Verizon has launched an on-premises, private Edge compute solution in partnership with Microsoft Azure.
Verizon 5G Edge with Microsoft Azure Stack Edge is a cloud computing platform that brings compute and storage services to the edge of the network at the customer premises. The companies first announced the collaboration last year, and the service is now generally available.
“Our partnership with Microsoft brings 5G Edge to enterprises, dropping latency at the Edge, helping critical, performance-impacting applications respond more quickly and efficiently,” said Sampath Sowmyanarayan, chief revenue officer of Verizon Business. “5G is ushering in next-generation business applications, from core connectivity to real-time Edge compute and new applications and solutions that take advantage of AI transforming nearly every industry.”
The companies say the 5G-enabled service provides low latency and high bandwidth connectivity that can enable applications involving computer vision, augmented and virtual reality, and machine learning.
“Business innovation demands powerful technology solutions and central to this is the intersection between the network and Edge,” said Yousef Khalidi, corporate vice president Azure for Operators at Microsoft. “Through our partnership with Verizon, we are providing customers with powerful compute and storage service capabilities at the edge of customers’ networks, enabling robust application experiences with increased security.”
Verizon said logistics and supply chain solutions company Ice Mobility was a customer, using the solution to help with computer vision-assisted product packing to improve on-site quality assurance. The company is now reportedly exploring “additional 5G applications” that leverage computer vision.
Verizon has also partnered with Amazon. AWS Wavelength Zones – which provide connections from the communications service providers’ 5G networks and provides access to cloud services running in a nearby AWS Region – are available at a number of Verizon facilities across the US.
