Top MEC vendors to watch - The race to the edge !

Multi-access Edge Compute or Mobile Edge Compute, in short called as MEC is seeing a lot of interest from the service providers. There is a virtual race to the edge. The large cloud computing infrastructure providers such as Microsoft, Google and Amazon are positioning their infrastructure for MEC use cases. A number of new startups have sprung to solve the MEC problem. 5G and MEC are complementary in nature. 

(Also read: Differences between Cloud, Fog and MEC - Removing the mist)

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5G use cases require the network infrastructure to support ultra-low latencies for applications such as AR/VR, IoT and Smart Cars. MEC comes with a promise of hosting several applications / services at the edge, thereby solving the latency problem for 5G use cases. When large operators are expanding their 5G foot print to a number of cities, by deploying several 100s and 1000s of small cells, it becomes imperative that MEC nodes get deployed along with the small cells. 

Several product vendors are jumping into the MEC bandwagon. In addition to the usual suspects such as Cisco, HP and Dell a number of startups have joined the race to the edge. 

1. FogHorn’s Lightning platform embeds Industrial IoT edge intelligence locally, at or near the source of streaming sensor data. The highly compact and feature-rich solution delivers unprecedented low latency for onsite data processing, real-time analytics, ML and AI capabilities in the smallest compute footprint. FogHorn offers a fully-integrated, closed loop edge to cloud solution, rapidly iterating ML models to adjust to changing operating conditions.
2. Rigado Cascade provides IoT teams with secure edge computing, a containerized application platform, scalable management tools and a variety of connectivity options. All of this is made available in a simple ‘Edge-as-a-Service’ monthly subscription.
3. Saguna Edge Cloud solution creates edge-cloud-computing environments inside the access network; close to end users and connected devices. It claims to be fully compliant with the ETSI MEC standard and 3GPP 5G specifications. Saguna's MEC solution provides Ultra Reliable and Low Latency Communication (URLLC) enabling 5G features over existing 4G networks and setting the stage for 5G roll-out.
4. ClearBlade IoT Edge Platform powers activities at the edge of your IoT solutions including real-time business rules, filtering, online / offline modes and messaging. With a small footprint and no external dependencies, you can turn almost any edge gateway into a platform powerhouse. The same software at the server and the edge gives you endless possibilities.
5. Enea provides virtualization software building blocks to telecom operators to build a virtualized edge, by partnering with various systems integrators and telecom equipment manufacturers. The blocks allow them to build intelligent, manageable, and high performance NFV infrastructure in a rapid and cost effective manner, for service providers to deploy new, value added services for enterprise and end user customers. 
6. Asocs Cyrus is an on-premise edge cloud that provides unlimited mobile capacity and secure connectivity, while analyzing mobile device and IoT data. This enables enterprises to improve productivity, increase revenue and deliver new services and applications.
7. CPLANE's Multi-Site Manager orchestrates cloud resources across the entire service life cycle – from the data center to the mobile edge. CPLANE SDN provides a complete spectrum of virtualized and physical network provisioning and management. It allows operators to Connect distributed cloud resources to everything they need – when they need it – reliably and securely.
8. Vasona's SmartAir Edge solution maximizes the value of RAN investments and deliver superior wireless experiences from the mobile edge. From an aggregation point between the radio access network (RAN) and the core network, Vasona’s SmartAIR® reacts quickly to end-user network demands and acts to address threats to quality of experience (QoE) precisely where and when they are detected. Vasona’s standards-based software intelligently improves QoE and creates an ideal ecosystem for low-latency services. 
9. MobiledgeX is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom building MEC solutions that global service providers can consume. MobiledgeX is a marketplace of edge resources and services that will connect developers with the world's largest mobile networks to power the next generation of applications and devices. Recently, SK telecom announced that they are going to partner with MobiledgeX.