The edge computing market is expected to reach $274 billion by 2025, focusing on segments such as Internet of Things, public cloud services, patents and standards.
Most of this contribution is supported by companies moving their data centers to the cloud. This has allowed companies to move beyond cloud systems to edge computing systems and extract the maximum potential from their computing resources.
This blog will provide insight into edge computing and how it helps companies in the technology sector.
Understanding Edge Computing
From a technical perspective, edge computing is a distributed computing framework that bridges the gap between enterprise applications and data sources, including IoT devices or local edge servers.
For better understanding, edge computing helps businesses recreate experiences for people and profitability through improved response time and bandwidth availability.
Why is edge computing important for businesses?
When we talk about the most important industrial areas in the world, for example, the GCC region, which has a strong focus on priority areas such as cloud services, the transition from cloud technology to edge computing is now more important. than ever before for businesses to harness the potential of technology.
And with only 3% of companies at an advanced stage of digital transformation initiatives, the potential of edge computing is untapped.
It doesn’t matter if you run a mobile app development company, a grocery store next door, or a next-gen business. You need to understand how the cloud edge helps businesses and invest in this open source technology.
Predictive maintenance
Edge computing is primarily sought after in industries where value-added assets have a massive impact on the business in the event of losses.
Technology has enabled report delivery systems to send and receive documentation in seconds, which typically takes days or even weeks.
Take the example of the oil and gas industry, where some companies use edge computing. Predictive maintenance allowed them to proactively manage their pipeline and locate underlying issues to prevent any accumulating problems.
Support for remote operations
The pandemic has forced companies to opt for remote operations, or at the very least a hybrid work model, with a workforce spread across different geographic borders.
This drastic change brought about the use of state-of-the-art applications that would allow employees to secure access to their organization’s official servers and systems.
Edge Computing helps remote operations and hybrid teams by reducing the volume of data flowing through networks, providing compute density and scalability, limiting data redundancy, and helping users comply with guidelines compliance and regulatory.
Faster response time
Businesses can benefit from lower latency by deploying compute processes close to edge devices. For example, employees usually experience delays when corresponding with their colleagues on another floor due to a connected server in any part of the world.
While an edge computer application would route the data transfer within the office premises, reduce delays and significantly save bandwidth at the same time.
You can quickly adapt this office communication example to the fact that approximately 50% of the data created by businesses around the world is created outside of the cloud. Simply put, edge computing enables instant data transmission.
Robust data security
According to Statista, by 2025, global data production is expected to exceed 180 zettabytes. However, data security issues will also increase proportionally.
And with businesses producing and relying on data more than ever, edge computing is a solid prospect for processing large amounts of data sets more efficiently and securely when performed close to the data source. .
When companies see the cloud as their only savior for storing data in a single centralized location, it opens up risks for hacking and phishing activities.
On the other hand, a state-of-the-art computing architecture adds an extra layer of security because it is not dependent on a single point of storage or application. In fact, it is distributed to different devices.
In the event of a hack or phishing attempt, a single compromised network component can be disconnected from the rest of the network, preventing a complete shutdown.
Practical adoption of IoT
Global IoT spending is expected to exceed $410 billion by 2025. For businesses, especially in manufacturing, that rely on connected technology, the Internet of Things is at the heart of global industry today. .
These organizations are constantly looking to increase their compute potential and explore the IoT through a more dedicated data center.
Adoption of edge computing makes later adoption of enterprise IoT quite inexpensive and puts little pressure on network bandwidth.
Companies with IT prowess can take advantage of the IoT market without adding major infrastructure expenses.
Reduced IT costs
Global IT spending on devices, enterprise software and communication services has grown from $4.21 trillion to $4.43 trillion in 2022. While a considerable share of global spending is on cloud solutions, it is evident that the pandemic has only pushed remote operations and the hybrid working model to continue until.
When users physically keep data closer to the network edge, the cost of sending data to the cloud goes down. Therefore, it encourages businesses to save on IT expenses.
Besides reducing costs, edge computing also helps businesses increase their return on investment through improved data transmission speed and improved networks needed to experiment with new models.
How is edge computing different from cloud computing?
Although edge computing and cloud computing are peers for data storage and distribution, there are key differences regarding user context.
Deployment
Edge computing deploys resources to the point where data is generated. In contrast, cloud computing deploys resources to global locations.
Centralization/decentralization
Edge computing works in a decentralized way, while cloud computing is centralized.
Architecture
Edge is built on a stable architecture and cloud resources are built on loosely coupled components.
Response time
Edge-based resources respond instantly and cloud resources have a longer response time.
Bandwidth
Edge computing requires lower bandwidth, while the cloud equivalent consumes higher bandwidth.
However, the above difference makes edge computing a clear winner in all aspects for any business. But there is a catch!
Suppose your business resides in multiple physical locations and you need a low latency network to respond quickly to your customers who are far away from your on-premises location. Then edge computing is the right choice for you.
Edge Computing Use Cases
While there are many examples of use cases for edge computing, I will name a few that I find the most interesting.
Autonomous vehicles
Autonomous flocking of truck convoys is the simplest example one can find for autonomous vehicles. With the entire fleet traveling in close proximity while saving fuel expenses and limiting traffic congestion, edge computing has the power to eliminate the needs of all but the front vehicle driver.
The idea being that trucks will be able to communicate with others via low latency.
Remote monitoring of oil and gas industry assets
Oil and gas accidents have proven to be catastrophic throughout the history of the industry. This requires extreme vigilance in monitoring assets.
Although oil and gas assets are placed at remote sites, advanced computing technology facilitates real-time analysis with processing closer to the asset, indicating less reliance on high-quality connectivity to a centralized cloud.
Smart Grid
Edge computing is driving the adoption of smart grids, allowing businesses to better manage their energy consumption.
Modern factories, factories, and office buildings use edge platform-connected sensors and IoT devices to observe energy consumption and examine their consumption in real time.
Real-time analytics data will help energy management companies create appropriate and effective workarounds. For example, monitoring where power-intensive machinery operates during off-peak hours for electricity demand.
cloud gaming
Cloud gaming, seemingly the next big thing in gaming like Google Stadia, PlayStation Now, etc., relies heavily on latency.
Additionally, cloud gaming companies strive to create edge servers as close to the players as possible to reduce latency and provide a fully immersive and trouble-free experience.
Final Thoughts
This concludes our discussion on understanding edge computing and its importance to businesses around the world.
Now that you understand the benefits of edge computing and its applications across different industries and use cases, it’s obvious that it’s a great value proposition for businesses that want to gain competitive advantages and lead their frontline spaces.
Featured image credit: provided by the author; Thanks!
#Understand #Edge #Computing #matters #businesses #today