Tier 1 CSPs in driver's seat of edge compute – report

Report notes that CSPs' goal is to capture a true percentage of digital revenue. The digital economy now exceeds $1.2 trillion in revenue and is driving a core and edge data center roadmap that is paired with a massively scaled connectivity roadmap. According to a new report from Light Reading sister company Omdia, high-capacity Ethernet and wave services are facilitating massive data center interconnect. Ian Redpath, practice leader, service provider networks, at Omdia, also said that tier 1 communications service providers (CSPs) are in the driver's seat of edge-compute market development, noting that they have key starting-point assets. "They should lead on application service and business model development, leveraging strengths and unique capabilities such as end-to-end SLA management. "The CSPs' goal is to capture a true percentage of digital revenue," Redpath said in the report, "2021 Trends to Watch: High-Capacity Ethernet, Wave, and DCI Services." The report also said COVID-19 has accelerated and cemented the value of cloud-based services. It pointed out that the rise in the use of collaboration tools for at-home working could only be accomplished with the "burstability" of a cloud platform. "The pandemic led to heightened focus on site diversity and supporting a more distributed workforce," the report added. Race to the cloud Omdia also found that the high-capacity Ethernet, wave service and DCI services market continues to grow. "More low latency, high-bandwidth, nimble connectivity is required. The largest customers want advanced automated network visibility and control," the report said. In terms of the impact of COVID-19 on the take-up of cloud-based services, Omdia noted that the pandemic created more urgency for digital transformation services. "Collaboration tools went from being toys to being mission critical," it said, also noting that "cloud-transitioned" enterprises were the least disrupted by the pandemic. "The pandemic made it apparent that a strong, hybrid multicloud strategy is inherently less risky, providing site diversity and the ability to scale regardless of local lockdowns," the report concluded. Related posts: — Anne Morris, contributing editor, special to Light Reading