Jump-start Your Edge Computing Journey

Jump-start Your Edge Computing Journey with

Intel’s Converged Edge Media ​​Platform 

Media and entertainment leads edge computing growth opportunity 

The remarkable growth and influence of cloud computing have defined digital innovation over the past two decades. The cloud changed the game for businesses, making operations more flexible, scalable, and affordable. Now, the next two decades are gearing up for something even more exciting: the rise of edge computing! 

 Forecasts for the edge computing market indicate massive expansion, with the addressable revenue growing at an almost 50 percent compounded annual growth rate to reach $462 billion by 2030.1 

 You might ask, what’s propelling this surge in demand for edge computing? Primarily, media use cases that are latency-sensitive and bandwidth-intensive are driving the surge. These include, but not limited to, edge content delivery networks (CDNs), cloud gaming, live interactive streaming, software defined broadcasting (SDB), live and offline video production, digital twins, edge application delivery networks (ADNs), augmented/virtual/extended reality (AR/VR/XR), smart cities, and video analytics. Later this decade, that list will include the metaverse too. 

 With so many use cases, it’s no surprise that media and entertainment is a leading segment of the edge computing market. One forecast estimates that media and entertainment will be the largest vertical by revenue and, combined with transportation and manufacturing, will account for 84 percent of the edge market by 2030.2 

 The tremendous expansion of edge computing overall and media and entertainment specifically presents a significant opportunity for communications service providers (CoSPs). The unparalleled reach of their network edge assets and visibility into network traffic give CoSPs a huge competitive advantage to ride the surging wave of edge computing. 

 However, deploying at the network edge is not without challenges. Though cloud-native infrastructure offers flexibility, scalability, and affordability, the inherently distributed nature of the edge, coupled with space and power constraints, poses difficulties. Additionally, predicting which services will gain traction in the near term is highly challenging, and investing in technology dead ends is a risk no one can afford. Moreover, it is cost-prohibitive to deploy siloed platforms for each individual service at the edge, further complicating the landscape.  

 So, how can CoSPs seize the edge computing opportunity amid these challenges? 

Enhancing Intel’s Converged Edge Media Platform

Intel’s Converged Edge Media Platform Reference Architecture is a media-specific instantiation of Intel’s Edge Platform. It provides container-based, cloud-native foundational capabilities for service providers to deploy multiple media services quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively to capitalize on the fast-growing edge computing opportunity. The platform is built on Kubernetes (K8s) plus plugins that leverage Intel hardware goodness. It’s optimized for the network edge, tailored to media workloads, and can host multiple services. The platform runs on 4th Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors, Intel® Data Center GPU Flex Series, and Intel® Ethernet controllers.  

 At the core of the platform are new and existing K8s plugins for discovering and orchestrating CPU and GPU resources to scale workloads up and down based on demand. We’ve assembled these building blocks in a cohesive reference architecture that provides our customers and the broad Intel ecosystem a platform to quickly build commercial services. 

 Intel teased the concept of Converged Edge Media Platform at MWC 2023. Now we are advancing from concept to reality with the announcement of partner implementations of the platform. 

 At MWC Barcelona 2024, we are showcasing AI-based super-resolution, Android cloud gaming, CDNs, live streaming with just-in-time transcoding, and video-on-demand use cases, all sharing the same underlying platform with workloads scaling up and down based on demand. 

 While you’re at the Intel booth, I recommend also checking out two additional demos, showcasing Intel’s Edge Platform and a software-defined broadcast solution that will transform live production and distribution of major sporting events to come. 

 Join us and Broadpeak, China Unicom, Cloudsky, Lanner, and Red Hat at MWC 2024 to see Intel’s Converged Edge Media Platform in action. The stage is set for a new era, and you won’t want to miss the show! 

Learn more about Intel’s Converged Edge Media Platform. 

1. “Edge computing market sizing forecast: Third release.” STL Partners, December 2023. 

1. “Key edge computing statistics.” STL Partners, 2023. 

Intel does not control or audit third-party data. You should consult other sources to evaluate accuracy. 

Your costs and results may vary. 

Intel technologies may require enabled hardware, software, or service activation. 

© Intel Corporation. Intel, the Intel logo, and other Intel marks are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.