Edge computing orchestration startup Zededa Inc. is partnering with Google LLC, helping Google Cloud customers scale up their edge application deployments securely with a choice of different infrastructure platforms.

Founded in 2016, Zededa sells an open-source orchestration platform for deploying applications at the network edge, where they are located closer to end users. Doing so enables apps and services to be more responsive and cheaper to use thanks to a reduction in costs associated with data store.

In addition, hosting apps at the edge means data can be analyzed faster as it’s done closer to the end user, rather than at a centralized cloud data center. This means edge applications can deliver faster insights.

Zededa’s platform is designed to simplify the deployment, management and security of applications deployed at the edge on public cloud infrastructure and ensure they perform as they should. Based on the open-source EVE-OS operating system, it provides a way to encrypt data, maintain device and software integrity through hardware root of trust. The platform supports both virtual machines and software containers, which host the components of modern, cloud-native applications.

Zededa said today its partnership will enable customers to securely scale their edge application deployments across Google Cloud and its various global locations. The company added that it’s particularly targeting customers in the energy industry, where it already has a strong presence.

“We see a number of edge use cases for multiple industries, including energy, that can be addressed with this Google Cloud partnership,” said Zededa founder and Chief Executive Said Ouissal. “Our zero-touch provisioning and simplified lifecycle management enable businesses to start realizing business value with Google Cloud together with choice of edge hardware and applications.”

Tanuj Raja, Google Cloud’s global head of strategic partnerships, said numerous organizations stand to benefit from low-latency access to business applications and cloud capabilities at the edge. Partnerships are a key component of Zededa’s strategy for expanding adoption of its edge orchestration platform, and it announced several other key tie-ups today besides Google.

Another company it’s working with is Juniper Networks Inc. The companies said today they have teamed up to create a joint offering that enables secure-edge computing by combining the Zededa platform with Juniper’s Session Smart Router and vSRX Virtual Firewall. That gives customers addition flexibility, they said, as they can now choose between backhauling data to the cloud or storing it on-premises.

“Combining our broad networking experience with Zededa’s zero trust architecture provides customers with a robust security foundation for any mission-critical use cases within the energy vertical and beyond,” Juniper Senior Director of Enterprise Marketing Karen Falcone said in a statement.

Further partnerships were announced with Dianomic Systems Inc. and the IOTA Foundation. Dianomic sells an edge application platform for industrial “internet of things” use cases. Zededa said its edge orchestration platform will help to secure deployments of Dianomic’s FogLAMP software and help with managing the underlying hardware too. The IOTA Foundation governs the development of a popular distributed blockchain ledger of the same name and is involved in several decentralized projects in the energy space.

To boost its presence in the energy industry further, Zededa said today it has joined no less than three industry consortium groups as it bids to spread awareness of its technology. They include the Linux Foundation Energy project, which seeks to accelerate the transition to cleaner energy sources using open-source technology. Zededa said it will work with the LF Energy community to integrate the EVE-OS platform into the group’s reference architecture.

Zededa has also joined the OSDU Forum, which is focused on building a open, standards-based foundation to accelerate innovation in the energy space, and Project Alvarium, where it will work with companies such as Dell Technologies Inc. to increase data confidence through the concept of trust fabrics.

“The battle for control at the edge is in full swing, with no player having overall control,” said Constellation Research Inc. analyst Holger Mueller. “That means partnerships and consortiums are important to make platforms popular, as are programs to upskill developers on platforms. Zededa is doing all three, and with that it’s strengthening its position in the fast moving edge platform market.”

Image: Zededa