Driving forces for Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) IoT integration in 5G

The emergence of Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) technology aims to extend cloud computing capabilities to the edge of the wireless access networks, i.e., closer to the end-users. Thus, MEC-enabled 5G wireless systems are envisaged to offer real-time, low-latency, and high-bandwidth access to the radio network resources. Thus, MEC allows network operators to open up their networks to a wide range of innovative services, thereby giving rise to a brand-new ecosystem and a value chain. Furthermore, MEC as an enabling technology will provide new insights into coherent integration of Internet of Things (IoT) in 5G wireless systems. In this context, this paper expounds the four key technologies, including Network Function Virtualization (NFV), Software Defined Networking (SDN), Network Slicing and Information Centric Networking (ICN), that will propel and intensify the integration of MEC IoT in 5G networks. Moreover, our goal is to provide the close alliance between MEC and these four driving technologies in the 5G IoT context and to identify the open challenges, future directions, and concrete integration paths.