Multi-access Edge Computing Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Solution (Hardware, Software, Services), By End-use, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2021 - 2028

Report Overview

The global multi-access edge computing market size was valued at USD 1.56 billion in 2020 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) exceeding 42% from 2021 to 2028. The growing adoption of IoT devices across several industries is expected to drive market growth. The need for faster decision-making in industries such as IT and telecom, manufacturing, transportation and logistics, and datacenters, owing to the generation of the vast amount of data, is encouraging the adoption of multi-access edge computing (MEC) technology. Furthermore, the adoption of MEC offers a safer environment for data transfer and reduces latency, which is further promoting the wide-scale adoption of the technology in enterprises.

In addition to the high throughput and low latency offered by MEC applications running on 5G networks, the 5G service delivery model offers several new B2B services by leveraging edge clouds. High-level end-to-end performance via network slicing, security, session, and service continuity modes for ultra-low-latency and seamless connectivity, and reliability are the main features of 5G enabled multi-access edge computing, that is driving the market forward. The ability to crunch large volumes to sophisticated telemetry data at the edge of the network facilitates new business model upgrades and hence allows service providers to enhance competitive rivalry. Furthermore, the integration of 5G with MEC architecture could enhance the first response and is expected to help public sector organizations with connectivity and technology solutions.

The need to optimize the Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) experience by extending bandwidth to enhance 5G capabilities is driving the MEC market growth. Furthermore, the need to deliver high-quality Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Mixed Reality (MR) experiences via wireless medium has enabled the integration of MEC and 5G. Such integration is expected to offer attractive growth prospects over the next few years. Combining MEC infrastructure with VR/AR has led to major improvements in the broadcasting of sports and entertainment, thus enhancing users’ viewing experience. For instance, sports enthusiasts can now enjoy real-time, high-quality footage of live matches from different angles, all of which are facilitated by using multi-access edge computing techniques.

Furthermore, multi-access edge computing has gained utmost importance in the mining and energy and utility industries. Offshore mining facilities traditionally used satellite communications as their primary communications medium along with cloud computing and hybrid storage methodologies for data transfer and processing, which resulted in the loss of time and resources. Such loss of resources has led the end-use industries to engage in efficient communications and storage mediums to analyze large quantities of data usually generated at remote locations. The adoption of MEC techniques offers the opportunity to control devices and sensors from a distance. Rapid automation of processes using several sensors and robots, due to the advent of Industry 4.0, and the ability to control mining processes at distant locations further emphasizes the need to use the multi-access edge technology at scale.

The fusion of Big Data analytics and edge computing offers attractive growth prospects to the market. The rising adoption of multi-access edge computing amongst service providers is providing an impetus to the market growth, owing to increasing demand from manufacturing, financial services, agriculture, energy sectors to develop financial instruments, business decision tools, and competitive intelligence. Big Data analytics is being continuously used to develop a compression-based data reduction to reduce the overall volume for easier handling of in-network data movement in data centers and clusters. Moreover, impressive use-cases such as MEC integration with unmanned aerial vehicle base stations (UAV-BSs) enable the stabilization of delay in edge nodes to ensure efficient data analysis and energy-saving capabilities.

Solution Insights

The presence of several IoT devices in a multi-access edge computing-based ecosystem facilitates the need to have dedicated software that works and functions according to the available MEC architecture. The growing need to use the software as per the given ecosystem to exercise multi-level load-balancing, distributed processing, and content synchronization is promoting the growth of the software segment. Additionally, solution providers such as Verizon have started offering software developer kits for their customers, thus allowing in-house teams to develop programs that are in line with the company’s needs and requirements. Furthermore, these companies also provide predesigned software compatible with the existing MEC architecture of companies and ensure optimum processing capability, thereby stimulating market growth.

The hardware segment captured more than 33% revenue share in 2020. The rapid increase in the number of connected devices and accompanying need to engage in real-time decision-making is paving the way for the adoption of enhanced data centers and servers. Companies have started offering advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture (TCA) hardware platforms for enterprises and individuals. These platforms are cost-efficient, compact, and can be customized according to the user’s requirements to maintain availability, serviceability, and reliability. For instance, Lanner Electronics has recently rolled out a new hybrid TCA platform that is extremely efficient at access networks and is expected to offer new revenue channels for the company.

The emergence of hybrid computing architecture platforms is expected to enable companies to engage in faster data analysis, thus facilitating wide-scale data analysis practices. This trend is expected to become mainstream over the forecast period, thereby positively impacting the growth of the multi-access edge computing market.

End-use Insights

The IT and telecom segment captured the largest revenue share of more than 30% in 2020. The commercial rollout of the 5G delivery system offers users to experience ultra-low latency and very high bandwidth for efficient transfer and analysis of data resolution, which is expected to further promote companies to leverage MEC practices. Additionally, IT hardware and software companies are coming up with new low-power products for IoT systems and networks, which are expected to boost sales and generate new revenue channels. For instance, AT&T Inc. has started providing MEC-based products, services, and solutions to its clients, according to their needs and requirements.

