Pioneering the industrial edge computing frontier with Avassa

While both sectors are ripe for technological transformation, the company’s primary emphasis currently lies in the industrial space. This decision reflects the increase and the speed of adoption of edge computing technology in industrial settings, where there is a growing demand for comprehensive and secure infrastructure for managing industrial edge applications.

“For enterprise-sized industrial companies, it’s more the rule than the exception to run software close to data sources, often in resource-constrained, and at times, offline industrial edge environments. Interestingly, the demands placed on the underlying edge infrastructure in these industrial settings are strikingly similar to those in other enterprise verticals—yet the pace of adoption is notably fast,” says Amy Simonson, Head of Marketing at Avassa.

“When we say industrial, that could be anything from applications that monitor the factory floor and the production lines, to applications that form part of an industrial IoT system. It’s also very common to see embedded vision capabilities within this space. Industrial edge applications and infrastructure share common requirements, such as remote management, version control, comprehensive monitoring, and observability.”

Use cases driving industrial transformation

Avassa’s industrial strategy focuses on two main market categories: manufacturing enterprises and industrial machinery vendors. 

Manufacturing enterprises usually operate factories where applications play a critical role in production line operations. Avassa’s platform enhances, versioning, observability, and lifecycle management for factory floor systems, often including embedded vision tools and sensor networks.

“The industrial market is shifting from single-vendor, siloed solutions to a more IT-driven approach,” explains Simonson. “This trend demands platforms that can manage diverse application workloads, ensure resilience and robust security, and accommodate offline scenarios.”

Regarding industrial machinery vendors, they can include vendors of anything from agricultural robots to medical devices. Industrial machines often operate autonomously in mission-critical environments, requiring seamless application lifecycle management. Avassa’s solutions aim to empower vendors to transition from delivering static products to offering service-based systems.

A standout example is Ekobot, which uses the Avassa Edge Platform to support robots that pick weeds in onion fields. Operating autonomously, these robots depend on frequent AI model updates, offline capabilities, and robust software management to perform with excellence.

Competitive advantage and industry trends

Avassa’s platform approach distinguishes it from competitors, and key advantages include commercial support with rapid feature delivery, as well as hardware and Linux independence. The platform operates on any Linux distribution, enabling a flexible, best-of-breed approach.

“We’re observing a shift toward platform-like experiences at the edge, even in traditionally conservative industries. This evolution aligns perfectly with our vision,” says Carl Moberg, co-founder and CTO of Avassa.

“What interests me about the growing number of AI applications at the edge is that it seems to shift the focus away from the traditional infrastructure-first approach and towards an application-first mindset. What I mean is that we see many customers building infrastructure to support a narrow set of applications packaged as containers, mostly related to AI use cases. This means that they start by picking a set of software components and hardware infrastructure components that work well to support that specific class of applications. This is the type of context where technology like bootable containers really shines.”

The uptake of AI applications at the edge is quick. Avassa simplifies the complexities of managing AI-driven workloads, enabling e.g. industrial enterprises to deploy lean and efficient solutions tailored to the specific needs of this emerging class of applications. A prime example is our support for bootable containers, a pared-down and streamlined Linux lifecycle management approach tailored for edge environments.

Shaping the future of edge computing

The Avassa Edge Platform enables a shift in how industrial companies approach software and infrastructure. By adopting an application-centric model, industrial enterprises and machinery vendors can optimize the underlying infrastructure for enhanced efficiency, and innovate rapidly, free from the constraints of siloed systems.

Avassa helps implement best-of-breed solutions tailored to unique requirements. As industrial environments grow increasingly dependent on applications, the Avassa Edge Platform positions them as an essential partner for companies striving to remain competitive. A free trial of Avassa’s edge application management and operations platform is available at https://avassa.io/.

Article Topics

Avassa  |  edge AI  |  edge platform  |  edge software  |  industrial edge  |  manufacturing