The future of Edge and the Metaverse

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> eBook The future of the Edge and Metaverse

Examining a whole new – digital – world

Ever since Mark Zuckerberg rebranded Facebook as Meta back in late 2021, the Metaverse has been an industry buzzword. But unlike most technological trends, which by now might have faded into obscurity, the Metaverse continues to garner more attention, to the point its arrival is no longer a question of if, but when.

This imminent arrival of what is essentially a whole new world poses myriad questions for the data center operator. What exactly is the Metaverse? What challenges will it bring? And most importantly, how do we build it?

In this eBook we endeavour to answer all those questions and more, taking the Metaverse from concept to conception, exploring the tech behind the titillation and showcasing how real this digital world could really be.

Chapter one: Defining the Metaverse

What exactly is the Metaverse and what does it mean for your business? In this chapter we define the seemingly undefinable, why it’s relevant and what to expect from the next big thing. We also explore the advent of industrial Metaverse, how it differs, and why the goal isn’t to escape from reality, but to access it.

Meta chapter and verse

It’s increasingly rare these days that technology produces something truly new – but once in a while, there’s a game-changing development, and right now, it’s ‘the Metaverse.’ Spearheaded by Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg, who has gone as far as to rename his company ‘Meta’ in reference to its new focus, the Metaverse has been one of the big buzzwords of the past 18 months. But what exactly is it, is it really worth all the hype, and what will it mean for the data center industry?

In the latest round of DCD>Talks broadcasts sponsored by Schneider Electric, we’ve brought together

experts from across the tech sector to discuss just that. In “Building for the Metaverse” we look at the requirements needed for a resourcehungry virtual world, the reality around infrastructure demand of moving into the Metaverse, what the infrastructure demands are expected to be, and if we could be moving into a potential bottleneck in Edge capacity to meet demand. Our panelists are Si Brown, CTO of Far, Lauren Long, managing partner at SL Edge Consulting, Jason Powers, senior product management director at Equinix, and Adam Compton, strategy director at Schneider Electric.

Web three blockchains, and the like, I believe, are synonymous with the future of Edge and certainly with the future of metaverse

> Mark Thiele Edgevana

The what, who, why, and how of building the Metaverse

Then, in “What to expect from the next big thing”, we look at exactly what the Metaverse can do for us, with Mark Thiele, CEO of Edgevana, and Dale Perkins, co-founder of Infinity Metaverse – exploring different interpretations of what the Metaverse is, what might be needed to make it happen and who the Metaverse is for.

Amongst the topics under discussion is Si Brown’s analysis that there is a need to standardize the Metaverse to avoid it becoming simplified, limited, and predefined, rather than the best version, of itself – warning that we’re potentially heading for one of the format wars that have peppered the tech industry’s history:

“Companies are creating ‘miniverses’ which are all separate. It's not like the Internet where it's open and free. I think if you go back to the days of Betamax videos, and VHS if you can remember that far, VHS wasn't the better product. It was just better marketing. What we've got is Betamax, VHS, DVD, SVD –all of these different things, all at the same time, and the Metaverse, I believe, will only work If there's something in the middle that is going to be able to communicate, and translate all of those different areas, and at the moment, there isn't one.”

Lauren Long of SL Edge Consulting believes that while there is a need to create a common language between Metaverses, it slightly misses the point of an organic growth medium that has already begun, meaning attempts from businesses like Meta to define it are almost irrelevant:

“As we transition into a web-three world, it's just two people talking – there is no third party. There is no platform. There are lots of big companies out there that think ‘We're going to be the Metaverse’ and no, you're not. It's not going to happen like that, in fact, it's already happening in a lot of small instances.”

Schneider’s Adam Compton warns that the danger comes from trying to define the Metaverse without a use case. Rather, he suggests, we should look for the reason to use the technology, not define what the Metaverse is upfront.

“I think that kind of vision for me sounds very physically sedentary, which I'm not interested in, psychologically it’s not great, and frankly, a little nauseating. That's not the right use case. That's not the right mindset. The right mindset is to take it and say that the use case is industrial. The use case is better design. It's better operation. It's better maintenance, all through a Metaverse capability that leads to better efficiency, much better safety, better sustainability.”

Equinix’s Jason Powers points out that the Metaverse is a progression and evolution of existing technologies, built for gaming, virtual reality, and remote working, all brought together in one place: “I think really what we're just talking about is a natural progression and evolution of how we intend to experience different things, augmented by technology made possible by the natural evolution of things like, mobile devices, compute and storage. People are thinking of new ways, because they have access to new ways to create experiences, because they have access to new technologies that they didn't have before.”

Dale Perkins identifies that many of the ‘technologies’ we take for granted today are built on the basis of existing ones, making them do more than the creators originally

intended. Can we expect the same for the Metaverse?

“When Google Maps came out, we didn't understand the capabilities this layer had for all of these companies to come in and use this technology. At first, it was just, ‘I'm going from A to B and I never have to use a map again’. But actually, that layer of technology allowed so many other businesses to be built on top, and change the way we live. Now you pick up your phone, and you order cigarettes and alcohol to your door. But this was actually built from that Google Maps layer. When this layer came in, it actually changed our world and our habits of how we behave as human beings.”

Mark Thiele discusses the value of the Metaverse as an accelerator towards the world of Web 3.0, bringing together the value propositions of VR and the blockchain – and that starts with making it accessible to all: “Finding ways to reduce that barrier to entry to allow for people to grow into a new environment and experience it at their pace and experience it with a wider variety of workloads or opportunities is really key to the success of any modern technology taking hold.

“Some of the things that define web three are things like the validator on a blockchain network, ensuring that transactions occur sooner, ensuring higher levels of transparency and security –and managing for performance, managing for scale. Web three blockchains, and the like, I believe, are synonymous with the future of Edge and certainly with the future of Metaverse.” 

There are lots of big companies out there that think ‘We're going to be the metaverse’ and no, you're not. It's not going to happen like that, in fact, it's already happening in a lot of small instances

> Lauren Long SL Edge Consulting

The industrial Metaverse: What it is and what it means for you

Siva Kanesvaran Schneider Electric

The industrial Metaverse was “not yet” a significant trend in 2022, per industry analyst firm IDC. But now, the topic is on everyone’s mind. The Oxford English Dictionary named “Metaverse” the runner-up in its 2022 Word of the Year contest. (First place? The phrase “goblin mode,” or “a type of behavior which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations.”)

There are plenty of takes on the industrial Metaverse – and yes, some are self-indulgent and lazy. My goal here is to share a perspective that rigorously pulls back the curtain of what it’s really all about – and what it means for you.

If 2022 was the year of the Metaverse, let 2023 be the year of the industrial Metaverse

If you were at the Schneider Electric Innovation Summit Las Vegas in October, you already got a head start on your journey to the industrial Metaverse. We had the honor of taking a journey inside this digital world with tour guides: Schneider’s executive vice president of Industrial Automation, Barbara Frei, and Peter Herweck, CEO of AVEVA and the recently announced CEO of Schneider Electric as of May 2023. Together, they provided a pragmatic analysis of the next big thing in industrial automation.

bunch of people sitting around in VR headsets playing video games or holding virtual conference calls.

expands the opportunities of this existing transformation. It draws from a wider scope of data that spans further across the dimensions of space and time. Users can visualize and act on data points from two months, or two years ago – or those that are generated 1,000 feet, or 1,000 miles away.

What is the industrial Metaverse?

Many of us already know the broad brushstrokes of the Metaverse. It’s a world created by virtual or augmented reality (VR or AR). Today, that Metaverse is branching out beyond Avatar, immersive gaming, and other consumer applications into the industrial space.

IDC defines the industrial Metaverse as “an evolution of today’s Internet that leverages mobile devices, augmented and virtual headsets, and next-generation networks to create persistent and continuous user experiences with a strong sense of presence.”

I’ve noticed some confusion in using the popular notion of the Metaverse to define the industrial Metaverse. Of course, there are key similarities; but the big difference worth noting is that it isn’t just a

Of course, remote collaboration and troubleshooting are big opportunities for the industrial Metaverse, but what makes it especially promising is the ability to model photorealistic real-time operations and performance across an entire factory or plant. In this sense, the industrial Metaverse is best understood as a richer extension of digital twins (i.e., datamade copies of physical assets, processes, or production lines). And digital twins, fundamentally, are about visualizing data to elevate performance.

