Intel makes Pivot towards 5G with Smart Edge acquisition

Aiming to gain further traction in a network technology arena that it believes will be ramped up by increased presence in 5G, chip giant Intel has signed a definitive agreement to buy the Smart Edge intelligent-edge platform business from infrastructure and service provider Pivot Technology Solutions.

No financial terms for the deal have been revealed, but putting the strategic move into context, Intel calculates that the silicon addressable market for computing in the network and at the edge will be worth $65bn by 2023, accelerated by the roll-out of 5G networks.

Smart Edge is a cloud-native platform for multi-access edge computing (MEC) designed to enable enterprises and communications service providers to run cloud-like services closer to the user on the customer-premise or network edge.

Potential benefits include new opportunities and revenue streams while reducing the total cost of ownership for intelligent-edge systems.

A retail-based use case could see retailers deploying new personalised and location-aware in-store experiences, while factories could combine 5G, data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) near the edge to drive greater operational efficiencies.

“This transaction enhances our ability to address the 5G network transformation with a leading position in edge computing,” said Dan Rodriguez, Intel vice-president in the datacentre group and general manager of the network computer division explaining the potential benefits of the acquisition.

“We plan to take full advantage of our combined technologies and teams to accelerate the development of the edge computing market while creating a compelling solution for customers.”

On completion, the transaction will see around 25 Smart Edge employees join Intel’s network and custom logic group (NCLG).

Intel and Pivot will also sign a preferred partner agreement, which identifies Pivot as an authorised Smart Edge reseller and become Intel’s non-exclusive preferred systems integrator for Smart Edge-based edge services systems.