The 25 Hottest IoT And 5G Edge Services Companies: 2020 Edge Computing 100
Here are the top 25 companies specializing in 5G, IoT and edge services as wireless carriers race to build out their next-generation networks.
The latest iteration of cellular connectivity, 5G, has been long-hyped but is finally starting to see some traction as wireless carriers race to build out their next-generation networks. And that‘s music to the ears of the technology providers in the edge computing space.
5G promises blazing-fast internet speeds and less latency. Edge computing, meanwhile, brings compute, storage, and data analysis closer to the location where it is needed. It goes without saying that IoT has been waiting for a technology like 5G, which will not only offer high-speeds that these applications need, but also the ability to connect many devices and endpoints to the internet without bogging the connection down.
5G, together with edge computing, will power and strengthen brand-new use cases, including IoT, that are popping up in new places on the network.
While not quite mainstream yet, 2021 is set to be a turning point year for the emerging wireless standard. And 5G will be critical to the IT giants and startups alike that are coming to the market armed with solutions that will tie together 5G and edge computing and applications.
Here are the providers that are specializing in 5G, IoT and edge services.
Aarna Networks
San Francisco
Top Executive: Amar Kapadia, CEO
Three-year-old upstart Aarna Networks specializes in 5G and edge computing application automation software. The company brings to the table an open-source, vendor-agnostic offering for enterprises in the form of its Multi Cluster Orchestration Platform for orchestration, life-cycle management, and policy-driven control loop automation of 5G services and edge applications.
Apple
Cupertino, Calif.
Top Executive: Tim Cook, CEO
With the launch of the first 5G iPhones, Apple is indirectly playing a massive role in fueling the edge market by accelerating the spread of 5G coverage. But Apple is getting directly involved with edge computing, too, with the tech giant acquiring an up-and-coming edge AI startup earlier this year. The startup, Xnor.ai, brings to Apple its technology for enabling on-device AI at the edge, though a commercial use in Apple products has yet to materialize.
AT&T
Dallas
Top Executive: John Stankey, CEO
Telecom giant A&T’s Multi-Access Edge Computing offering ties together cellular network architecture for real-time high-bandwidth, low-latency access to latency-dependent mobile applications. The company is helping businesses harness LTE, and soon, 5G at the network edge.
Axcient
Denver
Top Executive: David Bennett, CEO
Data protection and management vendor Axcient offers multiple ways to provide simple, secure protection of data sitting on the edge. The company’s new x360Recover Direct-to-Cloud software-based business continuity and disaster recovery offering uses chain-free backup technology to send data direct from the edge to a secure cloud for instant recovery when needed.
Celona
Cupertino, Calif.
Top Executive: Rajeev Shah, Co-Founder, CEO
Startup Celona burst onto the scene in 2020 with a platform that allows enterprises to create 5G/4G LTE private networks, filling a major gap in the connectivity market. The company has a packed bench—its founding members have plenty of experience in cloud software, Wi-Fi and cellular markets.
Comcast
Philadelphia
Top Executive: Brian Roberts, Chairman, CEO
Service provider powerhouse Comcast is coming to market with edge offerings that play into its core competency: telecom and voice. The company is touting Comcast Business VoiceEdge, a cloud-based PBX, mobility and collaboration offering that works wherever users are and scales to meet the needs of any business.
Commscope
Hickory, N.C.
Top Executive: Charles Treadway, President, CEO
Network infrastructure provider CommScope—along with its recently acquired Ruckus portfolio—has played a vital role in connecting enterprises all over the world. Today, it is injecting intelligence into its network management lineup and delivering Network-as-a-Service offerings to address edge computing use cases.
Coredial
Blue Bell, Pa.
Top Executive: Alan Rihm, Founder, CEO
Cloud communications provider CoreDial is well-known for its proven UC and contact center offerings, but the company wants to ensure application performance anywhere on the network, hence its cloud-based SD-WAN offering for highly optimized voice and data traffic—a perfect fit for companies with remote workers or multiple locations.
Cradlepoint, Part of Ericsson
Boise, Idaho
Top Executive: George Mulhern, Chairman, CEO
Cradlepoint, which was acquired by Ericsson in November for $1.1 billion, is bringing its wireless edge networking chops to the telecom equipment giant. Cradlepoint has been focused on unlocking the power of LTE and next-generation cellular technologies, such as 5G, for business customers through its robust channel ecosystem.
EdgeMicro
Denver
Top Executive: Mike Hagan, Co-Founder, CEO
Rapidly growing edge startup EdgeMicro entered the market at the perfect time and, since then, has specialized in providing edge colocation data centers tied to its proprietary Edge Traffic Exchange technology. The technology facilitates local IP access between cellular radios, cached data and compute services directly at the towers.
EdgeQ
Santa Clara, Calif.
Top Executive: Vinay Ravuri, Founder, CEO
EdgeQ, a self-proclaimed 5G systems-on-a-chip company with 90 employees, emerged from stealth mode in November with plans to bring AI to the edge of the network with 5G. The company will target manufacturing, construction, energy, automotive, warehousing and surveillance verticals with its platform.
