Impacts and Value Chains of the Cloud-Edge-IoT Continuum in the Agriculture Sector

The main actors in the value chain are the farmers, who apply the CEI solutions in their work processes, and the equipment manufacturers, who manufacture, sell and provide life cycle support for agricultural machinery. 

CEI technologies are mainly integrated into farm equipment, making the equipment manufacturer essential for the uptake of CEI in agriculture. The machines are, therefore, hybrid service bundles: physical products combined with support, software and fitting data-based services. The equipment manufacturers are making the decisions on choosing and procuring concrete technologies and applications, keeping the farmers' requirements in mind and also managing the supply chain. This includes providers for hardware, software and infrastructure elements for the CEI solution.