The datacenters segment captured significant revenue share in 2020, owing to a higher degree of flexibility in data center deployment, offered by the multi-access edge computing architecture. Furthermore, changing trends in data center deployment are promoting networks and operators to leverage an agile approach to develop environments and infrastructures based on a distributed architecture. MEC-based micro data centers are expected to facilitate a paradigm shift in deployment methods of data centers. The ability to deploy data centers that are clustered with several small and medium devices such as mobile phones, wearables, IoT devices, and gateways is expected to encourage market growth.

Furthermore, smart cities and smart building applications offer a multitude of opportunities for multi-access edge computing, especially in video analytics, image recognition, and facility management end uses. While the sectors such as healthcare and retail are still in their infancy stage regarding the use of MEC, they are expected to exhibit an increasing number of Proofs of Concept (PoC) and trial deployments in the coming years.

Regional Insights

North America emerged as the market leader with more than 40% revenue share in 2020. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the U.S. has implemented strategic initiatives, such as the 5G FAST PLAN, which is envisioned to accelerate 5G deployment in the country. The acceleration of 5G deployment is expected to increase the demand for multi-access edge computing solutions over the next few years. Furthermore, the increasing data center installations have enabled solution providers to integrate edge computing and 5G, thereby boosting the regional market growth. Increasing data center deployments have given rise to partnerships and collaborations between several companies to enhance edge computing capabilities in their product and solution portfolio. Communication infrastructure provider Vertical Bridge Holdings LLC partnered with DataBank Ltd. to develop micro data centers with edge computing capability.

Asia Pacific captured a significant revenue share in 2020. Companies in the region are offering the combined functionality of cloud computing and edge computing solutions to extend MEC architecture for commercial services. Major telecom companies such as SK Telecom Co., Ltd. in South Korea, China Mobile Limited, China Unicom (Hong Kong) Limited, and China Telecom Corporation Limited have started deploying regional edge centers. These companies are keen on constructing large-scale edge-cloud networks and are engaged in MEC pilot projects. Such initiatives undertaken by key players are contributing to the regional growth.

Additional key applications of multi-access edge computing in critical real-time applications that are driving its wide-scale adoption across Asia Pacific include facial recognition, biometrics, interactive gaming, and cost reduction in backhaul investments.

Key Companies & Market Share Insights

ADLINK Technology Inc.; Microsoft Corporation; Advantech Co, Ltd.; FogHorn Systems; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP; and Saguna Networks Ltd. are some of the major market players. Organizations worldwide have started collaborating with other companies to enhance their service offerings and generate new revenue streams. New entrants in the market, such as FogHorn Systems, are disrupting the industry by integrating AI into their platforms and thus offering better decision-making ability and functionality. Additionally, established players, such as Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP, are increasing investments to innovate newer and better products by incorporating intelligent edge technology in their products.

As mobile edge computing is one of the emerging technologies, independent software providers, public cloud service providers, industrial automation, and networking companies are entering the MEC landscape. Startups and new entrants are focusing on establishing themselves as key enablers by developing innovative techniques and solutions. Saguna Networks, Ltd. and Vapor IO are such companies with the latest advancements in the field of edge and cloud computing. Saguna Networks has developed a technique to support edge computing on a communication network, whereas Vapor IO is building next-generation edge and hybrid cloud.

Moreover, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the telecom sector is witnessing high growth in video conferencing software such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams and is rolling out new products to cope with the ever-increasing demand. For instance, SK Telecom recently collaborated with Amazon Web Services to launch edge cloud services based on 5G MEC. Companies are grasping the opportunities to tackle the current situation by delivering new services.

Additionally, established players are signing agreements to join a group of companies that aim to promote multi-access edge computing practices. For instance, Huawei Technologies Co, Ltd. recently joined the Edge Computing Consortium Europe (ECCE), which is expected to provide a cooperative platform for IT companies to accelerate smart city development. The company also introduced an Edge-Computing-IoT (EC-IoT) solution for easier network management on the cloud. Some of the prominent players operating in the global multi-access edge computing market are:

• ADLINK Technology Inc.

• Advantech Co., Ltd.

• FogHorn Systems

• Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP

• Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

• Juniper Networks, Inc.

• Saguna Networks Ltd.

• SMART Embedded Computing (Artesyn Technologies)

• Vapor IO

• ZephyrTel

Multi-access Edge Computing Market Report Scope

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts revenue growths at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2018 to 2028. For this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global multi-access edge computing market report based on solution, end-use, and region:

• Solution Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2028)

  • Hardware

  • Software

  • Services

• End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2028)

  • IT & Telecom

  • Smart Cities, Smart Homes, & Smart Buildings

  • Datacenters

  • Energy & Utilities

  • Automotive

  • Others (Healthcare, Agriculture)

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2028)

  • North America 

    • U.S.

    • Canada

  • Europe

    • Germany

    • U.K.

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • India

    • Japan

  • Latin America

    • Brazil

    • Mexico

  • MEA