The Power of a Network Economy at the Edge
Interview with Dr. Ganesh Sundaram, Founder and CEO of AlefEdge
AlefEdge is a New York-based 5G edge API-as-a-Service corporation. Its flagship EdgeNet platform allows enterprises and software developers to programmatically launch 5G edge services rapidly. The EdgeNet platform is a connected network of edge area networks and is ready for service in about 50 locations, expanding to thousands.
Dr. Ganesh Sundaram is a mobile and internet technology pioneer, inventing the architecture and many of the critical technologies that underpin today’s global mobile data network. His academic career focused on math and engineering. In addition to receiving a master’s degree in each field, he holds a PhD in math. Ganesh spent 14 years at Bell Labs, where he was the lead inventor on 70+ patents in Mobility Core Network Functions. During his tenure, he was named one of the select Bell Labs Fellows for his pioneering contributions to the mobile industry. Recently, Ganesh was recognized with the “Biggest Individual Contribution to Edge Computing Development” by The Edge Computing Congress for his IP, thought leadership and product contributions to the edge internet industry.
Dan: Thanks again for taking the time to talk with us. To start, I am sure our readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What is your background?
I am currently the founder and CEO of AlefEdge. Before that, I was at Bell Labs on the mobility side of the business. I did a lot of interesting work during that time and had a desire to sell everything I invented. I used to invent and build a lot of stuff, and much of it has been deployed and is commercially available. While at Bell Labs, I played a role in wireless advanced technologies and was an early member of the wireless secure networking division. This culminated in my induction into the Alcatel Lucent Academy and being named a Bell Labs Fellow. About 10 years ago, I realized that there were gaps in products on the market supporting the mobile internet value chain and felt there was a significant market opportunity.
Dan: Tell us about your business. What do you do and what is your startup’s origin story?
Foundationally, the mobile internet as we know it is built for access to the internet using a mobile phone, rather than an optimal platform. The missing link that spotted centered around a distributed internet architecture. Moreover, an on-demand paradigm was missing. Combining all of this led us to build EdgeNet and the 5G Edge API.
EdgeNet enables 5G edge applications and services through open APIs at the edge that make 5G edge service adoption and distribution for enterprises and developers friction free. Combined with the 5G Edge API, EdgeNet unleashes a massive edge internet economy by securely enabling developers to build 5G edge services that include AI, IoT, Industry 4.0 manufacturing, smart cities, virtual and augmented reality, and more. And we offer this platform “as-a-Service” to give enterprises control of their 5G edge network.
Dan: What’s unique about your company? What are the key differentiators between you and other players?
There is a tectonic shift underway in connectivity and computing. The internet is decentralizing and moving to the edge. The current approach of 5G industry build-out is perpendicular to what has happened to other mass digital disruptors. 5G edge services are crucial to this internet reconfiguration and offers a significant opportunity to transform our digital lives, but in order to move it forward we need to take out the complexity. EdgeNet has focused on creating layers of abstraction and simplifications at the edge, and we are building an open and programmable, software-defined solution for the developer community. This is what will truly drive the adoption of the 5G edge. Our approach has been validated by the market — in fact, we were awarded the Product Line Strategy Leadership award from Frost & Sullivan for Edge Optimizing software.
The EdgeNet platform provides enterprises with tools to develop and deploy 5G Edge services in minutes, without the headache or cost of having to learn and manage 5G infrastructure. Developers can easily build innovative services with a focus on the characteristics of 5G edge rather than building the core functionality. With the 5G Edge API and frameworks provided by EdgeNet, IT staff are free to create powerful edge-native applications and services that result in excellent user experiences. This enables the flexibility that enterprises need to take control of their 5G edge network without massive investments in dollars or time.
Dan: Take us through a day in your life. What does the typical day look like?
The company has gone through a metamorphosis — from an early thought leadership phase to product leadership and commercial leadership. We live in an era of continuous innovation, and the distributed internet is by far the most vibrant technology market out there. In any typical day I try to be as ambidextrous as possible. On one hand, I have to focus on strategy, and on the other execution and solving common problem statements. There is a third interesting reality that I am confronting, given that 5G edge is new and we may have been the first company to invent some of the foundational concepts. There is still a lot of advocacy and ecosystem activities that I am pulled into, and I am constantly reading and thinking of connecting the dots. Outside of that, I love music, problem solving and spending time with my family.
Dan: What are some of the key steps you have taken to grow your business?
It all starts with the technology platform, the technology stack and the intellectual property built around it. That is one significant investment we have made with respect to the business. As robust and innovative as the platform is, the product and the offers must be consistent with the market consumption models. We have an operating model that is in sync with today’s low-code, no-code, do-it-yourself software consumption models. Anything as massive as the distributed internet and 5G edge requires partners. Foundationally, we have invested a significant amount of time in fostering those partnerships and are proud to have over 100 to date. We have also been fostering a developer ecosystem using our 5G edge APIs, which has truly been a marvelous thing to see. I believe these were key in growing AlefEdge.
Dan: What has been the most challenging part of growing your company?
As obvious as it was for us to recognize the power of a distributed internet and 5G Edge, the value chain formation and product-to-market fit was challenging and took time. The patience required in building an ecosystem play can also be very challenging. When you have a collaborative platform that involves multiple parties in the value chain, for example, you can look in many directions. Often, to define the trajectory, there are several unknowns as to where the journey begins. This has required strategy, analysis and execution, all of which are challenging because there is no good pattern to match it to.
Dan: What are your best sales and marketing tips?
From a marketing perspective, storytelling is critical — especially in new market spaces. When working with multiple partners across multiple constituencies across different parts of the value chain, customizing the message requires context switching and a tremendous amount of dexterity.
It is key to ignite the power of a collective imagination because it has a network effect, which lends to an economy — not just an addressable market.
Dan: Do you have a book, podcast, or Youtube channel you would recommend to other Entrepreneurs?
There are several books that I believe everyone should read. One book that my executive chairman Mike Mulica recommended is The Hard Things about Hard Things by Ben Horowitz. It is a fascinating book that teaches you to be an entrepreneur and a leader.
In early markets, especially when you are determining product-to-market fit, there is another book that I feel is worth reading. It is called Nail It Then Scale It by Dr. Nathan Furr. I have read it more than once, and I keep going back to it. You really have to get into the zone to read it. It gives you an algorithmic way of looking at things. I like such books because they teach you problem solving.
There are so many great books that I could recommend, but lately I have been reading a lot of case studies. Market formation and market making are very difficult things, especially if they involve network effects and an economy. When you don’t have a template, you have to look for allied spaces, and try to find your example which most resemble what is important to your company. That requires a lot of reading and synthesizing.
Dan: If you could go back in time to the day you founded your company, what advice would you give yourself?
I massively underestimated how big this could be. If I were to do it differently, I would have gone bigger sooner.
Dan: Is there anything else you would like to share?
I believe the mobile internet has historically proven to be the one market which impacts every other trillion-dollar economy. Chetan Sharma, one of the foremost mobile internet gurus, has captured it very well in quantifiable terms. The 5G edge internet is the next generation of the internet, and I believe it’s going to impact even more economies. It is probably going to be the only market economy that will impact every other trillion-dollar economy. Whether logistics, transportation, entertainment, healthcare or telecommunications–it doesn’t matter. Everything is going to be impacted. It is so powerful, and we have the opportunity to do something nontrivial for humanity.
To Learn More About AlefEdge Check Out Their Website and Social Media Pages Below!
Website: www.alefedge.com
Twitter: @alefedgeNYC
LinkedIn: AlefEdge
