10 Oct Edge Computing: scalable, flexible and well organized
Edge computing’ is a `buzzword’, a term you hear more and more frequently. It is associated with the Internet of Things (IoT) and exponential data growth. But what exactly does it entail?
What is edge computing?
Edge computing ensures that data is processed and, if appropriate, stored, at a location as close as possible to where it is generated. In this way, edge computing uses less data storage capacity and less bandwidth while improving response times.
Why is edge computing so important?
Edge computing has become important due to the emergence of smart devices and sensors as well as the wealth of information they produce. This huge increase in the amount of data also gave rise to the term `big data’. But what can you do with all this available data? How do you decide which data is/is not useful? For businesses, business outcomes are the most important. The results have to be analysed in order to gain insight from them. This used to take place primarily in the data centre or in the cloud, but now this is increasingly being done at the edge of the network. At present, the IoT can really push the available bandwidth to its limit, which can spell disaster for business continuity.
What are the advantages of edge computing?
Working with edge computing can have many advantages:
Economic advantages
Sometimes storing all your data locally in the data centre or the cloud is just too expensive. In addition, edge computing also offers advantages when it comes to bandwidth. If an organization wants to introduce additional devices into a business network without the use of edge computing, this will often lead to higher costs.
Responsiveness
A delay, also referred to as `latency’ occurs when forwarding the data to a data centre or the cloud. This makes real-time decision-making impossible, which may sometimes result in the IoT failing to serve its purpose. With edge computing, you can process and analyse this data in real time. In this way, physical barriers become less of a challenge. Take, for instance, self-driving cars. To maximize the responsiveness, you have to circumvent the need for the data to be forwarded to another location in order to decide whether or not to engage the brakes, otherwise it could be too late…
Regulation, legislation, privacy, and security
Data encryption can take place locally before you save this data somewhere. That way, it is easier to record the data in accordance with the existing legislation while also safeguarding personal information. This can be necessary for a hospital, for example, when handling the medical data of its patients.
Scalability
IoT solutions are often supported by large numbers of devices, all of which generate huge quantities of data. This makes it a challenge to store all the data in a convenient way at a single location. In addition to consuming a huge amount of bandwidth, this may also rapidly exceed the available data centre space or the available cloud services budget if no intelligence is supplied through edge computing.
In the coming years, edge computing will only become more important for your organization. But if you want to use it, where should you start? Bechtle would be happy to inform you of the possibilities offered by edge computing. Feel free to contact us at no obligation!
In the coming years, edge computing will only become more important for your organization. But if you want to use it, where should you start? Bechtle would be happy to inform you of the possibilities offered by edge computing. Feel free to contact us at no obligation!