No matter what you call it -- fog computing, reverse cloud, distributed intelligence -- there's no question that the network edge and its computing possibilities have come into sharp focus this year. Which is why it's no surprise that the new 2018 Leading Lights category for most innovative edge computing strategy had so many strong entries, and why your judges had trouble even narrowing the list of finalists down to eight.

Read on for a summary of the edge computing contenders. You'll find some companies are focused on hardware optimization, others on software and still others on enabling a new application ecosystem. All want to bring the future here faster, creating infrastructure that will support next-generation services from real-time video analysis to augmented reality overlays, self-driving cars and much more.

The winner for most innovative edge computing strategy will be announced at this year's Leading Lights awards ceremony during the evening of Monday, May 14, at Brazos Hall in Austin, Texas. The dinner kicks off Light Reading's annual Big Communications Event. It promises to be a rollicking good time.

And now, the finalists...

Aricent – Multi-Access Edge Computing Strategy
Aricent Inc. showcased its edge computing strategy with the launch of new multi-access edge capabilities at Mobile World Congress in February. The company's approach? To create a developer-centric platform for onboarding new applications that depend on low latency and close proximity to consumers.

In Aricent's view, service providers need to make it easy for software developers to build new edge applications and connect them seamlessly with analytics engines and other functions hosted in a centralized cloud.

Reference applications cited by Aricent include real-time object recognition in virtual and augmented reality displays, enhanced traffic safety through on-site environmental analysis and intelligent intrusion detection in video surveillance implementations.

By helping to establish an ecosystem of developers, operators and platform providers, Aricent hopes to accelerate the process of edge-based application development. That's what makes its edge computing strategy a Leading Lights contender.

Read more about Aricent's role in the telecom industry here:

Athonet – MEC Gateway
Athonet is attacking the edge computing sector with a focus on edge nodes and how they can be deployed quickly and cost effectively at scale. The company's MEC gateway supports standard network interfaces, allowing operators to install them without suffering unwanted and unexpected impacts to existing network infrastructure.

According to Athonet, the MEC gateway is also unique in enabling selective policy-based traffic offload, meaning operators can choose which traffic to cache locally and which traffic doesn't need to be stored at the edge. Through a software upgrade, Athonet promises that the gateway will also be upgradeable to support the 5G User Plane Function that's anticipated in 5G network architectures.

Backing up Athonet's story, ETSI validated the MEC Gateway approach earlier this year, and Orange proved itself a fan while hosting the company at Mobile World Congress.

Learn more about Athonet here:

Next: Huawei's MEC solution

Huawei – Huawei MEC Solution
Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. is taking a page out of the telecom standards playbook. Its MEC solution supports CUPS, the 3GPP specification detailing Control and User Plane Separation of evolved packet core nodes. Why is this important? Because Huawei is using the CUPS spec in its solution to build an ecosystem of mobile edge computing applications. The company has formed an open mobile interconnection alliance, and to date it has more than 300 third-party developer organizations participating by developing applications on the Huawei MEC platform.

In early use cases, partners have built a targeted advertising application for the Beijing airport and a video optimization solution for a smart stadium deployment. Huawei recognizes that network operators can use edge computing to generate entirely new revenue streams through value-added services – like video analytics and content optimization -- that support these applications.

For more on Huawei and edge computing, see:

NXP Semiconductors – NXP Edge Computing Solutions
Chip-maker NXP Semiconductors N.V. (Nasdaq: NXPI) is partnering with some of the world's top technology giants to integrate its edge computing technology into distributed networks. The company has been working in the sector since edge computing was known as embedded processing, and it's fostered a long list of tool providers and device manufacturers who are experienced in working with NXP solutions. Add to that newer NXP relationships with cloud providers like Google, Microsoft and AWS, and you have a solution provider with its hooks in just about every part of the edge computing ecosystem.

The NXP portfolio includes end-to-end privacy and security technology as well as end-to-end machine learning capabilities for building neural networks. From the edge node to the local gateway, and the edge node to the cloud, NXP is offering a platform for distributed computing that can enhance network operations and enable new applications.

For more on NXP, check out:

Qwilt – Open Edge CDN
Qwilt Inc. has been on a tear with its CDN platform, evolving from an upstart transparent caching provider to a company with a new cloud-based architecture and strong relationships with some of the largest video service providers in the business. The company's Open Edge CDN product was officially launched in early April, but Qwilt already has customers, including Verizon, considering the solution as part of an upgrade path from existing transparent caching technology.

What's innovative about the Open Edge CDN? It has the potential to link together multiple content delivery networks in a single ecosystem connected through standardized APIs. These include CDNs from pure-play providers like Limelight Networks, as well as those built into the last mile of operators' networks. Qwilt has worked closely with major video players to make this possible, including members of the Streaming Video Alliance, which counts top cable, telco, CDN and equipment companies on its roster, as well as Amazon Web Services.

If Qwilt can truly standardize a CDN solution for all of these players, it will prove innovative indeed.

Read more about Qwilt here:

Next: Radisys

Radisys – Radisys's MEC (Multi-Access Edge Computing) Platform
The Radisys Corp. (Nasdaq: RSYS) MEC platform is built on the open source CORD (Central Office Re-architected as a Data Center) architecture, with the goal of making it easy to deploy new edge applications in a disaggregated and virtualized network environment. Not only does the platform promise to optimize and enhance services at the network edge, but Radisys has already demonstrated multiple applications (most notably at Mobile World Congress) running on a virtualized architecture, including RAN optimized content delivery, edge-based video transcoding, real-time overlays for augmented reality apps and more.

In addition to supporting policy-driven automation of network functions at the edge, Radisys also specializes in the tools that help operators define those policies in the first place. With help from analytics and data visualization features, operators can use the Radisys platform to better optimize traffic steering and local resource management for edge-based applications.

Need to know more about the Radisys approach? Read up here:

Vapor IO – Project Volutus
Taking the idea of edge compute to a whole new level, Vapor IO is working to embed thousands of tiny data centers into existing wireless infrastructure, connecting compute power directly to wireless networks and providing a fiber path back to a regional hosting center or interconnect site. Vapor IO calls this approach Project Volutus, and it's teamed up with Crown Castle, Intel and others to make the strategy come to life.

Initial customers for Project Volutus include large cloud providers, carriers and web-scale players. These are the types of companies that increasingly need a larger presence at the network edge but either don't have access to the necessary connectivity or don't intend to manage thousands of edge data center sites. Conveniently, Project Volutus packages both components into a single architecture, which Vapor IO is using to generate customer interest, and which, in turn, has allowed the company to support initial city-scale deployments.

Want to learn more about Vapor IO and Project Volutus? Read on:

Vasona Networks – Vasona Networks: Path To 5G From The Mobile Edge
Vasona Networks Inc. believes in monitoring data traffic down to the individual cell level, and by doing so, optimizing cellular performance across 3G, 4G and future 5G networks. Beyond this granular tracking, however, Vasona is also working with content providers to understand what the resulting analytics mean, and how it can improve their business.

Vasona has developed a Guided Video Rate edge app to help video providers improve the streaming experience. More recently, it showcased a new Edge Breakout app for identifying latency-sensitive applications, like gaming traffic, and offloading those data streams to a private edge cloud.

Part of what allows Vasona to be innovative at the edge? It already has its technology deployed in areas covering 120,000 cells worldwide.

For more on Vasona, check out:

— Mari Silbey, Senior Editor, Light Reading