GCP – Bringing partner applications to the edge with Google Cloud

While organizations around the world are increasingly running core business functions in the cloud, there are still many opportunities to help businesses leverage cloud capabilities at the edge of their networks, tapping into high-speed 5G connectivity.

To help organizations do so, we announced our telecommunications strategy in early 2020, including a collaboration with AT&T to deliver Google Cloud capabilities at the edge using AT&T network connectivity, and Anthos for Telecom, bringing the Anthos application platform to the network edge.

Today, we’re excited to take another step forward. We’re teaming up with popular industry application providers to deliver more than 200 partner applications at the edge, from 30-plus launch partners, on Google Cloud (for a complete list, be sure to scroll down to the end of this post).

Bringing applications to the edge with 5G

Here’s why this is important: Organizations with edge presences—like retailers operating brick-and-mortar stores, transportation companies managing fleets of vehicles, or manufacturers relying on IoT-enabled equipment on shop floors—have an opportunity to modernize processes and deliver new experiences with cloud capabilities at the edge.

By partnering with these Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), we’re enabling the rapid delivery and deployment of new vertical services and applications, leveraging Google Cloud core components, including Anthos, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML), as well as Google’s global edge network and our telecom partners’ networks.

Companies across industries still often rely on robust on-premises systems or even small on-site servers to tackle core computing tasks. But with new 5G capabilities delivered at the edge, retailers can, for example, build enriched in-store visual experiences streaming directly from the network. Or manufacturers can run advanced AI-based visual inspections directly from 5G-enabled devices—all without the need for local processing power—helping reduce cost, and the need for on-site space.

Leveraging existing global networks from Google and our communication service provider (CSP) partners, businesses can optimise latency, lower processing costs by processing data and compute cycles at the edge, reduce costs and processes associated with data storage, and eliminate the need to transport data from the edge to a central location for real-time computation. Furthermore, through our partnerships with leading CSPs, customers can leverage high-speed 5G connectivity, enabling a variety of deployments: within a private enterprise network, within the Google network or within the CSP’s network, so customers have a high degree of control over their data.

Anthos provides a consistent platform for all application deployments, both legacy as well as cloud-native. Customers can leverage a programmatic, outcome-focused approach to managing policies for apps across environments, and enable greater awareness and control with a unified view of services’ health and performance.

Partners with applications spanning multiple industries are joining our ecosystem today, making their products deployable at the edge with Google Cloud. We’re excited to work with this group of partners, and to grow our ecosystem with additional partnerships, more solutions, and new verticals. Partners joining our ecosystem today come from a variety of verticals, including:

Industrial IoT and Manufacturing

To support manufacturers, we’re working with partners who enable innovative use cases for manufacturers, such as deterministic, cloud-based controls for warehouse robotics, or serving AR/VR content to factory technicians for machine diagnostics, or even enabling remote diagnostics for offsite teams.

• Ayla Networks will deliver its enterprise-scale device virtualization and management platform for Enterprise IoT and manufacturing on Google Cloud.

• Dematic will bring its solutions for supply chain execution, warehouse automation and robotics applications to Google Cloud, combined with latest AI/ML advancements, to provide an industry leading data and digital platform for optimizing warehouse resources, inventory management, and enterprise supply chain operations.

• Dianomic will deliver FogLAMP, its open source industrial IoT platform, on Google Cloud to help customers build edge applications that connect, buffer, and process machine data, and execute edge-based machine learning.

• Litmus will deliver its powerful Edge Platform integrated with Google Cloud, enabling customers to collect and structure industrial data into a ready-to-use format for use in Google Cloud.

• Nex Computers Inc. will deliver its capabilities in IoT automation for manufacturing on Google Cloud.

• Siemens Advanta will make its W3C Web of Things middleware (sayWOT) available on Google Cloud, helping make cloud-agnostic IoT application development a reality.

• Techolution will make its Edge Asset Management Platform available on Google Cloud, helping customers connect and manage critical assets rapidly and cost effectively, while empowering intelligent decision making at the edge.

Media and Entertainment

Many organizations in the media and entertainment industries depend on applications to enable new experiences for consumers at the edge—for instance, deploying next-generation, live video experiences for concertgoers or sports fans. 

• Broadpeak will bring its Advanced Content Delivery Network to Google Cloud, enabling localized OTT video delivery in close proximity to customers, improving video experiences by enabling low-latency, 4K, and multi-stream delivery, and paving the way to new, immersive experiences like augmented and virtual reality.

• Firstlight Media’s Gen V media platform features an AI/ML-powered CMS, which enables the launch of OTT services in a matter of weeks.  Low-latency playback, dynamic packaging, real-time interactions, and a hyper-personalized immersive experience for sports and entertainment viewers all are delivered via services deployed at the edge on Google Cloud. 

• Harmonic will deliver its CableOS Platform for delivering faster, greener, next-gen broadband services, and it’s fully-managed VOS Platform for the delivery of live and on-demand video streaming services, on Google Cloud.

