Micro clouds

Edge computing solution

Serving compute near the consumers, reusing cloud APIs.

Download the whitepaper

Micro clouds for edge computing

Compose unique edge solutions using the best open source components, anywhere at scale.

Industries live at the edge

What are edge computing use cases?

Real-life applications are localised – in a factory, a shop, a theater, a stadium, on the subway, even in motion. Edge computing has the potential to transform almost any industry, serving workloads where and when needed. Micro clouds offer a modular and scalable solution to match the constraints of the edge in almost any scenario – from cloud edge to IoT gateways. Watch this webinar to learn more ›

Whitepaper

CTOs' Guide to Micro Clouds

This whitepaper discusses the concept of micro clouds, a new class of compute for the edge and decentralised environments. It's ideal to gain an understanding of edge computing constraints, values, graphics and use cases.

Webinar

Introduction to Micro Clouds

A micro cloud is a new class of infrastructure for on-demand computing at the edge. Learn what micro clouds are and why they should be a part of your edge strategy.

Whitepaper

Edge infrastructure implementation the open source way

Implementing an edge strategy entails a number of challenges. Explore how you can design edge infrastructure, from Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) through to private mobile networks and IoT gateways, the open-source way.

Localised cloud APIs with micro clouds

  • Reusing proven clouds primitive
  • Modular micro clouds, API integration with existing solutions
  • Fully automated, centrally managed, with low to no onsite operations

Industry 4.0: inside the factory

  • Scalable and low-latency HA cluster for critical industrial applications
  • Local data processing for more governance and less network costs
  • Compute power at the factory core for Al and digital twins applications

Connect IIoT devices to micro clouds ›

Telco edge: 5G & edge computing

  • Lightweight to run on small servers constrained by real estate
  • API-driven for providing on-demand compute and services
  • Distributed workloads, serving compute near the consumer

Read more on Telco@Edge ›

The future of remote-work with edge computing

  • Low-touch, self-healing, few to no human interactions
  • Central remote management for corporate policies
  • On-demand K8s clusters, virtual machines, and containers

Read about Ubuntu in organisations ›

Micro cloud for end-consumer applications in retail

  • Reliable, resilient to cloud outages to prevent downtimes
  • Predictions and insights with data analytics and inferences at the edge
  • Running on low cost small devices

Explore our FinTech solutions ›


Smart cities, utilities, and power grids

  • Real time data analysis for automated resource allocation
  • Fully automated and resilient for remote site locations
  • Decentralised data driven predictive maintenance

Read more on Smart Cities ›


The Canonical team can deploy the first site with you to enable your edge strategy and upskill your teams. We provide long-term security maintenance and technical support for all the open source components you need to build your micro cloud.

Let's discuss your edge application

Integrate with the best hardware vendors

Ubuntu works with a number of hardware vendors specialised in edge computing server equipment. Contact us to discuss working with your preferred vendors.

Micro clouds under the microscope

What are micro clouds?

Edge computing isn't a solution: it's a term for describing geographically-distributed computing. Micro clouds are a solution for edge computing.

A micro cloud is a new class of infrastructure for on-demand computing at the edge. Micro clouds are small footprint clusters of compute nodes with local storage and secure networking, optimised for repeatable, reliable remote deployments.

Standard and open APIs provide the same functionality you would expect from larger clouds, and an abstraction layer separates the hardware from the software.


Advantages of micro clouds for edge computing

Micro cloud enables you to compose customised edge computing solutions from the best open source components, anywhere and at scale.

  1. Flexibility and scalability

  2. Full-stack automation

  3. Open and standard APIs

  4. Abstraction layer

The edge of the network is the center of everyday businesses and applications.

Micro clouds empower ecosystems rather than single-vendor solutions, bringing apps closer to the consumers.


What is the size of a micro cloud?

Micro clouds go from tiny Kubernetes clusters in an outdoor box to small private edge clouds localised nearest to the consumers of an application. They can extend in site size, scale number of sites, and run with no on-site maintenance.

Trade the exponential scalability of public and private clouds for security, privacy, governance, and low-latency of decentralised edge computing environments.

Connect with Canonical experts today