For example, real-time data can flag that a thermocouple is about to fail in one of your furnaces. When real engineers arrive to fix the equipment, they can view the equipment through an AR tool, get instant access to digital diagnostic guidance, communicate with others on the team, and thus, speed the repair.

Or perhaps your team needs to retool a production line for a new product. With Metaverse software, you could simulate performance of competing design options, model the requirements, and propose design tweaks on the fly –standing in the same virtual room as your colleagues on different continents. With better modeling and collaboration, you close communication loops, avoid design mistakes, and pave the way for higher performance.

The industrial Metaverse starts with data

As Peter said at Innovation Summit, the industrial Metaverse starts with data. Accordingly, establishing a solid data infrastructure that spans the complete enterprise, including the supply chain, is crucial. Industrial enterprises can build applications on top of this underlying data infrastructure to create digital twins, which in turn use that data to deliver an immersive experience.

Digital twins were already transforming the way companies work within the enterprise, with suppliers, and even with their customers. The industrial Metaverse

These are just a couple ways that data enables immersive experiences that transform the entire industrial lifecycle – from designing systems (or even entire factories) with energy-efficiency performance requirements baked into the design, to operating assets more efficiently in real time, to maintaining the system or facility based on what cloud-based analytics reveal at any given moment.

Digital twins enable collaboration based on shared data (via the cloud) in context. While the industrial Metaverse is a virtual world, it also is a real-time environment that allows industry stakeholders to visualize the data (e.g., temperature, faults, etc.), analyze it, make informed predictions, and create insights to optimize operations.

Digital twins were already transforming the way companies work within the enterprise, with suppliers, and even with their customers. The industrial Metaverse expands the opportunities of this existing transformation

> Siva Kanesvaran Schneider Electric

Of course, it’s been possible to do this for quite some time. The industrial Metaverse is something that’s been evolving for years; there’s no binary on-off switch to get into it. Rather, it’s about scale. The Metaverse emerges when organizations employ these advanced digital capabilities in large-scale, enterprise-level contexts, not just single pieces of equipment or single systems within a facility.

Let’s see a concrete case study of the industrial Metaverse

At Innovation Summit, Peter and Barbara shared a concrete example of how Kellogg is embracing the industrial Metaverse to transform its food production lines. The company had two major goals: reduce product variability and bring overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) in line with the consumer packaged goods (CPG) best-in-class rating.

To do so, Kellogg connected all its plants, via tens of thousands of sensors, within a single AVEVA Data Hub. By centralizing all this data in a single space, Kellogg created collaboration across not only the enterprise itself but across its partner ecosystem.

That newfound connectivity is delivering big benefits. For instance, in one of Kellogg’s factories in Spain that produces chocolate-coated cereals, it’s critical to have chocolate available at the right time and the

> Siva Kanesvaran Schneider Electric

right temperature. (Whereas for me, it’s just critical to have chocolate … period.)

By connecting with chocolate suppliers via shared production data in the cloud, Kellogg can more seamlessly manage this logistics challenge. Its chocolate producers have real-time information about the amount of chocolate in the tanks, which chocolate is there, its temperature, and the quantity needed to keep seamless production going.

As you can imagine, this shared visibility of data drives productivity, reduces waste, and enables energy savings – $3.3 million per year in this factory alone.

By working with AVEVA, Kellogg has reduced critical control points (CCP) by 64 percent, product failures by 73 percent, and minor line stops by 67 percent to date – while achieving a CPG best-inclass rating for OEE of 80 percent and increasing mean time between failures rate by 180 percent.

To me, just-in-time chocolate is a relatable, concrete win for industries of the future and the customers who get to enjoy these tasty cereals!

to escape from reality – to tune out the real world and instead occupy a fantasy.

Perhaps for some, that’s true. But I see the industrial Metaverse as a way to get closer to reality. Because the alternative status-quo reality isn’t so much something industrial leaders are trying to escape from; it’s something they’re trying to gain access to.

What’s the real-time condition of this machine? Why is this conveyor failing? What’s the enterpriselevel carbon footprint? Each of these questions is about trying to understand the reality of the situation. And historically, they’ve been hard to answer. The Metaverse helps us realize a new environment for humans to interact with systems that, until now, may have been too large to comprehend in a single view. The industrial Metaverse is simply a new, and better, way to answer long-standing questions.

And these questions are more pressing than ever. Operational efficiency and decarbonization are increasingly urgent priorities for everyone – especially industrial companies. Nearly a fourth (23 percent) of carbon emissions worldwide still come from industry, while the US wastes 65 percent of all energy generated, six billion gallons of water a day – the list goes on. We can’t operate in “goblin mode” forever, and the industrial Metaverse is here to help with that

I realize there’s still quite a bit more going on with the industrial Metaverse than a single article can contain, so I encourage you to check out other perspectives. I thought this piece from Peter was excellent. In it, he connects the industrial Metaverse to two big topics: sustainability and the wider industrial-connected economy.

The industrial Metaverse is about accessing, not escaping, from reality

The Metaverse of the popular imagination is often seen as a way

While the industrial Metaverse is a virtual world, it also is a real-time environment that allows industry stakeholders to visualize the data, analyze it, make informed predictions, and create insights to optimize operations

The Metaverse is still relevant, and here’s why

Óscar Méndez Stratio BD

By harnessing extended reality technologies, the Metaverse promises virtual environments wherein immersive, perhaps even lifelike, experiences can be realized. End-users will be able to explore expansive digital terrains, peruse various goods and services through 3D virtual showrooms, and even perform complex surgeries with medical data overlayed on the operating table.

But commentary in the media in recent months would lead you to believe that the Metaverse is simply a newfangled technology with limited potential.

It’s not surprising that Disney and Microsoft’s decision to axe their respective Metaverse departments, combined with the fact that Meta’s own Metaverse division, Reality Labs, hemorrhaged $13.7 billion in 2022, has led the WSJ and others to dismiss the Metaverse as the ‘Meh-taverse’, with others dismissing it as a phenomenon which was caused by investors gambling cheap money available at low interest rates.

It is only with the assistance of a data fabric architecture that a new age of digital reality can take hold

At the same time, the emergence of generative AI technologies has seemingly eclipsed enthusiasm for the Metaverse, with companies such as Microsoft shifting focus towards enhancing the GPT capabilities of its Bing platform.

That said, such skepticism fails to recognize that the rapid development of AI technologies is a crucial component of the Metaverse reaching its potential. This is because AI could be used to generate new and exciting graphically rich 3D virtual environments, as well as detailed avatars and other digital representations of end-users.

In addition, AI could enable natural language interactions within the Metaverse, allowing end-users to navigate and create virtual worlds through voice commands, and facilitate seamless multi-lingual communications through AIpowered language localization.

Moreover, the Metaverse market is poised to enjoy sizeable growth over the next few years. The Global Metaverse Market Intelligence Report 2023, for example, has forecast that the global Metaverse industry will grow an eye-watering 44.8 percent in 2023, reaching over $205 billion, while a report by Grand View Research Inc. has estimated that this figure will swell to around $935 billion by 2030.

This growth is expected in part because of significant global investment in the Metaverse, with the Shanghai government gunning for a Metaverse industry worth ¥350 billion, and UK Metaverse startups such as Improbable and Molten

Ventures raising $100 million and $30 million respectively.

But the development of the Metaverse is not without its challenges. Chief among these challenges is the complexity of handling such a vast amount of data in a way that allows for interoperability. In fact, Credit Suisse has predicted that the Metaverse could increase data usage up by 20 times in the next 10 years, which would push 5G to its limits and even accelerate the need for 6G networking. This would no doubt lead to new data management problems with the Metaverse that would need to be overcome.

Metaverse interoperability would permit the exchange of data across multiple platforms, allowing end-users to frictionlessly switch between virtual worlds, and transport assets and other information from one digital world to another, or into the physical one and vice-versa. However, it remains to be seen whether data interchange across various virtual worlds and platforms is possible at such scale.

One solution to this problem is the increased use of a data fabric – a powerful architecture of data

services spanning hybrid multicloud environments. Data fabric can create a virtualization layer wherein data from multiple sources can be mapped to a homogenous ontology without the need to copy and move data from their respective sources. In other words, otherwise, incomparable data from various extended reality hardware and software applications could be mapped to a Metaverse-specific ontology, allowing for the exchange of data between these sources required for interoperability.

