2 TABLE OF CONTENTS © Copyright 2019 Daniel Sexton TABLE OF CONTENTS A TABLE OF CONTENTS Audience ...................................................................................................................................................... 1 Author’s Note ................................................................................................................................................ 2 Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 5 Building An Intelligent Edge Strategy ............................................................................................................. 7 Edge Project Types .................................................................................................................................... 7 The Early Adopter’s Problem ....................................................................................................................... 9 Considering Life Cycles ........................................................................................................................... 9 The Strategy Box ..................................................................................................................................... 11 Intro to The Intelligent Edge........................................................................................................................ 13 What is The Edge? ................................................................................................................................... 13 Why Location Matters ........................................................................................................................... 15 Edge & Cloud ....................................................................................................................................... 15 What is the Intelligent Edge? .................................................................................................................... 16 Intelligent Edge Categories....................................................................................................................... 17 01. Edge Computing ........................................................................................................................... 18 02. Edge AI ....................................................................................................................................... 20 03. Smart Devices, Supersensors, Actuators ........................................................................................ 22 04. Edge Data Management............................................................................................................... 24 05. Edge Infrastructure ...................................................................................................................... 26 Edge Markets .............................................................................................................................................. 29 Horizontal Markets ................................................................................................................................... 29 Vertical Markets ....................................................................................................................................... 30 Complementary Markets ........................................................................................................................... 30 Venture Capital & Other Investments ........................................................................................................ 31 Intelligent Edge Models & Terms .................................................................................................................. 32 Clarification of Terms ............................................................................................................................... 32 Edge Overview Diagram ........................................................................................................................... 34 Intelligent Edge v. Cloud .......................................................................................................................... 34 Device Edges v. Infrastructure Edges ........................................................................................................ 35 Device Edges ....................................................................................................................................... 35 Infrastructure Edges ............................................................................................................................. 36 Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Edges .................................................................................................. 41 Homogeneous Edge ............................................................................................................................. 41 www.redchipventures.com B TABLE OF CONTENTS Heterogeneous Edge ............................................................................................................................ 42 Autonomy and Local Interactivity .............................................................................................................. 43 Device Edge Characteristics ...................................................................................................................... 45 Planning Your Strategic Edge Initiative Using Lifecycles ................................................................................. 47 Intelligent Edge Life Cycles....................................................................................................................... 47 Edge Data Management ........................................................................................................................... 53 Strategic Edge Data Design ................................................................................................................... 53 Edge AI ................................................................................................................................................... 58 A Brief History of AI .............................................................................................................................. 58 Categories of AI ................................................................................................................................... 59 AI Companies....................................................................................................................................... 60 Executive Interviews ................................................................................................................................... 67 Author ........................................................................................................................................................ 69 © Copyright 2019 Daniel Sexton STRATEGY AT THE INTELLIGENT EDGE 1 AUDIENCE This report should be read by CIOs, CTOs, CMOs, Ventures. We have interviewed dozens of executives, strategy executives, enterprise architects, and other salespeople, engineers, designers, and visionaries at technology executives and managers involved with the cutting-edge of this field. Mentions of companies in technology planning. It aims to demystify Intelligent this document are intended as illustrations of market Edge technology and help leaders and companies evolution and are not intended as endorsements or derive strategic value from its expansion. It is the result product/service recommendations. of over a year of research and reflection within RedChip www.redchipventures.com 2 AUTHOR’S NOTE AUTHOR’S NOTE Years ago, I knew the chancellor of a major state university. Charlie, a former chemistry professor, was a brilliant guy. He worked on the first atomic bomb and loved to tinker with computers. He wrote and spoke about the Internet a lot. In the mid-1990s, he predicted that the Internet would become something like a worldwide, video-based CB radio. This seemed like an unusual prediction at the time, but watching my sons on Instagram this afternoon I am struck with how insightful it was. In 1998 I had the chance to talk Charlie’s work had staying power like that. In the 1980s, with Steve Jobs after he’d come he wrote custom software for an apartment back and turned Apple around. I management company. The application, which ran on a Mac, handled rent roll and maintenance. In the early was there to help Telecom Italia try 2000s, this same company asked me to help them to do a deal with Apple, but after select new software. By that time, the company had grown and managed thousands of units. To my that business was completed I amazement, they still used Charlie's custom software couldn’t help asking a question. which had not been changed since the 80s. “Steve,” I said, “this turnaround at I recommended updating to a new, web-based system. As a self-proclaimed emerging technologist, I had no Apple has been impressive. But choice. At first the new software was not popular, but everything we know about the the users did eventually prefer it. In a few weeks, the new system began delivering measurable benefits. personal-computer business says I learned through this experience that timing really does that Apple will always have a small matter -- a lot. It turns out this company was not late niche position. The network to adopt this