Five common questions about edge computing answered

Edge computing is on the radar of every cutting-edge company as it looks for smarter ways to use tech to innovate. IDC forecasts that worldwide spending on edge computing will reach $176 billion by the end of this year and will accelerate at a compounded annual growth rate of around 15% through 2025 when the market will be worth nearly $274 billion.

Despite the runaway growth in the edge computing market, some organisations are still not sure of their role in their digital transformation strategies. We have compiled a guide that answers some common questions we have encountered among our customer base and sets out some of the most common use cases for this emerging technology.

What is edge computing?

The edge refers to a computing location at a physical periphery of a network, along with the hardware and software at those physical locations—differentiating it from a centralised data centre. Thus, edge computing refers to a distributed computing paradigm where processing and storage resources are deployed near the point where data is generated or collected.

What are the advantages of edge computing?

As enterprises move ahead with digital transformation, they need to ensure they have a smarter technology infrastructure that can address the proliferation of the Internet of Things devices and the rise of distributed workforces. Edge computing brings computing resources closer to the place where data is created, enabling devices to respond faster and helping companies to accelerate and automate business processes. By bypassing the need to send data back to the cloud or a central data centre to be processed, edge computing helps to reduce network latency and congestion. It can also enable sophisticated computing applications in environments with poor or no Internet connectivity—a farm in a remote area, for instance.

What are the use cases for edge computing?

Edge computing use cases are multiplying as the Internet of Things (IoT) adoption grows, artificial intelligence (AI) matures and 5G network deployments accelerate. It brings computing power closer to the billions of sensors, robots, and devices in factories, warehouses, farms, plants, and offices being deployed worldwide. According to IDC’s data, the edge use cases with the largest investments in 2022 include manufacturing operations, production asset management, smart grids, omnichannel operations, public safety, and emergency response, freight monitoring, and intelligent transportation systems. It’s especially valuable in applications where a microsecond could make a difference.

How does edge computing relate to the cloud?

Cloud computing is all about using the Internet to access storage, computing, applications, and other IT services that are hosted in an enterprise’s or service provider’s data centres or server farms. Edge computing means running workloads on edge devices away from this centralised infrastructure. The two paradigms complement each other since they are suited to different use cases. Data captured and used at the edge may still be sent back to the cloud, where it can be aggregated and analysed for operational and strategic decision-making.

What best practices do knowledgeable organisations follow in their edge computing deployments?

A coherent data, cloud computing, and digital transformation strategy is an essential foundation for edge use cases. The organisation should have a clear picture of where it can use the edge to innovate and accelerate the deployment of data-intensive applications that drive business value. It should also consider how it will unify workflows and dataflows from the edge to the cloud. It is also essential to ensure on wired and wireless networks have the speed, capacity, bandwidth, throughput, resiliency, and reduced latency to support edge applications.

At 1Nebula, we guide organisations in their DevOps , FinOps, and digital transformation journeys. Get in touch to learn how our knowledgeable team can help you to conceptualise a cloud and edge strategy that optimises ROI for your business.