The Metaverse already has a solid data fabric foundation at its core, used increasingly by companies around the world for integrating, storing, cleaning, curating, and governing data. As the Metaverse expands, it is becoming increasingly clear that data fabric is the only technology able to match its growing complexity and capability, meaning the fates of both concepts are intrinsically tied to one another. Companies that realize this sooner will find themselves ahead of the curve and ready to embrace a rapidly evolving business landscape.

Development of the Metaverse is not without its challenges; chief among them is the complexity of handling vast amounts of data in a way that allows for interoperability > Óscar Méndez Stratio BD

Competing for the Metaverse

How hyperscalers are arming up with their own infrastructure

> Tony Pialis Alphawave Semi

Just as Sputnik kicked off a race for technological supremacy, Meta’s announcement in late 2021 has sparked a new competition between tech giants. Envisioned as the next evolution of the Internet, the Metaverse is set to bring augmented reality and virtual reality (VR) technology together to create more interactive and immersive online social experiences. To highlight its commitment, Meta has announced multiple investments toward building developer tools, AI supercomputers, and digital infrastructure

Competitors and companies providing public cloud hyperscale capabilities – that is the ability to achieve massive scale in computing – such as Microsoft, Google, and Amazon aren’t sitting idly by, but are moving swiftly to develop their Metaverse initiatives.

The recent acquisition of Activision for $69B by Microsoft, continued development of AR technology by Google, and a new Metaverse game from Amazon (a weird marketing exercise using

Tony Pialis Alphawave Semi

Ensuring equal access by building high-speed Internet around the world beyond major urban areas must be essential in the implementation of the Metaverse to make it an equitable technology

avatars to explain how to use AWS) are all efforts to claim a piece of the new emerging market.

While the focus on the exciting new software and hardware devices will dominate the public perception of the Metaverse, an equally important, if not more critical race to build the next generation of Internet infrastructure is already in full swing. Here’s what is happening behind the scenes:

A multi-trillion-dollar prize at stake

Winning this race opens the doors to an emerging market estimated to be worth trillions of dollars with its enormous business opportunities and benefits. Everything from shopping, games and other social events could take place in the Metaverse, which makes it a gold mine for data. This is why hyperscalers such as Meta, Google, Amazon, and even others in Asia such as ByteDance and Tencent are moving quickly to own the experience from the hardware to the software. Over the next decade, this competition will drive new advancements in technology with the ultimate goal of being the first to reach users.

The Metaverse will physically reshape the Internet

Put simply, our current digital infrastructure is not up to the task of supporting a Metaverse. Connecting thousands or millions of VR headsets to an interactable digital world requires huge amounts of bandwidth and very low latency to enable a usable experience. The connectivity demands will only increase as the user base and the amount of data grows.

At the center of all this infrastructure are data centers as they will be the engines providing all of the computing, graphics processing, and storage needed to power the Metaverse. Companies will have to build more data centers and upgrade existing ones with new technologies such as AI chips, solid-state storage, and high-speed

interconnect. Subsequently, we will see the acceleration of fiber optics being laid down in cities and neighborhoods to improve the connection between users and data centers.

This has also led to a war for talent as companies are poaching developers, engineers, and even lawyers for protecting intellectual property. Hyperscalers are doubling down on scouting potential candidates still in college and hiring them immediately upon graduation, creating a fierce and cutthroat environment.

The race for the Metaverse has also spurred employees who are driven by a desire to “own” their product, searching for meaning in their work, exciting challenges, and growth opportunities. Ultimately, being able to create the next big thing can be more alluring than the promise of money.

It could change our lives. Again The Metaverse could not only change the way we work and interact socially, but the development of Internet infrastructure will also accelerate the implementation of other technologies such as AI automation.

As the world becomes ever more digital, people who are less adept with technology could find themselves at a disadvantage or even be replaced by the increase in AI technology. Being conscious of this issue and finding ways to solve it through retraining and education

> Tony Pialis Alphawave Semi

is crucial to preventing a two-tiered society. Ensuring equal access by building high-speed Internet around the world beyond major urban areas must be essential in the implementation of the Metaverse to make it an equitable technology.

Another change that we are likely to see will be an increase in government regulatory oversight over the collection and usage of user data. There is simply too much data that needs to be secured for governments to not be involved and this could take form in multiple ways.

One approach involves hyperscalers leading the creation of a Metaverse but will work closely with governments to protect data. The other approach sees governments taking the lead by placing the Metaverse as a “national endeavor” with hyperscalers playing a supporting role. Ultimately, it is very likely that a hybrid approach will emerge in the future.

The race is on

With all the work and money put into building data centers, fiber networks, and new hardware, companies are eager to get a return on investment. First-generation deployment could happen within five years and look similar to less realistic worlds like Roblox. It will only get better from then on, but the enormous investments signal that hyperscalers are aiming for a sprint to the finish line rather than a slow marathon. The Metaverse is coming and it is coming soon. 

Competitors and companies providing public cloud hyperscale capabilities – that is the ability to achieve massive scale in computing – such as Microsoft, Google, and Amazon aren’t sitting idly by, but are moving swiftly to develop their Metaverse initiatives

Chapter two:

Edging closer to a whole new world

Much like any other universe you could imagine, the Metaverse is vast, comprising almost infinite amounts of information. Connecting to this digital reality requires fast and reliable online speed. And while 5G can deliver the bandwidth and interoperability needed to a support a user’s connection, latency can still be a major concern.

This is where Edge computing bridges the gap, ensuring these vast swathes of digital content are created and transmitted in real time. From 5G, to developments at the Edge, in this chapter we explore the pivotal role of Edge computing in the evolution of a whole new digital world.

The arrival of the 5G Edge

5G promised great things, but it has hit many hurdles on its way to reality. What are the prospects now?

5G has been heralded as the future of technology, with its quicker speeds, shorter latency, and greater efficiency. Sure, there was 3G, and 4G before this, but the telecoms world has made a big noise about 5G and why it promises to be a gamechanger

Since the launch of the next-generation connectivity in 2019, markets worldwide have adopted 5G, with most smartphones released in the last two years being 5G-compatible.

Paul Lipscombe DCD Telco Editor

5G mobile connections could surpass one billion by the end of this year, according to analyst firm CCS Insight. This number is expected to explode to 4.5 billion by 2026, with China tipped to lead the way.

Another analyst firm Counterpoint Research revealed that one tipping point has been reached: In the second quarter of 2022, more 5G smartphones were sold than 4G mobiles

Relationship with Edge

So 5G is already having a big impact on the telecom industry and reaching consumers. At the same time, as a fast data solution located close to data sources and connected directly to devices, it’s obvious that 5G will tie in closely with Edge.

Finnish vendor Nokia says that ‘cloud-native Edge infrastructure will be essential to enable the successful implementation of 5G’, noting that it will support new, advanced use cases powered by network slicing capabilities.

Meanwhile, STL Partners, a telecoms consultancy firm, has been pretty busy about why 5G needs the Edge.

In a report, Tilly Gilbert, principal consultant and Edge practice lead at STL Partners, notes that Edge computing will reduce latency on the networks.

To achieve ultra-low latency, necessary for use cases like autonomous drones or remote telesurgery, the combination of 5G and Edge computing will be necessary, especially in the long term.

Another key benefit of 5G for Edge computing is that it can enable operators to change their backhaul business models, adds the report. It will allow data to be filtered at a local Edge site, with whatever data is necessary being stored in the centralized cloud after being analyzed and rationalized (an architecture also referred to as multi-access Edge, computing or MEC).

5G has been a slow burner?

But where are we at with 5G currently? Nokia senior director of sales engineering Fayyaz Patwa told DCD’s Stephen Worn that “the complexities around 5G mean it will take time” for 5G to take off fully. He made the comments during a

fireside chat, titled ‘Why has the rollout of 5G not been as easy as expected?’

It’s also the case that proponents in the telecoms industry may have raised hopes too high: “Part of the reason we haven’t met expectations with 5G, is because I, myself, and the team included have been beating the drums on 5G since about 2015, and we’ve set high expectations,” said Patwa.

“1G through to 4G was primarily user-centric and data-centric, but 5G is very different, it’s not just about consuming large data and speed, it’s about latency and reliability. It’s a game-changer and to achieve these advanced 5G features, requires the complete architecture to be redesigned. 5G requires a complete redesign.”

