Highlights: 

  • The new product, AT and amp;T MEC can assist in reducing bandwidth costs by minimizing the need for sending data across the network to cloud data centers. In the process, it also lessens the effects of internet outages.
  • Businesses can manage their AT and amp;T MEC with Dell APEX deployments’ infrastructure internally or by outsourcing.

Dell Technologies Inc. has teamed up with AT and amp;T Inc. and VMware Inc. to create a new edge computing service for businesses.

The product, known as AT and amp;T MEC with Dell APEX, premiered recently. It serves as a platform for multi-access edge computing, or MEC. These platforms are made to assist businesses in processing data generated at the edge of their corporate networks, away from their data centers.

A MEC consists of servers and storage equipment that can be set up in places like factories. A manufacturer can send diagnostics data from production equipment to the onsite MEC for processing rather than sending it to a remote cloud environment. As a result, latency is significantly reduced.

The technology offers further advantages. MEC can assist in reducing bandwidth costs by minimizing the need for sending data across the network to cloud data centers. In the process, it also lessens the effects of internet outages.

Dell’s hardware line-up for edge computing powers the new AT and amp;T MEC with Dell APEX. It also includes the APEX Console service provided by the business. The service offers a dashboard through which administrators can keep tabs on the edge computing hardware used by their company, schedule upgrades, and place orders for new hardware as needed.

The AT and amp;T MEC with Dell APEX also features AT and amp;T’s 5G connectivity. Devices at an edge location can wirelessly transmit data with each other via the carrier’s 5G network. For instance, industrial robots at a plant could feed error logs to a debugging program on an on-site Dell server.

Businesses can manage their own AT and amp;T MEC with Dell APEX deployments’ infrastructure internally or by outsourcing. Dell and AT and amp;T will offer professional services.

Douglas Lieberman, Senior Director of Global Solutions Co-creation Services at Dell, reported, “The AT and amp;T MEC with Dell APEX solution delivers application-ready edge infrastructure on-premises, as needed. With the click of a button, enterprises can order more Dell edge processing to be delivered and implemented in weeks, not months.”

The most recent enhancement to the company’s edge computing portfolio is A and amp;T MEC with Dell APEX. In February, Dell introduced three servers intended to operate at the network’s edge. The business previously unveiled a shoebox-sized, ruggedized server called the PowerEdge XR4000 that can be installed in settings like factories and retail stores.

Dell is creating a new software platform to assist clients in managing their edge infrastructure. The project is referred to as Project Frontier. The next platform, according to Dell, will make routine maintenance activities more accessible, such as introducing new edge computing gear.