An Open Letter to OEC Members and Friends
When the Open Edge Computing Initiative began in 2015, we were among the few in the industry who saw the value and potential of edge computing. Vodafone, Intel, and Crown Castle were among the companies who attended the very first OEC workshop in the summer of 2015. Our goal was to help edge computing grow, and to facilitate and encourage pre-competitive learning and open sharing of knowledge in this brand-new space. Looking back seven years later, it is gratifying to see how far we have come. We also believed that the industry needed help in two ways: understanding the edge computing business opportunity and addressing the key technical and business challenges impeding its broad adoption. Addressing those two challenges became the charter of our new initiative.
Much has changed in the intervening seven years. Today, edge computing is no longer a dream. It is real, and it is a revenue generator for many companies. It is predicted to reach a market size of $40 billion by 2027, with a compound annual growth rate of over 30%. Today, every major IT and telecommunications company has embraced edge computing.
As edge computing has entered this commercial phase, we find that many companies already understand its business value and are no longer able to freely share their insights and experiences through the OEC. As the first part of our mission completes, it is an opportune moment to “graduate” edge computing to its next stage.
The happiest word in a university is "graduation". It marks a momentous event, one that is shared with pride and joy among family and friends. It marks the successful completion of a major effort and opens the door to an exciting future. Of course, learning does not stop with graduation. It continues, but in new forms. As one phase of learning ends, a new phase begins.
And so, it is our great pleasure to graduate the Open Edge Computing Initiative. Our graduation ceremony was held on April 22, 2022. As of that date, the OEC completed its on-going operations.
At the same time, edge computing is still very young. It has a long, long way to go before it reaches the maturity and market size of cloud computing and there remain many technical challenges. Carnegie Mellon University edge computing research at the Living Edge Lab will continue unchanged. We will continue to directly interact with many of you, and to collaborate with your efforts to advance edge computing. Our open source work will continue to be released on github, and our research will continue to be published in journals and conferences. We will continue to foster collaboration between the alumni of the OEC through the Living Edge Lab.
We look forward to continuing to work with you in advancing edge
computing.
-- Satya, Rolf, and Jim
The Open Edge Computing Initiative is a collective effort by multiple companies, driving the business opportunities and technologies surrounding edge computing.
What does the Open Edge Computing Initiative deliver?
The Open Edge Computing Initiative is shaping the global eco-system around edge computing by:
- Driving the convergence of edge computing platforms and services on a global scale
- Providing attractive edge applications for live edge demonstrations
- Running a real-world edge computing test center (called the Living Edge Lab ) for user and technology trials
- Driving the adoption of Open Edge Computing with edge application providers, telecom operators, and cloud service providers
- Tackling key technical challenges of edge computing with our academic partner Carnegie Mellon University
OEC Admin
Jim Blakley
Thomas Eiszler
