FEATURE
WHY THE EDGE MATTERS WHAT TO CONSIDER WHEN BUILDING A STRATEGY FOR THE EDGE COMPUTING
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dge computing is a distributed computing paradigm the brings processing power closer to data sources. Bringing compute horsepower closer to the edge means low latency and a significant reduction in bandwidth requirements for organisations. Though relatively new on the scene, edge computing is already being hailed as a transformative foundational technology that can be used in many applications. Frost & Sullivan estimates that 90 percent of industrial enterprises will utilise edge computing by 2022, spawning a wide range of use cases, 22
CXO INSIGHT ME
MARCH 2021
including robotics, autonomous vehicles, and smart factories. Why do you need to capture, store and analyse data closer to the sources instead of processing it in a centralised data centre? Dr. Chris Cooper, General Manager, Lenovo DCG Middle East and Africa, Lenovo DCG, explains why: “Today, more and more of our data is generated outside of the traditional data center and network perimeter - instead, data is coming from the edge of the network – connected devices, remote workers, IoT sensors and more. To be able to use that data in the same way
that we can use data in the data centre – applying analytics, automation of decisions, gaining actionable insight etc – we need to move to a distributed model of computing, where more of the computing power and processing is available closer to point of data generation.” Talal Shaikh, Director of Undergraduate Studies at the School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences, Heriot-Watt University Dubai, says edge computing helps businesses make faster data-driven decisions in response to their consumers’ needs. For instance, edge computing can help detect high traffic areas at the store,
