Cloud and its two new Musketeers

Convergence of Edge, 5G, and Cloud holds immense innovation potential, but overcoming infrastructure, security, and adoption challenges is crucial.

The sharpness of Edge, the wide swing of the 5G and the high jump of Cloud- imagine what happens when all these advantages converge? Interestingly, we are already living in a chapter where all this has already begun. The Three Musketeers have come together. And with that stage set, we are about to see many new applications and leaps, for the average citizen, customers, and enterprises. From offerings around Multi-access Edge computing (MEC), the Internet of Things (IoT), and Industrial IoT (IIoT) that are powered with ultra-low latency-centric strengths to new applications in manufacturing, automotive, smart cities, and agriculture (driven by specific 5G+Edge play); this convergence is pointing towards a new world.

The evolving telecom value chain, influenced by cloud-native technologies, is prompting service providers to seek fresh revenue avenues through B2B models.

“The synergy between Edge and 5G opens up new revenue streams in areas like IoT, autonomous vehicles, smart city, healthcare, and industrial automation.”- Lt Gen Dr Sp Kochhar, Director General, COAI

How different would this new world be? What needs of new capex, new use cases, Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities, fresh infrastructure, and solutions would emerge to tap the real potential of this convergence? Will villains like viability, slow 5G traction, Edge footprint, geographical limitations, incumbent investments in Cloud infrastructure, and investment hesitation come in the way again?

The end of constraints

To start with, the confluence of 5G and Edge would be a big game-changer for the Telco market and what it does. Lt Gen Dr SP Kochhar, Director General, COAI stresses that Edge computing and 5G represent significant advancements in the telecommunications market. “These technologies are likely to bring both challenges and opportunities to traditional telco players. Edge computing and 5G can drastically enhance network performance and efficiency, leading to new services and applications. This could expand the market and create new revenue streams.”

He also remarks on the monetisation angle here. “This synergy between Edge and 5G opens up new revenue streams, particularly in sectors like IoT, autonomous vehicles, smart cities, healthcare (for telemedicine and remote monitoring), and industrial automation. These technologies enable the creation of new services and applications that were not feasible with slower speeds and higher latency, thus, creating opportunities for businesses to tap into new markets.”

As Dr Kochhar encapsulates, “The combination of Edge and 5G can lead to overall better network performance. By processing data closer to the source (Edge) and transmitting it quickly (5G), there’s a reduction in the strain on central servers and bandwidth usage, leading to more efficient network operations.”

“5G and Edge put extra pressure on cloud service providers to collect, process and disseminate larger volumes of data to the fast-growing user community.”- Biswajeet Mahapatra, Principal Analyst, Forrester

John Strand, CEO of Strand Consult underlines that the prerequisite for technological development is that we get access to better, faster, and cheaper Internet. “With 5G, we not only get a more advanced product but also a more cost-effective way to produce high-speed broadband. A country like India will benefit greatly from 5G-based FWA solutions as well as the fact that low-income populations can get online.”

The new 5G telco workloads for enterprise connectivity, manufacturing floor automation, inspection, reconfiguration, and IoT use cases in warehousing, agriculture, transport, etc. hold tremendous promise for boosting growth, productivity, and profitability sustainably, as reckoned by Mark Papermaster, CTO of AMD.

“5G in the enterprise sector can be attributed to the absence of concrete use cases, but initiatives like 5G IIoT and 5G Private Networks are actively progressing through pilot and ‘proof of concept’ phases,” reasons Jayanta Dey, Executive President – 5G Business, HFCL. “In the Indian telecom industry, optimism surrounds the potential of 5G FWA as a pioneering use case, providing an opportunity for an additional revenue stream. Both telecom players are making significant investments in FWA, considering the substantial untapped market with home broadband penetration at a mere 11% in India.”

“Cloud players will need to expand their hybrid and Edge offerings, partner with telcos, and build or acquire Edge and 5G services.”- Srikanth Doranadula, Group Vice President, Technology and Systems, Oracle India

The emergence of the Cloud

This confluence will etch its strong mark on the Cloud market above everything else, especially as speed, latency, and reach are major metrics for any Cloud player.

Cloud is already, or will be, the bedrock for any innovation, captures Biswajeet Mahapatra, Principal Analyst at Forrester. “Any new technologies, processes, or systems will have a direct impact on cloud providers. Both Edge and 5G will have an immense impact on the kind, size, and time of data being captured, stored, and processed securely. Further, mixing AI and IoT into this basket will have a major impact on the cloud services being consumed,” he said.

As more data is gathered and processed, more storage and computing capacity would be required from cloud services. At the same time, some of the processing of data would be pushed onto the devices due to Edge computing. This provides significant cost advantages to companies working on large data sets- yet opens up more security challenges.

“Improved data throughput from 5G facilitates seamless cloud interactions, while dynamic resource scaling ensures efficient resource utilisation.”- Pallav Agarwal, Founder and Director, HTS Solutions

Srikanth Doranadula, Group Vice President, Technology and Systems, Oracle India notes that the evolving telecom value chain, influenced by cloud-native technologies, is prompting service providers to seek fresh revenue avenues through B2B go-to-market models.

“To navigate this shift, they need a programmable network and an open platform which is crucial for supporting digital services facilitated by these models. There would be essential steps involved in planning and launching 5G standalone networks with cloud-native foundations, accessing and interpreting 5G data, and capitalising on new revenue streams. The transformation of voice communications, coupled with the integration of real-time communications and IoT management into diverse industries, demands heightened protection. The emerging challenges include competition with Satellite, fostering an open ecosystem, embracing a frictionless API economy, and leveraging the potential of AI for both revenue generation and cost savings.”