• Motojeannie’s delivery of live, next-generation rich-media streaming and immersive experiences using Google Cloud will help organizations raise the level of digital experiences for traditional sports, e-sports leagues, and entertainment houses worldwide.

• MediaKind will deploy its media streaming, broadcast and video contribution solutions on Google Cloud to deliver highly personalized, next-gen content at scale.

• Multicasting.io will deploy its platform on Google Cloud to enable the creation and deployment of real-time multi-angle video streaming applications for live events.

• Synamedia will bring its solutions supporting content providers and broadcasters in their transitions from satellite-based broadcasts to next-gen IP delivery to Google Cloud, helping customers handle more programming with less bandwidth while maintaining superior quality.

Retail

The retail industry is undergoing a rapid digital transformation, much of it enabled by applications delivered at the edge, enabling new customer experiences such as cashierless checkout, or improving backend processes like inventory management or stocking.

• Qwinix will bring its 5G-ready Edge AI solutions for the retail market to Google Cloud, including solutions for stock management, loss prevention, foot-traffic monitoring, and autonomous shopping.

• Trax will deliver its Retail Watch in-store monitoring and intelligence solution at the edge on Google Cloud. This will provide real-time, accurate and actionable shelf conditions measurement to help grocery retailers increase on-shelf availability, improve store execution standards and drive positive shopper experiences at scale.

• Trigo will deliver its services for retailers on Google Cloud, enabling a frictionless shopping experience with AI and computer vision and helping retailers automate in-store processes and deliver positive customer experiences.

• Zebra Technologies will make its intelligent edge solutions for retailers deployable on Google Cloud, helping customers make business-critical decisions based on the real-time information they need to manage their workforce, inventories and supply chains.

Horizontal Solutions Providers

These partners provide solutions that support and enable use cases across multiple verticals by delivering key services in areas including security, device validation and verification, virtual network services, and more.

• Apptium will provide its Cloud Commerce Platform on Google Cloud that will enable the monetization of Telco Network slices on the Edge. 

• Cellwize will make its AI-driven RAN automation open platform, CHIME, available on Google Cloud, accelerating and simplifying 5G rollout while fostering innovation via self-development of network apps.

• DigitalRoute will provide its cloud-native Usage Data Platform on Google Cloud to collect usage information from edge services and network elements and prepare it for billing, partner settlement or any other form of monetization.

• Equinix, a digital infrastructure company, will provide virtual network services optimized for low-latency, and on-demand interconnection to Google Cloud at the edge with Equinix Metal and Equinix Fabric.

• Expeto will bring its security, governance, and device management capabilities to Google Cloud, helping customers manage public or private 3G, 4G, LTE, 5G, or CBRS networks, activate and configure mobile device SIMs from a single management pane, secure devices behind a firewall, and containerize core network functions to deliver low-latency IoT at the enterprise edge.

• Guavus, a Thales company, will deploy its AI/ML-based analytics capabilities on Google Cloud to provide telecom operators with real-time actionable subscriber insights to lower costs and improve customer experience.

• Headspin will provide proactive monitoring of user experiences for 5G applications during the development cycle and post-go-live, helping customers quickly address app performance or user experience issues.

• Infovista will provide its cloud-native network planning services that enables customers to scale out and automate many critical functions needed to roll out 5G and private mobile networks.

• Magic Leap will enrich its co-presence, collaboration and communication platform with 3D remote rendering at the edge, and enable the deployment of its AR Cloud solution through enterprises by leveraging Google Cloud’s Anthos platform, network and ecosystem.

• MobiledgeX offers a global edge cloud system across mobile operators to transform, manage, and monetize edge network infrastructure. MobiledgeX works with Google Cloud to simplify deployment, management, and analytics for developers and enterprises that rely on trusted in-network services such as location, latency, privacy compliance, and data residency.

• Palo Alto Networks will extend its 5G-Native Security solutions to Google Cloud, enabling zero trust security across 5G networks, network slices, 5G Edge applications, and Cellular IoT, and offering context-driven, real-time security at scale with the most granular 5G security controls.

• RIFT will deploy its automation and orchestration suite on Google Cloud, where it can be used to automate the design, deployment, and operation of multi-vendor 5G slices and other virtualized network services.

• Robin.io will offer its telco/5G Ready Cloud Native Storage (Robin CNS) that includes application aware storage and data management services for all stateful workloads. Robin also offers bare metal-to-service orchestration and automation platform for 5G and Edge applications running on cloud-native infrastructures including Anthos.

• Thales is expanding its collaboration with Google Cloud to extend the cloud shared responsibility model to the edge cloud, providing customers with the ability to have full control of securing their sensitive data and helping address compliance requirements. Thales will also deploy its eSIM (embedded SIM) management solution for mobile connectivity, enabling highly secure, scalable activation of compatible devices.

To learn more about running ISV applications at the edge with Google Cloud, please reach out to your Google Cloud partner or representative.