The importance of edge computing has been steadily rising.
But what is it and why does it matter?
Edge computing moves processing from the cloud, closer to the end-device or end-user. Technology is moving so quickly that time-sensitive applications within the Internet of Things (IoT) need to operate with zero latency and require real-time responses. As streaming services, machine learning and artificial intelligence, cloud gaming, and virtual reality continue to grow, edge computing minimizes the cost of moving massive amounts of data and also reduces the reliance on the network itself. Additionally, edge computing offers data privacy and security. It allows organizations to comply with the ever-important data sovereignty laws while ensuring intellectual property remains on-site.
In 2019, decision makers were contacted for the Forrester Analytics Global Business Technographics® Mobility Survey. 57% stated that edge computing is part of their business plan for the next 12 months. Edge computing, compared to many other technological advances, is still a newcomer to the industry, but one to take seriously as the digital landscape grows.
Customization Drives Development
Edge computing can be used in a variety of ways and is part of every single industry. Businesses are unique and have their own demands for computing power, storage options, and networking requirements. Each use case will drive the importance of customization, starting at the processor level. One size does not fit all.
Prepare For Growth
Forrester predicts that edge computing will grow by 50% this year, with even more advances to come. The industry is innovating and some vendors are beginning to provide basic infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) to their customers. Typically, IaaS provides storage, servers and data center space or network components, hardware, software and more. These providers are utilizing advanced cloud-native programming services on distributed edge computing infrastructure. The end goal is to offer IaaS and platform-as-a-service (PaaS) that can operate with only the smallest connectivity to the public cloud. This particular market is set to explode in 2020.
Working Together
Simply speaking, there are bandwidth and connectivity limitations that will be difficult to handle alone. Maintaining edge platforms will encourage organizations to work with integrators in order to support their edge computing solutions instead of building and deploying their own. Consumers require faster speeds and even lower latency. The edge and core networks are interoperable and can work collaboratively to ensure companies are getting optimized traffic flows. When together, they easily support businesses’ needs for connectivity and latency-sensitive applications. This combination will shape the internet for all enterprises.
Colocation data centers, like 165 Halsey Street, offer a hybrid approach to edge computing.
By coordinating with a colocation provider, it is easy to update or downgrade space requirements and network bandwidth. The result is that the customer does not pay for space and network bandwidth that they do not need.
Colocation solutions offer enterprises a seamless way to utilize and integrate with the ever-changing digital landscape. Working with a colocation facility ensures that organizations can distribute their digital infrastructure to meet business requirements while being confident that they are maintaining resiliency, compliance, and security mandates with their data.
As more data and applications get pushed to the network edge and more users and network traffic extend to the edge, performance challenges increase. Low latency directly impacts the user experience and business revenue. Colocation solutions provide the opportunity for enterprises to place applications and data closer to public clouds. Data that is close to the end-user results in lower latency, better applications, and happier customers. Partnering with a colocation facility like 165 Halsey Street allows businesses to easily employ cloud and edge computing.
Edge computing is the epicenter of the future for our entire digital economy. A bigger shift to the edge will ease network bottlenecks and open pathways for multi-directional traffic flows. All of this occurs through peering and smart routing of traffic at the edge. There are a lot of advances and changes happening at the edge, and we are looking forward to how it will continue to help shape the digital landscape.