Edge Trends and Strategies

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Meet the Experts

Photo of Ashish Nadkarni
Ashish Nadkarni

Group Vice President and General Manager, Worldwide Infrastructure Research

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Dave McCarthy

Research Vice President, Cloud and Edge Services, Worldwide Infrastructure Research

Photo of Jennifer Cooke
Jennifer Cooke

Research Director, Cloud and Edge Services, Worldwide Infrastructure Research

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Penny Madsen

Senior Research Director, Cloud and Edge Services, Worldwide Infrastructure Research



The focus of IDC's Edge Trends and Strategies is on the technology, partners, and best practices in delivering IT service in new edge locations. This program features research that vendors can use to inform their clients and prospects — which include IT decision makers, line-of-business executives, and C-suite executives — about the various business and technology elements associated with a distributed edge. The program also features research that guides product managers and product marketers in identifying the various technology and business areas that need to be addressed as part of an edge product and service strategy.

The program covers technology topics such as IT, OT, and CT convergence; AI workloads at the edge; digital-first operations; security; core-edge and edge-endpoint connectivity; endpoint asset management; infrastructure transformation; and emerging technologies. The program also proposes strategies, models, approaches, and best practices for firms to make the most of their organization wide edge deployments.


Markets and Subjects Analyzed


Coverage will include market trends around the technology, business processes, and business models impacted as edge becomes a more integral component of a converged IT, OT, and CT strategy and IoT deployments:

Technology Topics:

  • Infrastructure modernization
  • IoT use cases
  • IT/OT/CT convergence
  • Networking/connectivity
  • Datacenter buildout
  • Containerized and prefabricated edge
  • Public cloud–based edge
  • Service delivery edge
  • Accelerated computing at the edge
  • AI/ML at the edge
  • Multi-access edge (MEC)

Business Topics:

  • Role of edge resources in digital transformation
  • Capex and opex considerations
  • Operational resilience and the role of edge
  • IT outreach to lines of business
  • Edge ecosystems and partnerships
  • Impact of public cloud on the edge

Core Research


  • Edge Infrastructure — Why, What, and How?
  • Edge Taxonomy and Market Overview
  • Cloud Service Providers' Move to the Edge
  • Market Glance: Edge Infrastructure
  • Edge Market Size and Forecast
  • Edge Workloads

In addition to the insight provided in this service, IDC may conduct research on specific topics or emerging market segments via research offerings that require additional IDC funding and client investment.


Key Questions Answered


  1. What is IDC's view of the edge market and maturing ecosystems?
  2. What should buyers consider when choosing edge partners and technology?
  3. How can an organization leverage edge IT service to accelerate growth and deliver new customer experiences?
  4. What role will service providers play in shaping edge innovation?