Addressing the Fragmentation Problem in Distributed and Decentralized Edge Computing: A Vision

At the core of the value proposition of edge computing is the ability to put computation close enough to the data sources, on demand. However, the data sources, computational infrastructure and software services needed to come together to power emerging and future edge computing applications are fragmented across different stakeholders, each with their own incentives, policies, and constraints on resources they can afford. This fragmentation limits the ability of edge computing to guarantee to applications and data the edge which will deliver the desired benefit. In this paper, we present our vision for an Edge Exchange, a decentralized directory service for a multi-stakeholder edge, as a path forward to enabling applications to be deployed across the best available edge resources, while still providing each stakeholder with controls regarding their resource use and sharing policies.