New Research: Evaluating Edge Colocation

In a new Key Criteria Report, GigaOm Analyst Ned Bellavance outlines the features and capabilities that define the best edge colocation solutions on the market.

The report outlines the ‘table stakes’, or the features organizations should expect without exception in any solution. These include basic connectivity between layers, physical security measures, remote support, and regional redundancy.

The report defines the “Key Criteria” that currently differentiate vendors within the market, describing features that can give an organization a strategic advantage if they were to leverage them. These features include:

• Dense regional coverage
• Rapid rollout capabilities
• Automated issue resolution

Ned also highlights solutions that give flexible payment and service options as this can allow new and expanding businesses to react quickly to changing circumstances and customer demands.

Also outlined in the report are exciting new features that will become key criteria in the next year or so. These include 5G technology, which will reduce latency from hundreds of milliseconds to hundreds of microseconds for some applications, and advances in services to meet demand for remote work in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ned also describes the evaluation criteria he recommends to judge a vendor’s solution against an organization’s needs. He highlights in particular how a partner ecosystem is vital for edge colocation services, as it helps to create an “end-to-end solution that is validated and pre-configured”.

The report concludes that this exciting area of communication technology is going through rapid change, and is still five to 10 years away from full maturity. Ned advises using hosted services first on specific projects with clearly defined aims where edge colocation solutions are best able to assist.

About Ned Bellavance

Ned is an experienced IT practitioner with experience in the field. Ned has worked with Fortune 500 companies and SMBs across multiple verticals, developing and deploying both on-premises and cloud-based architectures. Ned has authored two books on the Azure Kubernetes Service and HashiCorp Terraform and holds several industry certifications from vendors including but not limited to Microsoft, VMware, AWS and Citrix.

from Gigaom https://gigaom.com/2020/06/29/new-research-evaluating-edge-colocation/