In the Internet of Things (IoT), the billions of interconnected devices are generating a constant stream of data, pushing traditional cloud-centric architectures to their limits. Latency, bandwidth limitations, and security concerns become more significant as the volume and complexity of this data flow. Collaborative Edge Computing (CEC) emerges as a potential solution, offering a distributed approach where data processing occurs closer to its source, at the "edge" of the network. This paradigm shift unlocks a range of benefits that cover the way for secure and scalable IoT deployments.One of the most significant advantages of CEC lies in its ability to reduce latency drastically. This is particularly crucial for real-time applications like industrial automation, autonomous vehicles, and remote healthcare monitoring. Furthermore, CEC offers enhanced scalability by distributing processing tasks across network edges. This reduces the burden on centralized cloud servers, which can become overwhelmed by the huge volume of data generated by an ever-growing number of IoT devices. Imagine a smart city scenario where millions of sensors are collecting data on traffic flow, energy consumption, and environmental conditions. CEC allows efficient data processing at the edge, freeing up cloud resources for more complex tasks like centralized analytics and long-term data storage. Security remains a top concern. Edge devices, often resource-constrained with limited processing power and memory, are more vulnerable to cyber threats. Implementing robust security measures on these devices requires the development of lightweight and efficient security protocols. Additionally, the diverse nature of edge devices can create vulnerabilities. A secure CEC ecosystem requires standardized security solutions and interoperable communication mechanisms. Finally, data privacy is paramount. The data collected at the edge can be highly sensitive. Ensuring user privacy and data integrity requires robust encryption techniques and access control mechanisms to be implemented throughout the entire data lifecycle.By overcoming these challenges, CEC can revolutionize the IoT landscape. It covers the way for a future where secure and scalable data processing empowers a connected and intelligent world.This special issue has selected four papers. We next present the summary of the papers presented in this special issue.The first paper titled "Container-based data-intensive application scheduling in hybrid cloud-edge collaborative environment" by Tang et al. 1 propose a scheduling framework (DICS-OPT) that uses an attribute-based data-driven approach to allocate these tasks to cloud or edge nodes. DICS-OPT considers various factors to allocate tasks to either cloud or edge devices, prioritizing efficient use of resources and user privacy. The system was tested using a combination of Raspberry Pis and PCs, and the results showed significant improvements over existing methods. DICS-OPT achieved a 10% increase in average edge resource utilization and a 16% re...