Enterprises must consider simultaneously upgrading their infrastructure while also implementing robust security measures to protect sensitive data.

Edge and 5G integration will profoundly impact the cloud market, presenting both opportunities and challenges for cloud players, states Pallav Agarwal, Founder and Director at HTS Solutions Private Limited. “The alliance promises lower latency, faster data processing, and enhanced connectivity. Cloud providers stand to benefit as demand for specialised Edge services rises, but adapting to a distributed infrastructure requires significant investment in Edge server placement and security protocols.”

Mahapatra cites how IoT and 5G will enable new business cases, especially in healthcare, automotive, communication, media, and disaster management, where telco and cloud service providers can play major roles. “Cloud services have been modelled to processes large data volumes and provide services which can be limited only by the network capabilities. 5G and Edge put that extra pressure on cloud service providers to collect, process and disseminate larger volumes of data to an exponentially growing larger user community in real-time.”

He further adds that work needs to be done to make this experience seamless and better. “Cloud players will need to expand their hybrid and Edge offerings, partner with telcos, and build or acquire Edge and 5G services. Cloud service providers will collaborate with telcos to roll out Edge services somewhat like Azure Edge zones or AWS wavelength.”

Convergence begins,

but challenges remain

Dr Kochhar aptly reminds us that implementing these technologies will require significant investment in new infrastructure and skill development. “Traditional telcos would need to adapt their networks to support 5G and integrate Edge computing capabilities, which involves both technical upgrades and potentially new business models.”

He also points out that there’s a risk of slow adoption or traction of 5G, particularly in regions with existing 4G infrastructure. “Customers and businesses might be hesitant to upgrade due to cost or lack of immediate need. Also, expanding the footprint of Edge computing requires significant investment. There’s a challenge in ensuring that the infrastructure is evenly distributed to avoid digital divides between different regions. In regions with challenging topographies or low population density, the deployment of 5G and Edge computing infrastructure can be particularly difficult and costly.”

5G cannot carry data over long distances like 4G, contends Mahapatra. “It requires infrastructure to be changed or upgraded. Fibreisation across the country has to be completed as well. A larger number of 5G towers need to be installed and 5G enabled devices need to be adopted faster.” Then there are also security and privacy issues that need to be addressed, especially the kind of data being processed on the Edge and the vulnerability of applications supporting it. Mahapatra also reasons how any India-specific successful use cases are yet to be seen.

Dr Kochhar cautions that transitioning to or integrating Edge computing solutions might require additional investment and businesses might be hesitant to make this shift. Plus, regulatory hurdles and the allocation of 5G spectrum can also impact the pace of deployment and the effectiveness of these technologies.

Agarwal also adds that while this convergence opens avenues for innovation and improved customer experience, cloud players must invest in new technologies, and infrastructure upgrades, and address security concerns to harness the full potential, making strategic adjustments to leverage the evolving landscape effectively.

There’s a strong technical path to be paved too. As Papermaster rightly dissects, purpose-built base station equipment will not cut it; customers need to use off-the-shelf servers to host base station instances along with the application and business IT infrastructure.

“Compute (or processor) performance, system design flexibility, scalability (small number of cores to large based on the workload), and energy efficiency are at the heart of this transition. These servers may need to be deployed in power and space-constrained facilities, and sometimes in extreme physical deployment environments like factory floors, mines, etc. Seamless migration of the software in the Cloud to the Edge compute or on-prem compute resources is critical.” He further adds: “Security will be paramount in these systems such as secure instantiation of containerised applications, encrypted storage, and secure IO interfaces.”

The current deployments of 5G FWA CPE are in the Sub-6 GHz band (n78 band). But as 5G adoption picks up, both for cellular and FWA, telcos will have to deal with a lack of spectrum in the Sub-6 GHz band, Dey argues. “Millimetre wave is a good complement to Sub-6 GHz band particularly in hotspots like stadiums. All the telcos in India have invested in 5G millimeter wave bands. Our portfolio of 5G FWA CPE products includes support for both Sub-6 GHz band and millimeter wave bands.”

The infrastructure for Edge computing may require the setting up of Edge data centres and computing nodes close to areas requiring low-latency processing.

Sayed Peerzade, EVP and Chief Cloud Officer, Yotta also opines that the adoption of these technologies may require significant infrastructure upgrades, demanding investments in new hardware and software. Also, as connectivity and data processing move closer to the Edge, security becomes a critical concern. Enterprises must, therefore, consider simultaneously upgrading their infrastructure while also implementing robust security measures to protect sensitive data from falling into the wrong hands.

“The infrastructure for Edge computing may require the establishment of Edge data centers and computing nodes close to areas requiring low-latency processing. Similarly, major cloud service providers must have data centers strategically located to ensure low-latency access for businesses leveraging cloud computing services,” Peerzade points out.

Dinesh Dhut, Senior Director, DC Power/OSP (SEA and India) Product Development/Engineering, Vertiv outlines that the rollout of 5G commenced in India in 2022, encompassing Tier 1, 2, and 3 cities and towns. “India has become the fastest 5G rollout in the world after 5G deployments crossed the 4-lakh mark by December 2023. The role of infrastructure providers must evolve to align with the future requirements of 5G, including enhancements in fiber optics, an increased number of towers, small cells, 5G radio technology, and the implementation of distributed antenna systems for both indoor and outdoor applications.”

All for one, and one for all—the convergence is happening. We just have to make sure there are no wrinkles as the three big pastures weld and evolve into something new. It should be an adventure. Three Swashbucklers. Not three Stooges.

 By Pratima Harigunani

pratimah@cybermedia.co.in