Processing data closer to where it's generated rather than in centralized data centers. Like having small convenience stores in neighborhoods instead of one giant mall downtown.
Autonomous cars use edge computing to process sensor data instantly without waiting for cloud communication.
All providers offer ways to run compute and manage workloads closer to users/devices. AWS Outposts and Azure Stack Edge bring cloud-managed infrastructure on-prem/near-prem; AWS Wavelength places compute inside telecom networks for ultra-low latency; Google Distributed Cloud (Edge) and Anthos support running and managing Kubernetes-based workloads across edge sites; OCI Roving Edge provides portable edge servers for disconnected or remote environments. IoT-focused runtimes (AWS IoT Greengrass, Azure IoT Edge) run containerized logic on devices/gateways and sync with the cloud when available.