His comments were echoed by Viavi Solutions CTO Sameh Yamany, who adds that the industry needs to be patient.

“It’s a great time to be in this era with 5G coming in, but there’s a lot of expectation with 5G and we need to understand that it’s complex technology.

“It’s promised a lot and people were expecting a big change, but we

need to look at the reality. There’s been a lot of complications such as spectrum availability, device availability, and how 5G is different from 4G architecturally and 5G requires a lot of different phases to go in.”

Yamany adds that while 5G will deliver greater speeds through its lower latency, and greater bandwidth, this isn’t the thing that people should be excited about.

He sees a bigger picture: 5G will drive the next industrial revolution, he says.

“Here is the reality, 5G will bring speed and that’s what people will

love, but that’s not what 5G is about, it’s about the connecting of machine-to-machine (M2M) and driving the next industrial revolution.”

He explains further that 5G will be crucial to the use cases that are expected to explode in the coming years, including private 5G networks, utilities, railways, aviation, Industry 6.0, and the education sector.

Hurdles around 5G Delving a bit deeper into the topic of 5G, Worn asked the duo about the key hurdles 5G has faced to date.

Both further addressed challenges around the spectrum, notably in the United States with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), plus conflicts over 5G around airports, says Patwa.

“In the race for 5G, the US is behind,” he observes, but to offer a dose of reality, notes the vast size of the country, plus the different types of terrain within the States.

However, he does believe the US has been slightly behind with the rollout, despite US operators spending over $80 billion of spectrum in the C-band.

Patwa thinks that in some areas, the FCC is part of the problem: “The other challenge is the FCC. We feel the FCC has fallen behind in allocating spectrum C-Band which is referred to as beachfront spectrum [i.e., attractive property] in the race for 5G. It was auctioned about a year ago and the carriers spent billions. And then we ran into this airport and FCC issue, which slowed down the rollout even further.”

> Fayyaz Patwa Nokia

He’s referring to the FCC’s skirmish with the Federal Aviation

1G through to 4G was primarily usercentric and data-centric, but 5G is very different, it’s not just about consuming large data and speed, it’s about latency and reliability

Administration (FAA) in late 2021, which concerned spectrum in the C-Band. The FAA warned that 5G transmission within this band might interfere with flight safety.

The fallout from this was enough to delay AT&T and Verizon’s planned rollout of 5G services in the C-Band, near airports. The FAA noted that its radar altimeters use spectrum in the 4.2GHz to 4.4GHz band, while US operators were anticipated to operate uncomfortably close to that in C-Band n77 spanning 3.3GHz to 4.2GHz.

Subsequently, AT&T and Verizon agreed to delay the full rollout of their 5G networks until July 2023 in order to allow airlines more time to mitigate fears of interference.

The Americans aren’t the only ones that have had issues with the 5G rollout, with German Open RAN newcomer 1&1 delaying its own 5G rollout by six months.

And in the UK, Ericsson’s UK public head of affairs Patricia Dooley told a panel at the 2022 Connected Britain event that the nation needs to show the same enthusiasm for 5G, as it does for fiber.

“I’d like to see the same level of enthusiasm for 5G rollout as there is with fiber roll-out,” she said.

“I think it's really important that there is support there for the operator community, both large and small to deploy this network everywhere and quickly.”

Different architectures

Yamany agrees that the spectrum issues haven’t helped, but adds that 5G represents a complete ‘architectural change’ to those before it.

“5G is bringing a lot of architectural change, and maybe (in the future) 6G will be the continuation of 5G Advanced, focusing on nonterrestrial networks. There have been complicated political and environmental barriers around the world to 5G deployments. 5G is moving from being for consumers to being for machines.

“The blessing of 5G is also its curse. It’s moving to industries, but these industries are moving at their own pace and have their own standards to meet,” says Yamany.

Speaking to DCD, Nokia head of wireless networks Jane Rygaard had a similar opinion, noting that the architectural change to 5G is something that cannot be overlooked, with the move from a centralized network to a network Edge that is highly decentralized.

She notes that the industry spent 15 years centralizing all the existing networks but is now looking to decentralize these networks, as they are easier to scale and provide better system reliability and security.

Use cases

As for the use cases, there’s a range of sectors anticipated to grow in the coming years, from remote surgery to things we’re already seeing such as cloud gaming.

Another industry is agriculture, which Dell Technologies UK networking director Lee Larter tells DCD can be pivotal for sustainability.

“There is an abundance of opportunities around 5G and Edge. Some sectors have many options, for example, farming and agriculture. When we use Edge solutions to understand farming better, we can reduce waste, and optimize more sustainable methods.”

Larter adds that 5G will transform many industries once it's fully available, and should be a key focus for the UK government in its approach to ‘Levelling Up’ the UK’s economy.

“Once 5G is available everywhere, it will give us reliable and dedicated connectivity that could help to transform many industries. It would also help to address some of the imbalance that the government is trying to even out with its leveling up agenda.”

Another use case that Dell boasts about is its partnership with the Formula 1 racing team McLaren. The company is able to “leverage its data which is turned into new innovations that help McLaren improve their performance,” says Larter.

“Modernized connectivity is essential for getting the best out of Edge solutions,” adds Larter.

“All these use cases require exceptional levels of information flowing, which requires very low latency without delays. 5G is an expanded, low latency, highperformance network that captures all this real-time data for business advantage.”

Metaverse is closer to reality

The Metaverse will also become more of a reality thanks to advancements in 5G and Edge, says Rygaard. Or Metaverses, because it’s plural and won’t just be one, she said.

5G mobile connections could surpass one billion by the end of this year, according to analyst firm CCS Insight. This number is expected to explode to 4.5 billion by 2026, with China tipped to lead the way > CCS Insight

This virtual world that exists online will be made up of different websites, social media platforms, and games to create cyberspace. It’s something that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is looking to push.

But 5G and the Edge will play a key part in bringing the Metaverse to life, Rygaard says, as virtual reality (VR) and related technology will rely on the lower latency of 5G, which is a critical enabler to bring this virtual futuristic world to life.

Rygaard: “I think the most significant part is how do we from a security and privacy perspective, make sure that we have data available in the right places for the right reasons?

“The more we build physical systems in applications, the more we can talk about the Metaverse going forward. The Edge plays a massive role because we bring applications closer to where they make sense.”

Need to modernize

Without the Edge, organizations will fall behind, adds Larter, who warns

that businesses will need to keep up to date.

He argues it's impossible to ignore, with many smart household products using data. Data is critical for the future, and how we use it will be even more important. Again, 5G will be important in this.

“Organizations are going to need Edge to remain competitive. If businesses don’t start modernizing and using these new technologies to their advantage, they will be left behind.

“It will become imperative for them to modernize and make better use of the data they’re generating. But to do this well, 5G is needed.”

On the subject of smart home devices such as Alexa, Larter warns businesses to figure out the best way to get vast amounts of valuable information from these devices while ensuring they’re protected and connected to other data sources.

“When you have more data, you have a more extensive threat surface area, which needs protecting. With Edge, hackers can look for vulnerabilities across various

devices rather than within the data center, which means we must create new security solutions.”

The advances in Edge and 5G will bring opportunities for businesses, says Larter. He adds that with the new technology capabilities, will come a new generation of digital skills.

“With 5G and Edge, come new digital skills and opportunities for future generations. Even when leveraging this new technology and collecting valuable datasets, we need human input to structure the information and create the right business outcome.”

Quite what these digital skills turn out to be is not clear yet, but a burgeoning community is working on it.

In any case, there is little doubt that the future could be very exciting if all the promises made for 5G, Edge, and related technologies turn into reality for businesses. 

Future thinking: Exploring the enterprise Metaverse and its impact on Edge computing

Natalya Makarochkina Schneider Electric

One of the most intriguing ideas to have emerged in recent times around the future of the Internet, connectivity, and how we interact, is the Metaverse.

Though the term itself stems from a 1992 novel by Neil Stephenson, it was last year’s rebranding of Facebook to Meta that crystallized a new level of discussion and broad intent to make it happen. While there are many high concepts about what the Metaverse will be, and even a set of rules already defined, akin to the Laws of Robotics, there is, as yet, still no Metaverse.

User experience and technical requirements

However, there is much informed

speculation as to what it might look like, what it might contain, and what technical requirements would be needed for the Metaverse. And while many things remain cloudy about the Metaverse, one thing is crystal clear, it will require, as a cornerstone, Edge computing and its developments.

