Edge computing is the modern growth location, and it’s believed that it will eventually eclipse the dominance we have noticed for the cloud.
Accepting edge computing is the next crucial step in proofing your infrastructure in the future.
According to the CIO Africa by shifting data processing to the ‘edge’, you bring handy decision-making to where it’s most needed. This supports whatever capabilities that will be critical tomorrow, from the Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered applications.
Andy Rowland has been working at the heart of edge computing for many years now, tracking the technology’s evolution and improving ways for the industry to harness its potential. Edge computing is the current growth area, and he believes it will finally eclipse the take-up we’ve seen for the cloud.
He has noticed a change in how organizations are addressing data. They’ve started thinking about how many versions of data they maintain, and how they store and manage it. This is coming in with growing concerns about the amount of energy utilized by data centers from an expense and sustainability viewpoint. Organizations are finding it manageable to move processing near where they’re generating and using the data.
According to Andy’s experience, here are the eight major future-proofing advantages of adopting edge computing:
1. Making Sure Critical Business Applications Are Often Available
Hosting business-critical applications in the cloud is a high-risk strategy because connectivity is vulnerable to interruption, for example, a network cable being severed by accident. An edge computing solution supports smoother operations without disruption, even in remote areas. Reliability increases because the solution is less exposed to external interruptions and so its risk of failure falls.
This reliability, combined with the real-time processing that can support so many technologies that improve the end-user experience, can be transformative. Edge computing is an enabler for IoT technologies and AI-powered applications that unlock new, more efficient ways of operating that improve productivity.
2. Enabling Actual Decision-Making
Bringing processing to the edge means data isn’t making a roundtrip to central data centers or clouds to be processed, so latency improves to the levels needed to support real-time analysis and decision-making.
This near-instant decision-making is critical to addressing so many emerging and future needs across the industry – from optimizing manufacturing processes and production scheduling to running closed-loop applications to optimize energy usage and reduce the carbon footprint.
3. Enhancing Sustainability
Edge computing shifts the organization towards more effective ways of operating that optimize energy use and reduce carbon emissions. It reduces the amount of data center capacity needed by cutting the volumes of data sent to the core.
In many cases, running some IT processing alongside Operational Technology (OT) processing at the edge drives efficiencies such as consolidating cooling requirements and combining maintenance visits.
4. Reducing Data and Operational Expenses
Data is the lifeblood of global organizations and the volumes involved are increasing all the time. As data traffic grows, the costs of the bandwidth to support it are spiraling upwards, with no sign of stopping.
Continuing to send vast quantities of data to core data centers or clouds for analysis isn’t sustainable, and the costs of managing and storing this data are growing, too. Edge computing breaks these patterns, so that only intelligent, processed data needs to make the journey to the core.
5. Meeting Data Sovereignty Regulations
Data sovereignty legislation is already rigorous, and this will continue impacting organizations’ ability to extract value from data. Edge computing is a flexible way to stay compliant, keeping data storage and processing in-country rather than sending it out of the country into the main data center or public cloud.
6. Supporting Innovative Applications
Talking to our edge computing partners, the biggest use cases they’re meeting at the moment involve private 5G networks and remote ways of bringing expertise into operating environments with Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR).
It makes sense that, after tasting the possibilities during the pandemic, organizations don’t want to go back to flying experts out to locations for training or maintenance, for example. Instead, they’re using smart glasses and AR apps to guide maintenance remotely and using VR for training. Edge computing is critical to delivering the ultra-low latency these applications need.
7. Supporting Remote Locations’ Needs
Sometimes the edge is the only option. For much of the natural resources sector, cloud connectivity is either non-existent, highly limited, and/or very expensive. For remote mining sites and oil fields, edge processing is often the only choice for hosting apps to reduce expensive unplanned downtime and support local engineers with VR training for health and safety.
Recently we’ve been approached by clients keen to improve the energy efficiency of their bulk ore carriers and LNG tankers. In both cases, cloud connectivity is costly as the only option is via satellite, so edge processing on the vessel to run applications to optimize the use of marine diesel is the only viable option.
8. Supporting Quicker Deployment of Updates and In-Life Change Requests
Edge computing delivers local processing power with central control, and this can transform the arduous process of updating local information.
Take digital signage in retail, for example. Controlled centrally, it enables consistency in the customer experience and makes it possible to change all store displays at the touch of a button. Plus, a centralized, remote configuration ensures consistency by reducing the chance of missing software patches.
Edge Computing FAQs
Here are the frequently asked questions about Edge Computing, according to the Stl Partners:
What is edge computing?
Edge computing brings processing capabilities closer to the end-user or the source of data. In effect, this means having less computation and storage in the cloud and instead moving to local places, such as an edge server. Read our overview of edge computing here.
Why focus on edge computing now?
New technologies and demand for new applications mean the time is ripe for an edge. Consumers want low latency for content-driven experiences and enterprises to require local processing for security and resilient operations. If you want to learn more about where edge computing is headed, we cover the future of edge computing here.
What are the major edge computing use cases?
Many use cases involve edge computing, from virtualized RAN to cloud gaming. We explain 10 examples of edge computing in more detail.
What companies are working in edge computing?
Many companies, big and small, are looking to play within this space. We compiled a list of edge computing companies to look out for in the next couple of years.
How do 5G and edge computing?
5G needs edge computing for two reasons: 1) 5G will rely on edge computing to meet the latency requirements of 5G applications 2) edge computing will help cultivate an ecosystem of applications that also need 5G. Find out more about edge computing and 5G here.
How does IoT relate to edge computing?
IoT applications will need edge computing for the benefits it gives around latency, bandwidth, and security.
Having looked at the reasons why Edge Computing will be bigger than Cloud Computing, and the Edge Computing faqs, you know why it’ll be so.
