Technopolis Group-led consortium awarded the European Commission study on edge computing deployment monitoring
We are pleased to announce that the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CNECT) has commissioned Technopolis Group and its partners – Wavestone, STL Partners, KAPA Research and Waat – to carry out the study on the deployment of edge nodes (ENs): “Edge Observatory for the Digital Decade – Edge Computing Nodes: Continuous Deployment Monitoring”.
This renewal builds on the success of the previous Edge Computing Observatory study, also led by Technopolis Group, which established a comprehensive framework for tracking edge computing deployments across Europe. Over the past years, our research has delivered strategic intelligence to the European Commission, identifying trends, challenges, and opportunities in the rollout of edge computing nodes.
With this new phase, the consortium will expand its monitoring capabilities, providing granular data into the evolving edge ecosystem and tracking deployments, compute capacity, climate and security, technological advancements, and industry adoption patterns. The study will support the EU’s Digital Decade[1] objectives, ensuring that Europe remains at the forefront of distributed computing.
Contextualising edge computing – policy priorities and adoption drivers
The race for edge computing[2] “supremacy” is intensifying as major tech industry players compete to control this key technology. This shift is pivotal as digital transformation accelerates across industries and regions, with the European Union (EU) making significant advancements in next-generation digital infrastructure, high-speed connectivity, scalable computing capacity, and strategic technological sovereignty to support resilient and autonomous digital ecosystems.
Leading global cloud providers such as AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud are expanding their offerings to include edge computing services. Their goal is to provide seamless integration with their cloud platforms, allowing data scientists to process data at the edge while leveraging the scalability and computational power of the cloud. At the same time, industrial companies in manufacturing, energy, and transportation are embracing edge computing to drive Industry 4.0 adoption. These industries can enable real-time analytics, predictive maintenance, and data-driven decision-making by deploying tailored edge solutions.
Telecommunication firms are also capitalising on edge computing by harnessing the potential of 5G networks. The low latency and high bandwidth of 5G enable applications such as augmented reality, connected vehicles, and other real-time data processing solutions. The convergence of 5G and edge computing presents new opportunities for data scientists to explore real-time analytics and high-speed decision-making. The rise of hybrid edge solutions, combining edge and cloud computing, is emerging as a preferred approach. Hybrid edge solutions allow organisations to optimise workloads based on factors such as data sensitivity, latency requirements, and computational needs. This ensures data is processed in the most appropriate location, balancing performance, security, and cost efficiency.
The EU is orchestrating a digital infrastructure transformation aligned with its Digital Decade strategic framework. Central to this initiative is the ambitious target of implementing 10,000 climate-neutral and highly secure edge nodes by 2030, encompassing heavy infrastructure deployment (core data centres, regional compute hubs) and light edge infrastructure (micro data centres, edge gateways, and distributed compute nodes). This hierarchical edge computing architecture is fundamental to enabling deterministic latency guarantees, advanced data sovereignty mechanisms, and energy-optimised computing resources at the network periphery.
Key developments and trends
Strengthening EU capabilities in Edge Computing
The EU is actively positioning itself as a leader in edge computing by leveraging its strong regulatory framework, investment in digital infrastructure, and commitment to sustainability. Unlike other global players, Europe has in recent years prioritised decentralised, secure, and energy-efficient edge computing, ensuring that data sovereignty and environmental impact are addressed.
As revealed in the 3rd and 4th Edge Deployment Data Reports (EDDRs)[3], the EU has made substantial progress in edge computing adoption, with deployments increasing from 498 Edge Nodes (ENs) in 2022 to 1,836 in 2024.
Figure 1: Edge node deployment projections at EU27 (2022-2030)
This expansion in the deployment of edge nods is driven by different factors, among others:
- Cloud-edge integration, allowing enterprises to enhance their IT infrastructures with low-latency processing and real-time decision-making capabilities.
- AI-driven edge workloads, supporting automation in manufacturing, logistics, and smart cities.
- The growth of IoT ecosystems, enabling connected devices to process data closer to their source, improving response times and reducing network congestion.
However, deployment disparities persist, as outlined in the 4th EDDR: Western and Northern European countries, including Germany, France, and the Netherlands, are leading the charge. In contrast, Southern and Eastern Europe grapple with infrastructure limitations, lower investment levels, and a shortage of skilled professionals.
