3 min
Hybrid & Edge on AWS (2026): Outposts vs Local Zones vs Wavelength — Placement, Connectivity, and the Latency Bill
A composite fintech API (~8ms p99 to metro users) spent ~$22k/mo on hybrid infrastructure around an Outposts rack before moving read-heavy paths to a Chicago Local Zone and keeping Outposts only for card-PIN HSM proximity. p99 held at 9ms and hybrid infra dropped ~38%. This post covers placement and connectivity, not EC2-vs-Lambda unit economics.
Palaniappan P