For2Fi
Fall River, Mass.
Top Executive: Andrew Gregoire, Co-Founder, CEO
For2Fi got its start in 2020 when former MSP owner Gregoire noticed a hole in the market when it came to business LTE offerings. The startup today is bringing wireless LTE to business customers exclusively via the channel, especially targeting hard-to-reach businesses and those that need connectivity immediately.
Geoverse, a subsidiary of ATN International
Beverly, Mass.
Top Executive: Roderick Nelson, Co-Founder, CEO
Next-generation connectivity startup Geoverse, owned by Atlantic Tele-Network, has been designing, deploying and operating private LTE core and edge networks for business customers since 2017. The company’s private 5G/LTE wireless network offering lets users and devices roam across public carrier networks seamlessly and securely.
Infiot
Menlo Park, Calif.
Top Executive: Parag Thakore, Co-Founder, CEO
Edge Networking startup Infiot burst onto the scene in 2018 with a new approach to edge networking and connectivity at a time when demand for IoT applications and remote working is at an all-time high. Backed by $15 million in Series A funding, Infiot plans on making the channel its primary route to market.
Intermedia
Sunnyvale, Calif.
Top Executive: Michael Gold, CEO
Cloud communications powerhouse Intermedia has evolved its business to empower SMBs with cloud-based voice and collaboration offerings, among other business cloud services for geographically distributed employees. Intermedia is now tapping into network analytics with a platform that lets businesses monitor their voice application performance.
Lumen Technologies
Monroe, La.
Top Executive: Jeff Storey, President, CEO
Lumen, formerly CenturyLink, has long considered itself a networking specialist rather than a telecom. It aims to deliver the fastest, most secure platform for next-generation applications with the help of its partners to power the fourth industrial revolution, which Lumen said will center on data at the edge.
Masergy
Plano, Texas
Top Executive: Chris MacFarland, Chairman, CEO
Hybrid networking and communications specialist Masergy has been heads-down-focused on software-defined networking and SD-WAN. Masergy believes that digital transformation is reinforcing the need for edge networking offerings, such as SASE, and the company is coming to market with these offerings in one cloud-based strategy for customers.
NetScout
Westford, Mass.
Top Executive: Anil Singhal, CEO and co-founder
NetScout has specialized in application and network performance management for more than three decades. Today, the company is providing security at the network edge as the first and last line of defense for its robust base of enterprises, government entities and telecom customers.
Nextiva
Scottsdale, Ariz.
Top Executive: Tomas Gorny, Co-Founder, CEO
UCaaS specialist Nextiva differentiates itself through NextOS, its platform for delivering fully integrated communication applications and business software together with AI and workflow automations. Nextiva‘s platform can capture and analyze data from anywhere on the network to ensure application performance for end users.
Qualcomm
San Diego
Top Executive: Steve Mollenkopf, CEO
Semiconductor powerhouse Qualcomm is leveraging its expertise in mobility to give its IoT business an edge over the competition. Specifically, the company has been working to develop breakthrough technologies that transform how businesses connect, compute and communicate across their entire network.
Samsung Electronics North America
San Jose, Calif.
Top Executive: Young Hoon Eom, President, CEO
Along with helping to get 5G off the ground as an early producer of 5G-capable devices, Samsung has undertaken a number of other initiatives related to edge computing. Those include collaborating with Microsoft to advance 5G virtualization—including by leveraging Samsung’s multi-access edge computing technologies—in order to support enterprise deployments of private 5G networks.
Sierra Wireless
Richmond, British Columbia
Top Executive: Kent Thexton, President, CEO
Sierra Wireless, a multinational wireless communications equipment designer and manufacturer, serves SMBs with its routers and gateways, as well as services, including its edge to cloud offering. The company today is focusing heavily on IoT software and managed services thanks to its purchase of M2M Group, a series of companies focused on IoT connectivity.
T-Mobile
Bellevue, Wash.
Top Executive: Michael Sievert, President, CEO
T-Mobile, now the third-largest wireless provider in the U.S. having absorbed Sprint, has been singularly focused on next-generation connectivity needs. The carrier giant this year, along with a handful of founding partners, launched an inaugural program for startups focused on emerging applications for edge computing.
Verizon
New York
Top Executive: Hans Vestberg, CEO
Telecom behemoth Verizon has been going big in the edge computing space with a little help from a few strategic technology partners, including Amazon Web Services. The carrier offers multi-access edge computing, a network architecture concept that enables cloud computing capabilities and an IT service environment at the edge of any network.
Windstream
Little Rock, Ark.
Top Executive: Tony Thomas, President, CEO
Telecom service giant Windstream is focused on strategic networking services aimed at addressing the needs of specific industries such as retail, health care, entertainment and financial services. The provider‘s IoT expertise in connectivity is helping to power emerging edge use cases and IoT.