By 2030, it is estimated that 75% of European enterprises will integrate cloud-edge solutions into their operations (3rd EDDR). Moreover, investment in edge computing infrastructure is forecasted to rise significantly, increasing from €33.5 billion in 2022 to €56.8 billion by 2026, representing a 14.1% CAGR (4th EDDR).
Edge Computing as a core component of Europe’s Digital Future
Edge computing is a critical pillar of Europe’s Digital Decade Strategy, reinforcing technological sovereignty, economic competitiveness, and digital resilience.
Several key capabilities distinguish Europe’s edge computing ecosystem:
- Data sovereignty: European enterprises and policymakers focus on ensuring that sensitive data remains within EU jurisdictions, reducing reliance on non-European cloud providers (4th EDDR)[1].
- Sustainability goals: The EU’s commitment to climate-neutral computing is evident in its push for energy-efficient data centres and AI-powered workload optimisation (3rd EDDR)[2].
- Industry collaboration: The European Digital Infrastructure Consortia (EDIC) is fostering partnerships between enterprises, universities, and governments to accelerate innovation in edge computing (4th EDDR).
- Strategic investment initiative: The IPCEI Next Generation Cloud Infrastructure and Services (IPCEI CIS)[3], backed by €1.2 billion in public funding and €1.4 billion in private investments across seven Member States, is developing Europe’s first interoperable multi-provider cloud-to-edge ecosystem. This initiative strengthens data sovereignty through federated data processing technologies and advances green computing objectives through energy-efficient distributed architectures.
Addressing infrastructure challenges
Despite the robust expansion, several barriers continue to impede seamless edge computing deployment, as reported in the 3rd EDDR:
- Connectivity gaps: The uneven rollout of 5G and fibre-optic networks is slowing down edge computing adoption in certain regions (4th EDDR).
- Geographical constraints: Europe’s diverse landscape, including mountainous regions and sparsely populated rural areas, presents logistical challenges for a more comprehensive edge node placement.
- Regional disparities: While a few EU Member States, like Germany and France, invest significantly in next-generation edge networks, some Southern and Eastern European countries face infrastructure and financial limitations.
The EU is well-positioned to lead the global edge computing revolution, backed by its sustainability-focused policies, robust data protection frameworks, and technological investment initiatives. However, to maintain a competitive edge relative to the US and Asian countries, the reports outline the need for the EU to bridge the digital divide, harmonise regulations, and continue investing in next-generation infrastructure.
Figure 2: Overview of capacities, drivers and barriers for the uptake of edge computing
Future perspectives
The study objectives underscore the importance of the uptake of edge computing across EU Member States. In this context, the published Mission Letter[7] for Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President-designate for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, underlines the need to drive computing capacity at the EU-level. The Mission Letter has a strong focus on computing capacity overall, in particular cloud capacity, with the ambition to facilitate the integration of the next wave of frontier technologies, including AI workloads for innovative and AI-driven start-ups and industries. Put differently, securing computing and storage infrastructure is at the core of the widescale technology and AI application development in Europe.
The consortium led by Technopolis Group, involving Wavestone, STL Partners, Kapa Research, and Waat, are excited to announce the launch of the second iteration of the Edge Computing Observatory, thereby working on expanding the monitoring activities of edge nodes with a more granular reporting of deployment, also with a strong focus on climate and security dimensions.
Want to read more? Check out the reports delivered under the previous iteration of the Edge Computing Observatory for the Digital Decade here: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/edge-observatory.
[1] For more information, please see https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/europes-digital-decade.
[2] “Edge computing represents a new paradigm in which compute and storage are located at the edge of the network, as close as necessary and feasible to the location where data is generated and consumed and where actions are taken in the physical world. The inherent trade-offs between the benefits of centralisation and decentralisation determine the optimal location of these compute resources”. LF Edge, “Sharpening the Edge: Overview of the LF Edge Taxonomy and Framework”.
[3] European Commission (2024). Edge Observatory for the Digital Decade.
[4] Idem.
[5] Idem.
[6] European Commission (2023). Commission Approves up to €1.2 Billion of State Aid by Seven Member States for an Important Project of Common European Interest in Cloud and Edge Computing Technologies,” December 5, 2023. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_6246.
[7] European Commission (2024). Mission Letter – Executive Vice-President-designate for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy. Available at: https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/3b537594-9264-4249-a912-5b102b7b49a3_en?filename=Mission%20letter%20-%20VIRKKUNEN.pdf.