29.9.2023
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
C 344/95
KPI definition: Edge nodes, measured as the number of compute nodes providing latencies below 20 milliseconds; such as an individual server or other set of connected computing resources, operated as part of an edge computing infrastructure, typically residing within an edge data centre operating at the infrastructure edge, and therefore physically closer to its intended users than a cloud node in a centralised data centre.
Source: Edge Observatory (19).
No available data point.
Baseline value (latest available historical data point): 0 in 2022.
C o n t ex t , a s s u m pt i o n s , m o d e l f u n c t i o n a l fo r m a n d l a t es t t r e n d s
Edge computing enables the supply of data processing services from decentralised compute nodes and infrastructures at the network’s edge, minimising the transmission of unnecessary data over the network and improving cloud computing’s overall performance.
The deployment of edge nodes supports the development of low-latency data processing services.
When combined with a variety of technologies such as 5G deployment, algorithms, sensors and the Internet of Things, data, AI, machine learning, virtual reality and robotics, the deployment of edge nodes has the potential to produce significant benefits to businesses impacts as well as support the advancement of the digital transformation of multiple sectors of the economy.
The deployment of highly secure and climate-neutral edge nodes is estimated to evolve into a standardised S-curve of technology and innovation adoption.
The baseline for 2022 is accounted as ‘0’.
The methodology needed to quantify the deployment of edge nodes and their localisation is still being developed.
Current business analysis information is sparse and focuses only on anticipated spending on edge computing infrastructure, software and services (UNLOCK-CEI project, 2023 (20)), which does not allow for a direct assimilation into existing edge node deployment.
Accordingly, information from the European Telecommu­ nications Network Operators’ Association describes three commercial edge computing services across Europe (21) but does not provide enough information to determine the location or size of edge deployment.
The limited number of available data sources all agree that edge computing continues to be in its infancy in Europe in 2023, with the majority of interested organisations still in the awareness-raising and educational stages, along with some organisations implementing small-scale pilot projects (UNLOCK-CEI project, 2023).
This drives the anticipated relatively small uptake of edge node deployment in the years to come, between 2023 and 2026.
During the 2025-2027 period, the investments under the IPCEI-CIS (Important Project of Common European Interest on Next Generation Cloud Infrastructure and Services) are expected to make edge computing technologies and solutions commercially available to the market.
This will boost adoption across Europe, enabling the exponential expansion of edge node deployment to meet the target by 2030.
In this context, Figure 9 provides a preliminary indication of the path towards the achievement of the Digital Decade target, whilst no baseline trajectory can be yet established.
(19) https://digital-strategy.
ec.europa.eu/en/policies/edge-observatory (20) UNLOCK-CEI, Cloud-Edge-IoT Demand Landscape (April 2023).
(21) European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association, The State of Digital Communications 2023, February 2023.