To understand the technical requirements of the Metaverse takes a little bit of examination of what the user experience is expected to be. Firstly, there will be an immersive 3D visualization in real time through wearable technology that will be light (300-500 gr max), wireless, delivering at least 8K resolution with more than 90 frames a second. This will require the equivalent of 1Gbps or better fiber connectivity, with

sub-50 ms latency – a tall order.

Furthermore, the environments the user will access are expected to be ubiquitous, persistent, and synchronous. The Metaverse environment will need to be there and available all the time, for one or every user, everywhere, and consistent for all.

But what does that mean?

Going back to Meta, in a blog on the subject, “Delivering such an experience will require innovations in fields like hybrid local and remote real-time rendering, video compression, Edge computing, and cross-layer visibility, as well as spectrum advocacy… We envision a future where remote rendering over Edge cloud, or some form of hybrid

With clearer visions emerging, what’s needed to deliver the Metaverse is also crystallizing

between local and remote rendering, plays a greater role in the years to come.”

With that need made clear, for compute power closer to where users need it, another recent discussion from a panel of experts adds more detail, from relevant experts in Intel, Arm, Inspur Information, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, and Infinera.

A summation of their comments asserts that truly persistent and immersive computing, at scale and accessible by billions of humans in real time, will require a 1,000-times increase in computational efficiency from today’s state of the art.

Acknowledging the potential of the Metaverse as extraordinary, equally the industry is still in the early stages of development and there are several compute elements that need to come together to see the Metaverse’s true potential, again portable device form factors, Edge data centers, and the cloud.

Increased intelligent Edge computing capability

Changes to throughput and latency will impact the network infrastructure and will need orders of magnitude improvement in compute efficiency and performance. The Metaverse will demand adaptive infrastructure that integrates hardware and software. The hardware must provide power suitable for a wide array of computeintensive scenarios.

Taking all of this together, there will be orders of magnitude in the development of connectivity, bandwidth, latency, and compute

power, with current architectures requiring significant redesign to accommodate more intelligent Edge capability, while also leveraging more centralized resources to support core functions.

The implications are that the distributed, multi-platform, data infrastructure of the future is going to require an orchestration capability across multiple clouds, platforms, protocols, and environments, with real-time monitoring and management, from the user to the Edge, to the data center and beyond.

Currently, that kind of expertise lies with ecosystems such as data center infrastructure providers, who are already experts in Edge computing development and deployment, and multi-cloud management through cloudbased data center infrastructure management (DCIM).

While it is clear the technology required for the Metaverse is not all here yet, there are centers and sectors of expertise that are already advanced in key elements of what the Metaverse is expected to be, and so can act as leaders to gather other elements of the stack together to collaborate on the next stages of development. There are various collaborations and facilitations offering introductory experiences.

Digital twin technology and Edge computing

However, while much of the current focus is on the consumer end of things, great strides are also being made elsewhere. McKinsey posits that the current implementation

of digital twins in enterprise will grow to encompass elements of immersive interaction that will result in the enterprise Metaverse.

“We believe that the impact of the Metaverse could be as high in the enterprise as in the consumer space – if not higher,” says McKinsey, arguing the enterprise Metaverse could enable optimized decision making, from the C-suite to the front lines, through customized and immersive employee and customer experiences enabled by augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR), autonomous AI use cases, such as active self-healing equipment, that aren’t possible today, and entirely new product development mechanisms and processes.

With a digital twin as a start, enterprises can add data points, AI-enhanced automation, and connections to other digital twins, that would be accessible through AR/VR, to allow a level of interaction and orchestration not currently possible. Supply chain disruption, for example, could be modeled and understood with scenarios worked through in seconds to understand, mitigate, and adapt.

The digital twins can be connected to their physical counterparts so that when scenarios are resolved, they can be implemented immediately, further reducing risk, and delivering competitive advantage.

Enterprise Metaverse of the future

As the technologies evolve, or are newly developed, to meet the needs of the current envisioning of the Metaverse, some experts argue that a significant element of its future will be determined by enterprise.

With the value of digital twins already yielding 10 percent savings in capital and operating expenses for some of the layering of technologies to build towards the enterprise, Metaverse gives a solid, value-driven route for businesses to explore the possibilities and experience the benefits for themselves, beyond the hype. 

With a digital twin as a start, enterprises can add data points, AI-enhanced automation, and connections to other digital twins, that would be accessible through AR/VR, to allow a level of interaction and orchestration not currently possible

> Natalya Makarochkina Schneider Electric

Is Metaverse the killer app for Edge?

Mark Thiele Edgevana

The Metaverse is about experience. Experience in a digital environment is driven by infrastructure architecture, application design, and environment performance. Once design is optimized, distance latency is what you have to accommodate next.

Enter Edge Computing, which came into life to solve latency challenges. There can be little doubt that latency and a few other location-based factors will be critical to the success of the Metaverse.

So that begs the question… Is the Metaverse the “killer app” for Edge?

The Metaverse is being developed by large enterprises and will be delivered to many in ways similar to the Internet today. If Internet performance isn’t usually hampered too much by latency, why would the Metaverse be affected?

My thinking is that using the Internet is more closely related to reading a billboard. You could be 100 meters away and read it or you could

be a mile away with binoculars and still read it, the experience doesn’t change too much.

The Metaverse on the other hand, is more like being the rover on Mars. Today, when Houston wants the rover to do something new, they have to wait about eight minutes for the commands to arrive.

Can you imagine how frustrating it would be to attempt to experience a 3D interactive environment where you almost have to plan ahead for what you want to experience before you can just go there? Even more to the point, get motion sickness because the VR interface you’re using in some Metaverses isn’t keeping up with your senses.

We also have to consider the idea that whether you’re using the Metaverse to work/play in Paris, from your hotel in Singapore or doing something closer to home, your policies, personal information, meta information and data compliance will all need to be accommodated. I believe the

ability to have your governance and data closer to where the action is occurring will be critical to your experience.

What makes the Metaverse a killer app

Sheer potential scale and global distribution requirements are, in my opinion, the biggest reasons that the Metaverse qualifies as a killer app for Edge computing. There are estimated to be 50,000 active users of the Metaverse today and yet estimates for growth suggest $800 billion in revenue by 2024 and up to five billion users over the next decade.

In case you’re wondering about the opportunity for NFTs, my expectation is that interest will explode alongside the growth of users in the Metaverse.

Estimates for Metaverse value and adoption are still all over the place, but for a simple comparison, it took us (technically) 36 years to get to one billion users on the Internet,

Metaverse needs low latency. Edge can deliver it

but it’s expected that we could have as many as five billion users in the Metaverse by 2030 or about half the time to get to 5X the number of users.

The value of this new environment is estimated to be $13 trillion by Citi. I don’t know about you, but even a small sliver of $13 Trillion can justify a ton of investment. Prior to Metaverse considerations, Edge was already an investment worthy opportunity for most technology companies or enterprises doing digital transformation. Combine that opportunity with the Metaverse and well, sky’s the limit.

Why does the Metaverse drive so much new demand?

I expect that many Metaverse applications, by virtue of the experience requirements, will require four to five times the infrastructure investment of a comparable Web2 application. I also expect that a significant percentage (at least 50 percent) of applications delivered via the Metaverse will be net new.

So basically, what I’m trying to say is that the Metaverse will drive a ton of demand, much of it net new, not replacements for existing applications and infrastructure. There will be growth in traditional hyperscale public cloud environments, but there will be exponential growth in novel new Edge delivery models.

What does the volume of demand across all trends look like?

In my 2021 blog post ‘The future demands of edge infrastructure require a rethink’ I estimated there

> Mark Thiele

Edgevana

would be demand for 810 million square feet (SF) of new data center space by 2030. That estimate of 810 million SF of data center space was done before bringing the Metaverse into the equation.

If we include Metaverse demand, I expect that by 2030 we’ll likely need three to four times 810 million or 2.4 - 3.6 billion square foot of new data center space. Each Megawatt of new, filled data center space equates to roughly $16 million in infrastructure investment over the first 10 years ($3.5 million in data center cost, plus $250K per rack, times 50 racks at 20kW each, with a hardware replacement life cycle of 3.3 years). These aforementioned estimates capture very rough capital expenditure costs only, not operational overhead and power, etc.

