FEATURE
THE RISE OF EDGE COMPUTING MOVING PROCESSING POWER AND STORAGE TO THE EDGE OF ENTERPRISE NETWORKS IS SAID TO BE THE FUTURE OF ENTERPRISE TECHNOLOGY. HOW CAN YOU DETERMINE IF IT IS THE RIGHT CHOICE FOR YOU? HERE ARE SOME KEY QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE YOU START.
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he concept of edge computing, hailed by many as transformational tech architecture, is rather simple. It is all about distributing computing power beyond the data centre to where the action is. In other words, processing data closer to the edge of the network where data is being generated instead of a centralised data centre. Frost & Sullivan predicts 90 percent of industrial enterprises will use edge computing by 2022, and the multiaccess edge computing market is expected to reach $7.23 billion by 2024. Some industry analysts believe edge computing will eventually replace 16
CXO INSIGHT ME
SEPTEMBER 2020
traditional cloud computing, but the consensus is that two approaches can be complementary. What is driving the need for edge computing? Walid Yehia, Senior Director, Presales for MERAT - Dell Technologies, says the proliferation of IoT devices is generating massive amounts of data, with no signs of slowing any time soon. “The ability to store, move and process this data can provide tremendous opportunities for businesses, but can also become challenging if not managed properly. Edge computing can help solve this problem by processing data closer to the source and mitigating the risk
of exceeding network capacity and overloading networks. This is essential as it plays a fundamental role in continued IoT and 5G adoption, along with new applications that require realtime computing power.� He argues edge computing can also greatly reduce latency and enhance performance. With ongoing demand for faster service delivery and data analytics, organisations will increasingly push their data processing to edge networks, resulting in less centralised infrastructure and creating a wealth of possibilities for businesses. Charbel Khneisser, Regional Presales Director, MENA at Riverbed, says until recently, the convention has been
