompass a wide range of applications, including remote mining equipment, autonomous vehicles, digital billboards, wearable health appliances, and more.

IoT devices often operate in environments distinct from controlled settings such as offices and factories, necessitating the development of specialized technologies that enable computing in such conditions. Consider the scenario of a military drone deployed on a tactical surveillance mission in a high-intensity combat zone. The drone must be capable of collecting, processing, and transmitting high-quality data in real time, despite challenges such as remote location, limited connectivity, and extreme environmental conditions.

While the drone can utilize mobile satellite connectivity to access the secure military cloud, computing onboard, utilizing lightweight data storage and compute power, offers significantly faster processing capabilities. This approach, known as edge computing, enables the drone to maintain synchronization with both the command center and ground troops, eliminating the latency associated with cloud computing. Upon completion of its mission, the drone returns to base and connects with the larger system, transferring its data to the cloud for further processing and utilization in algorithms and advanced analytics activities.

Given the vast variety and volume of edge use cases, it becomes evident that the demand for edge computing technologies that enable them will generate numerous opportunities across a diverse range of industries. In this article, we present a comprehensive overview of over 100 edge computing use cases across 11 sectors, highlighting the potential for substantial hardware value creation in the coming five to seven years.

What drives edge computing?

To comprehend the impact of edge computing, it is crucial to discern the factors driving its evolution. Edge computers possess a vast array of applications; nevertheless, the operational conditions serve as the primary catalysts for this emerging field and the technologies that support it. These are:

Varied connectivity and data mobility. Edge technologies can operate in places that might limit or require intermittent connectivity to the cloud for services like computing, storage, backup, and analytics.

Need for real-time decision making. Edge use cases often require data to be processed instantly, for self-driving cars or automatic picking machines, for example. These devices and platforms need to be able to do analytics locally, without first sending data to the cloud, so decisions can be made rapidly.

Localized compute power. Edge computers need to be lightweight devices that can make fast, secure decisions without the support of bigger computing power.

New storage and security needs. As the numbers of sensors generating data on remote and mobile devices grow, so does the need for efficient storage that can be secured in a variety of environments.

Intermittent power. Power and infrastructure variations at the edge are pushing the boundaries of performance and capabilities of edge solutions. Especially in industrial applications, edge computers need to be able to operate with a power supply that might be sporadic.

What opportunities will edge computing open?

In contrast to recent technological advancements such as cloud computing, where the majority of benefits were reaped by a select few major players in the technology sector, edge computing presents opportunities across a diverse range of industries. Furthermore, while a significant portion of today’s technical infrastructure is sector-neutral—the same cloud that powers an e-commerce engine also powers the workflow of a bank—edge computing technologies necessitate greater specialization. For instance, the data storage and computing power required for precision agriculture will differ from that needed to operate mobile, durable medical appliances or safety equipment in a mine.

These applications are not merely conceptual: we identified 3,000 companies currently deploying these use cases to comprehend the potential opportunities across sectors and the technology stack. Our estimation of the value they could generate focused on hardware, but, of course, the opportunity extends to software as well. We considered the hardware stacks (the value of the sensor, on-device firmware, storage, and processor, for instance) and use cases across the edge value chain (including edge computers at various stages of the architecture).

To delineate each specific opportunity, we adopted an industry perspective to conduct our analysis, identifying edge use cases and quantifying the potential resulting hardware value. Based on the percentage of edge use cases in each vertical, the top three verticals are:

  • Travel, transportation, and logistics
  • Global energy and materials
  • Public sector and utilities

The advantages of past technological revolutions were concentrated in sectors with heavy technology users, such as the financial services industry. In contrast, sectors that have traditionally been less technologically intensive, such as the energy and materials industries, have the potential to make significant improvements in human productivity and safety through edge computing.

Given the central theme of edge computing—that a majority of computing is performed closer to the data generation location, necessitating real-time decision-making that cannot rely on the traditional cloud or massive on-premises data centers—the varying conditions associated with each use case drive the technology required for that specific application. Analyzing these use cases through a lens of specific applications provides insight into the range of technologies that will be necessary. For instance, autonomous vehicles rely on visual processing, among other technologies, and these systems must be able to withstand rugged environments that encompass variations in weather conditions, vibrations, and other challenges.

The edge will soon be everywhere

In the near future, edge computers will permeate our surroundings, enabling distributed computing across a diverse range of devices in homes, factories, farms, and public infrastructure. The driving forces behind the demand for these devices and the technologies that support them are advancing at an accelerated pace. For technology companies, the development of edge technology holds the potential to revolutionize industries by providing customized solutions tailored to various use cases. This transformation will extend from device and original equipment manufacturers to the entire sales, installation, and service processes. The ensuing changes will impact all stakeholders within the technology stack, consumers across a wide spectrum of sectors, and any companies or leaders aspiring to participate in this transformative landscape.