2.4 billion SF of data center space would equate to roughly 80 million racks (2.4 billion divided by 30). Each rack has a value of 250K or more in servers, storage and networking gear. Each rack could hold from 10200 servers depending on the server model.

The assumptions used to make an estimate for future demand are many; lifecycle of hardware vs improvement in capabilities, the amount of power per rack, overall efficiency of power delivery, changes in the demands of software, etc., etc.

All the aforementioned assumptions taken into account; my back of the napkin math suggests that we’ll likely need to grow our existing global data center footprint as much as three times to 2.7 billion SF by 2030. Growth to 2.7 billion

SF will be driven by continued organic expansion in existing use cases, but in large part by net new demand generated through digital transformation, Edge computing, Metaverse, and Web3.

While I’m obviously fairly positive on the impact Metaverse adoption will have on demand for IT infrastructure, it’s also true that mature Metaverse solutions are still a few years away. There will be steady improvements on today’s examples each year going forward, but the ability to have a virtual world that always looks the same, regardless of where you’re connecting from will take considerable improvements in AI, CPU performance and maybe even quantum computing.

An example might be that a virtual pothole gets created in the road for a participant in London and someone logging in from Singapore hours later still sees that pothole, as well as everyone else, until the virtual city services fill it in.

The comparison would be what you see in a video game when you shoot at something and create damage, but no one else sees that same damage and if you leave and come back the damage is gone. The ability to make these environments much more real-world-like will require incredible capabilities that we can’t easily provide today.

How we grow is critical

The next eight to 10 years will be an incredible ride, fluctuations in the economy notwithstanding. I for one am very bullish on the growth of our industry, but the bigger questions are, can we grow the industry sustainably, equitably and cost effectively?

We must continue to challenge our assumptions about how things are built, deployed, measured and managed, yes, but most importantly we need to improve our ability to generate power and build products without destroying our planet in the process. 

There are estimated to be 50,000 active users of the Metaverse today and yet estimates for growth suggest $800 billion in revenue by 2024 and up to five billion users over the next decade

The Edge data center will be home to the Metaverse

The promise of the Metaverse is nothing less than a total transformation of the way we work, play, and live. In order to come anywhere close to meeting this promise, the Metaverse must be so big that it's pervasive. How can something of this scope be possible? The answer lies inside your friendly neighborhood Edge data center.

The future is virtual

Major tech players like Microsoft, Zoom, Epic Games, and Facebook

> Linn

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have made it clear they see huge potential in the Metaverse. Even apparel corporations like Nike and Ralph Lauren are willing to invest big money into the idea.

With all the attention and excitement, it may seem like the Metaverse is just around the corner. However, there are still so many more questions than answers. Although Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg claims the Metaverse will be mainstream in the next five10 years, others aren’t so sure.

High-capacity IT infrastructure is needed to support the idea of the Metaverse, making Edge data centers more crucial than ever

Linn Gowen

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In many ways, the emergence of the Metaverse relies on the emergence of a new network to support

Gowen

Time magazine’s Andrew R. Chow speculates that Zuckerberg’s “singular version of the Metaverse is decades away from fruition, if even possible at all … The amount of social coordination, infrastructure building and technological advancement it would take to build a universal Metaverse like those portrayed in sci-fi is immense.”

So, what kind of technological advancements and infrastructure building are we talking about?

Firstly, there needs to be hardware –both for users and content creators that doesn’t exist yet. Secondly, a significant auxiliary source of processing power must be activated to support new and massive computing functions.

Thirdly, there is the software behind the virtual platforms that must be developed. This last factor seems to be drawing the most attention, but there is another, perhaps more important factor that will determine the fate of the Metaverse. That factor is the network supporting all three of these developments. The Metaverse will require constant, instantaneous, high bandwidth data transfers that simply aren’t currently possible.

Networks aren’t set for the

Metaverse

The Internet’s design is based on sharing files from one computer to another, with a server communicating with an endpoint or another serving individually. What the Metaverse will require is constant interaction between hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions of other servers or user devices, and responsiveness in real time.

It can be tricky to realize this capability is so far away. For example, text chats and social media seem interactive between hundreds of participants and are more common than ever. Although it may not seem like it, these interactions only require a single connection with an individual server.

Multiplayer video game experiences are more accurate and comparable, but they, too, are deceptive.

Gaming has become adept at hosting hundreds of thousands of users in the same cyberspace by dividing them up onto server nodes where only a handful interact with each other at any given time.

In 2019 Fortnite famously hosted a virtual concert by famed DJ Marshmello where over 10 million users logged on to participate. However, the idea that this amount of people were concurrently interacting in a shared experience is illusory.

Fortnite divided the audience into groups of 100 where you could only interact with three other participants. Technically speaking the event was 100,000 versions of an experience happening approximately at the same time.

A similar event featuring rapper Travis Scott in 2020 boasted a record-setting 12 million users through the same method, prompting questions about server disruptions in some areas. Even just providing the illusion of a live, synchronous experience is problematic on today’s networks, not to mention providing the real thing.

Chow cites the failure of virtual and augmented reality technology to reach mainstream adoption as a discussion point for the Metaverse, and it's an apt one. Although the VR market continues

> Linn Gowen 1623 Farnam

to grow, the experience remains far from optimal, and is likely one of the primary factors in its underperformance as a commodity. Could the lesson from VR be that if latency or lost packets hurts the experience, the product in general loses desirability? If so, the Metaverse will put this tendency on full blast. So what gives?

In many ways, the emergence of the Metaverse relies on the emergence of a new network to support it. Since we know the biggest corporations in the world are already on board, the onus is now on those running the networks to keep pace. As a result, the industry needs to shift its thinking in regard to the Metaverse.

Since it's not an application that runs alongside any existing service or network, in many ways the Metaverse represents the next generation of Internet infrastructure. Innovations such as Nvidia’s 800Gbps servers will help, but they won’t replace the need for next generation infrastructure, infrastructure that needs to be as pervasive as the virtual worlds they help build.

To reduce latency, the optimal proximity of data centers to the end user will be as crucial as ever. Questions about the Metaverse seem to center around what, who, and when, but the answer to one of the most important questions – where –is likely Edge data centers. 

Questions about the Metaverse seem to center around what, who, and when, but the answer to one of the most important questions – where – is likely Edge data centers

Chapter three: Building the Metaverse

We have covered the ‘what’, now we examine the ‘how’. From challenges, connectivity and power, to the people behind the projects, in this chapter we examine how we take the Metaverse from ideation to inception.

How do we make the Metaverse happen?

> Sami Badri Credit Suisse

The Metaverse. Whether you love it or hate it, it is commonly discussed and even more so after Facebook rebranded as the telling ‘Meta’.

The term Metaverse was first used in the science fiction novel Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, but has since become more widely adopted and is increasingly becoming a reality.

But what the Metaverse actually is, is often unclear. This very subject, along with what it will take to make the Metaverse happen, was the subject of the final panel hosted at the DCD>Connect New York event.

“It's going to be a very immersive digital experience, where everyone will be able to engage,

And what our DCD panelists really think the Metaverse is

There's going to be multiple phases of this, there's going to be a build phase for the infrastructure and the hardware, then there's going to have to be a software component

Georgia Butler DCD

immerse, transact, and experience things in full virtual reality,” said Sami Badri, senior equity analyst at Credit Suisse.

“There's going to be multiple phases of this, there's going to be a build phase for the infrastructure and the hardware, then there's going to have to be a software component.

“Where things start to get really interesting is when transactional information like currency exchange, as well as virtual experiences begin to converge into one thing. The destination is basically life in full virtual reality.”

We are already seeing this in gaming – a sector where things like virtual reality are becoming more prominent and sophisticated. It is this kind of experience that, according to Zach Smith, managing director at Equinix, we can use to guide our expectations of the Metaverse.

“Games are agile. They're constantly evolving content pieces. A lot of those just emerging have virtual production, real-time production, graphics engines, etc, that are creating extremely realistic experiences.

“I think that what's starting to occur is people, whether in business or in their social lives, are starting

to find that virtual experiences can be pretty compelling. I think that we're in the very early stages of that, not only from a content creation standpoint but also from a technology standpoint. We haven't really hit that inflection curve yet.”

So, what will it take to build the Metaverse? According to Sami Badri, we can break that down into three steps.

“The first kind of building block

of this whole thing is going to be infrastructure. Obviously, that includes the fiber, the data centers, essentially anything that's going to allow a greater capacity of transmission.

“The next phase of this is to get the hardware right. You could possibly see the infrastructure and the hardware done around the same time. So the next phase is getting the VR goggles, and then getting consumers to actually buy them.

“The third piece, which I think is probably going to be the most challenging, is getting enough developers to develop content and avatars and skins and all these other elements to the Metaverse, because the actual Metaverse experience is going to require significantly more graphic density than anything we've ever seen.”

So, it’s doable. Should that be reason enough for it to be done? If we know anything about technology – the answer to that question is a resounding yes. Development for the sake of development has been a contributing factor to the law of accelerating returns we have seen in technological developments so far, so there is no reason to expect it to stop any time soon.

Are you ready for the Metaverse?

I think that what's starting to occur is people, whether in business or in their social lives, are starting to find that virtual experiences can be pretty compelling

> Zach Smith Equinix

The Metaverse and the Edge chokepoint

If it happens, the Metaverse will be big

Mark Thiele Edgevana

Aconfluence of demand is approaching Edge computing and over the next five to 10 years will completely saturate existing data center infrastructure capacity. The drivers for this “Edge” (aka locality-based demand) have been building for years from traditional sources like entertainment, gaming, and CDN. .

However, this push is accelerating as the technology for interacting with what has traditionally been mostly one way traffic (i.e., Netflix movies watched in your home), to more of a two-way demand usage model.

Enter blockchain and the Metaverse which are filling

in the final spots and teeing up a potential choke point of Edge capacity and capability.

Getting closer to the customer via the Edge

There is much more demand for IT applications and infrastructure to be put where the customer is using it, whether it’s Latvia, Liberia, or Louisiana. And these demands are materializing in a unique way. Why?

There is a confluence of trends pushing for further development of Edge computing, along with additional technology trends that require consideration.

Example: I need my application to support localization of data by country, even though the platform is

supported in only a handful of central data centers. I also need that data to provide value in additional ways via localized analytics and compute in order to facilitate eventual blockchain user data management and authentication with lightning-fast approvals. Lastly, all of this needs to support our efforts to make the Metaverse version of this available in real time and in each locale with an experience that will set our brand apart.

While I have never personally worked on a deployment that matched the example above, these are the expectations that customers will start to ask for. This trend is something the entire industry needs to be thinking about.

The example above will have a major impact on how companies localize data and connect with their customer. Therefore, enabling the Edge and creating an ability to generate new capacity while at the same time maximizing utilization of the capacity you’re responsible for is critical.

Breaking down the potential

Demand for CDN (content delivery networks) will continue to grow as data pushed out will support Edge

networks, increased gaming and more.

We all want data sovereignty to go away, but it is here to stay. Every new application deployed represents an effort to gain greater engagement with customers. This is actually the constitutional requirement of digital transformation and Edge and helps to drive the increased focus on what’s collected and how or where it’s protected.

Edge computing and its millions of potential use cases are also not going anywhere. There are drivers for using Edge versus centralized infrastructure and systems for many new applications. These include network latency, backhaul network cost and or a lack of capacity, data sovereignty, and autonomous operation.

Digital transformation as hinted at above has three top priorities and the first two are the same, enabling greater customer engagement and loyalty. Some, if not all of this enablement will come from Edge located infrastructure and applications, as they are positioned to maximize customer experience while driving enthusiasm for your service or product.

Blockchain isn’t a traditional

application or support infrastructure, so you wouldn’t normally think of it as Edge, but you’d be wrong, I was. As applications become more dependent on blockchain approvals and authentication, the infrastructure itself needs to be more distributed. Blockchain companies also need distribution to guarantee speed of transactions, reduce the risk of censorship, and limit exposure to one large infrastructure supplier.

Finally, the Metaverse doesn’t need to be some dystopian location where everyone eats bonbons from their barcalounger and stays glued to their VR headset all day. We all go to stores, we interact with friends, and we attend events.

The Metaverse will allow, among other things, an opportunity for us to create much deeper interactions and shared experiences in virtual spaces. Creating a Metaverse isn’t as simple as building a new website. Interactions people have with your environment will include private information, high bandwidth transfer of images, data, etc., and will also require a high level of localization to mitigate performance, cost, and data sovereignty issues, and more.

The bottom line

When I wrote about ‘The Edge marketplace’ in 2019 I believe I got some of it right, like the notion of the marketplace itself. What I’m certain I didn’t get right is the true volume of demand.

In my article from 2017 about cloud adoption, I came pretty close, but I wasn’t considering Edge, Blockchain, or Metaverse in my assumptions for the percentage of compute that would exist outside a cloud provider's hyperscale facility.

Simply put, the demand for globally distributed computing is here and it’s only growing louder by the day. If you’re not looking at how you can leverage distributed computing to improve supply chain, customer engagement and more, you’re already falling behind the competition. 

The Metaverse doesn’t need to be some dystopian location where everyone eats bonbons from their barcalounger and stays glued to their VR headset all day

> Mark Thiele Edgevana

Enabling the Edge and creating an ability to generate new capacity while at the same time maximizing utilization of the capacity you’re responsible for is critical

> Mark Thiele Edgevana

Building the Metaverse

One of the biggest challenges for the data center industry is staffing. Jobs in the industry require a specific set of skills, and as the need for more facilities continues to grow at an exponential rate, bolstered by the rise of new developments such as the much-hyped Metaverse, the need for more skilled staff to design, build and run them grows too, and that creates significant challenges.

With a recent report showing an acceleration in the long-term

decline in students studying STEM subjects, that challenge isn’t getting any easier. DCD spoke to Pankaj Sharma, global executive vice president of Schneider Electric’s Secure Power Division about how the data center industry can address the skills shortage.

To start, let’s break the problem down. Sharma explains exactly why we are in a data center skills shortage that will only continue to grow if the industry doesn’t do its part to encourage uptake:

“Let’s take as a baseline that it

requires around 300 people to build and operate a data center. It needs people to design and build those data centers, write the software that runs them, and operate them day-to-day. The reason that’s an important conversation today is because the rate at which the growth of data centers is going to happen, or is already happening is very different from what it has been in the last few years. From a staffing point of view, that’s 300x an exponentially growing number of facilities.”

How a change in mindset could help change the industry and open up a whole new world

Chris Merriman DCD

Sharma goes on to explain the types of skills that are needed. It’s important to recognize that there’s an overlap in transferable skills between different aspects of data center build and operation.

“When you think of data centers, you have three parts – you have the compute part, you have the networking part, and you have the physical infrastructure. The skills needed in all these three areas stem from physical infrastructure, so power and electronics as a base. Then there’s digital, which is a lot around software development. When you think about compute, again, it's a mix of power, electronics, AI, software development, and so on.”

And although software development is a crucial piece of the Metaverse puzzle, this is where the emphasis in schools tends to lie. As such, there’s a steady stream of budding software developers, but the hardware side, despite being critical, tends to get overlooked.

“It’s important we remind our students that you could do the best software development, AI, and all of those other pieces which are required today, but all that has to sit on a physical infrastructure, so you need to be able to design the physical infrastructure first. Hence the need for power electronics, and hence the need for ideas on the hardware.”

But that’s not to devalue the importance of the software side –this is where there’s not only a wide variety of skill sets required, but skills that are transferable between aspects of the data center process:

“If you're a software developer, you could do the compute software development, plus you could also do software development for the hardware. That's where transferability comes into play. Similarly, when you're thinking of AI as an example, from the perspective of the number of instances you're looking at and how that turns into a certain predictability or a messaging,

that can be both on hardware and software.”

We’ve talked about that hardware/ software divide, but is there an inherent problem with the way STEM subjects are taught? And if so, does that present a huge roadblock in the recruitment process? In short, can companies looking to recruit extend their search outside STEM programs to bolster their talent pool, with selftaught or hobbyist electricians and coders?

“STEM programs are a very important foundation for AI, software development, hardware, power, electronics, electrical engineering, etc. I think those skills and that time spent in an undergraduate program are absolutely crucial. Now, could somebody do an AR type of work without going to an undergrad institute? I don't know, it's very hard for me to say, I think those programs or those education programs are absolutely crucial to build the base on which then you can actually do more work.”

Another consideration is that, however crucial data centers are in terms of running the services, streaming the videos and facilitating the chats we have every day, they’re not the glamorous front-end. That’s why it’s important for large companies to offer students and anyone interested in a career in IT the chance to make the connection between the “cool stuff” they consume, and the infrastructure they could be a part of to make it all happen.

With the Metaverse being a favorite subject, which itself could have such an impact on data center usage, it’s a great way to forge that connection. Along the way, hotbutton issues for young people, such as sustainability can be brought in to show how a career in data centers can be just as cool.

“Because of the direct linkage between the potential impact of Metaverse to the planet – that’s to say you need to build more data centers, it's not good for the planet, so how you can build better data centers, more efficient data centers, and the direct link between what we talk about as sustainability and the planet.”

For Sharma, it comes down to changing the way businesses mentor potential employees, going beyond explaining what the job entails, to looking at what that person wants to achieve from a holistic standpoint.

“Mentorship has to go beyond just things like leadership, to thinking about the purpose, your personal purpose, your career, and so on. Once you're able to make that connection, then people, especially the younger generation think ‘Yeah, this makes sense. If I am an NBA fan, and I love to watch games on the Metaverse, and all that compute happens in a data center, if I get an opportunity to go build that data center, or contribute to the building of that data center, I'd love to do a job like that.’ It’s an important aspect for all of us as leaders to start to apply beyond the basics of mentorship

As an industry we need to explain to these students how they can contribute to creating something which will be very linked to renewable energy, and how they can help sustain the planet better

> Pankaj Sharma Schneider Electric

around leadership, people management and so on.”

And people respond to that?

“You'll be surprised at the level of response you get from the students who are either in STEM or are thinking about STEM. The amount of feedback you get from these students, it's just amazing. I think if we were to consistently do that, as leaders in the industry, I think it's an easy connection to make.”

Another challenge facing recruiters is the changing face of work in the post Covid-19 world. Gone are the days of 40 hours, Monday to Friday in an office or on a site. Young people have expectations around flexible working and freelance or “gig” opportunities that give them better quality of life balance.

Sharma explains that one of the best ways to deal with that change in mindset is to embrace it.

“I think the starting point is acceptance of new ways of working. A lot of us are starting to think about the general purpose of what we are trying to achieve as a human being. Do we really want to just spend all our time just working like crazy or do we want to work at our own pace?

“People are now thinking, ‘if I can work at my own pace, and still do what I want from a career, passion and purpose point of view, that's the best situation’. What it means then is even in skills like AI or power electronics, if we, as large companies, are able to accept as people who will work for us for maybe a day a week or three days a week or a couple of hours a day, then it's easier for us to attract more and more talent."

However, while that can help relieve some aspects of the shortfall, it’s not the solution, because the needs of the business can’t always live up to the new paradigms of work.

“You have to break out your kind of work into a gig, in a non-gig type of format. If you're designing a complete ecosystem of products, you can take pieces of those designs and have contributions towards them from skilled workers in a gig mode, but you cannot have the whole ecosystem design built like that. That means, if you're building the whole ecosystem design, only small pieces can be outsourced into the gig economy. For large companies, we have to accept that gigs are the new way of work, but it's

not the only new way of work.”

The underlying secret then, is that to change mindsets towards channeling their skills into data centers, companies have to change their mindset too, and look at what people want from a career, and how the industry can change to accommodate those ambitions –be they “cool” stuff like streaming content and video games, or “hot button issues” like the environment.

“As an industry we need to explain to these students how they can contribute to creating something which will be very linked to renewable energy, and how they can help sustain the planet better.

“I feel that the data center industry is probably going to be one of the most important pieces of the overall digital economy puzzle, because this whole digitization, whether it's e-commerce, whether it's the Metaverse or the NBA example, or fashion shows in Metaverse, medical sciences – all of that is possible only if you're able to build more and more data centers, so the data center industry is one of the most important pieces of this whole digital economy enablement.” 

Manufacturing the Metaverse with connectivity front of mind

Delivery of Metaverse experiences will require new types of monitoring, testing, and insight

Ian Waters ThousandEyes

The concept of the Metaverse has catapulted into the public consciousness. But in a sea of emerging technologies, it is nascent and still not all that well defined.

No matter the final scope and texture of the Metaverse, one thing is clear: the ultimate Metaverse will need to depict real experiences as accurately and naturally as possible. Reality and society can’t glitch. Our immersive experience can’t stop because of a third-party code update or spike in latency from a service provider. The Metaverse requires

‘infinite nines’ of availability and globally intelligent redundancy, re-routing and failover to deliver an always-on experience.

But one can only begin to imagine the network and connectivity that will be required to support such a world. And with so much competition and money in the space, the pressure to get things right the first time is intense.

So, with this in mind, what changes might the Metaverse bring to the fields of application development and digital experience?

The need to be truly global and redundant

The world is already in many ways moving to real-time or near realtime processing. For example, in the financial world, straight-through processing means transactions occur as they are initiated rather than in day-end batches. Midsized to larger organizations are also implementing large eventstreaming platforms and ingesting these streams into huge analytics engines to understand customer needs and system responses to realworld conditions on-the-fly.

The Metaverse takes this to another level, as it’s expected to essentially be real-time and persistent, with no pause button, continuing to exist and function even after users have left. This means that the centricity is not on the user, but the virtual world itself.

That level of functionality will require more performance and put more demands on what’s already a best-effort Internet infrastructure, incorporating virtual reality (VR) technologies, haptics, virtual identity and online-only currencies. However, despite this, it will need to be capable of keeping people in the Metaverse experience, regardless of connection adversity or ambient traffic conditions.

Web-based code characteristics

As a result, any software application coded for the Metaverse will need to be designed with the underlying network – and, specifically, any constraints posed by that network – in mind. That is very different from how many applications are currently designed, often with only passing consideration put into how they will perform on different types of networks that could exhibit varying latency and performance characteristics.

Today’s web-based applications are already heavily reliant on a large number of dependencies and interdependent systems and services in order to function. A break or vulnerability in that chain can already cause degradation or loss of service.

The Metaverse, and the applications coded for it, are likely to be made up of even more tightly integrated dependencies. At a basic level, it’s still going to be an application, or set of applications, distributed across a cloud or hyperscale data center infrastructure and relying on the Internet and cloud or private connectivity to perform.

There will likely be a heavy reliance on the performance of APIs to deliver an integrated experience, alongside technologies like blockchain and payment processing, as well as potentially Edge computing, taking processing power closer to the user.

In the event that one part of the experience fails to render, the whole experience will be materially impacted. Part of the Metaverse may simply fail to appear in front of us. In an immersive virtual experience in which we are active participants, having a piece of reality fail before us won't cut it.

There’s already evidence that Metaverse developers won’t tolerate these kinds of experience glitches. Many are currently developing on multiple Metaverse platforms, effectively hedging their bets as to which might first gain traction or offer a higher level of experience or resiliency.

Metaverses that are unreliable, either due to the way they are coded or due to underlying operating systems and infrastructure constraints, may not get a second

chance with both developer or user ecosystems.

Monitoring the Metaverse

It isn’t just code quality and network resiliency that will determine whether a Metaverse succeeds or fails. Delivery of Metaverse experiences will also require new types of monitoring, testing, and insight.

Developers will likely have access to some open telemetry, courtesy of their Metaverse platform of choice. However, they may also wish to instrument different parts of the end-to-end experience independently to verify that each is functioning and responding as intended. A collective intelligence approach will help to ensure that developers have access to the right combination of metrics to judge the health and performance of the Metaverse, and of their specific contribution to it.

This will include end-to-end visibility across the entire digital supply chain and cloud and Internet networks that deliver the digital experience of the Metaverse, as it will be crucial to see, detect, and optimize any performance issues before they cause users to experience abrupt outages or glitchy interactions. New methods will be required to fit this new reality, far beyond traditional monitoring.

The Metaverse and the opportunities that this new immersive reality will bring is certainly exciting. But like all new frontiers in today’s Internet-centric environments, glitchy, error-prone experiences are not an option. In the Metaverse, concepts like ‘downtime’ and ‘uptime’ cease to exist – because the only acceptable availability level for reality is ‘all of the time.’ 

No matter the final scope and texture of the Metaverse, one thing is clear: the ultimate Metaverse will need to depict real experiences as accurately and naturally as possible. Reality and society can’t glitch

> Ian Waters ThousandEyes

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