A Perfect Solution : Edge computing emerges as the go-to technology in a Covid-affected world

Not long ago, Edge computing was considered a futuristic concept, something that was attractive to talk about but lacked practical examples. Amidst the spiralling numbers of Covid-19 cases, organisations are relooking at their operational structures, to meet the new challenges that the second wave has brought about. In this space, remote working has once again become a buzzword, paving the way for cloud-enabled technologies to shape the new normal. As the cloud is gaining momentum and enterprises are frantically looking for ways to optimise their network, storage and agility, Edge computing has turned out to be the perfect solution.

In order to understand where edge computing fits in the whole spectrum of IT infrastructure, we need to begin with the basics – understanding what actually is Edge computing?

Edge computing is a type of distributed architecture in which data processing occurs close to the source of data, that is, at the edge of the system. This approach reduces the need to bounce data back and forth between the cloud and device while maintaining consistent performance.

With regard to infrastructure, Edge computing is a network of local micro data centres for storage and processing purposes. At the same time, the central data centre oversees the proceedings and gets valuable insights into local data processing. However, we need to be mindful that Edge computing is a kind of expansion of cloud computing architecture – an optimised solution for decentralised infrastructure.

The main difference between Edge and cloud computing is that in cloud data is processed away from the source and hence there are chances of facing bottlenecks in data transmission, which, in turn, leads to latency. In Edge computing, the processing occurs closer to the data source. This reduces latency in data transmission and computation, thereby enhancing agility.

While conversations about the advantages of Edge computing are exciting, to derive real value from it an organisation needs to begin with identifying the pain points it addresses. The ultimate purpose of Edge computing is to bring compute, storage and network services closer to endpoints and end users to improve overall application performance. Based on this knowledge, IT architects must identify and document instances where Edge computing can address existing network performance problems.

How does Edge computing work?

In traditional enterprise computing, data is produced at a user’s computer. That data is moved across a WAN such as the internet, through the corporate LAN, where the data is stored and worked upon by an enterprise application. The results of that work are then conveyed back to the end user. However, if we consider the number of devices that are connected to a company’s server, and the volume of data it generates, it is far too much for a traditional IT infrastructure to accommodate.

So, IT architects have shifted focus from the central data centre to the logical edge of the infrastructure – taking storage and computing resources from the data centre and moving those resources to the point where the data is generated. The idea is very simple: if we can’t get the data closer to the data centre, get the data centre closer to the data.

Why is Edge computing gaining popularity?

There are several reasons for the growing adoption of Edge computing:

• Due to emerging technologies such as IoT and IoB, data is being generated in real time. Devices enabled by these technologies require a high response time and considerable bandwidth for proper operation.
• Cloud computing is centralised. Transmitting and processing massive quantities of raw data puts a significant load on the network’s bandwidth.
• The incessant movement of large quantities of data back and forth is beyond reasonable cost-effectiveness and leads to latency.
• Processing data at the source and then sending valuable data to the centre is a more efficient solution.

As organisations are increasingly moving back to remote working models, we will witness wide adoption of Edge computing as it empowers remote work infrastructure with greater computation and storage capabilities. When millions of end-user devices operating across geographic locations are connected to a central data centre, it puts tremendous strain on IT infrastructure. In such a scenario, Edge computing has emerged as viable architecture as it supports distributed computing to deploy compute and storage resources closer to the data source. Through this, it not only enables seamless decentralisation of IT but also eliminates data congestion and latency issues. It allows enterprises to deploy local storage to collect and protect raw data while local servers perform essential analytics to enable faster decision-making before sending the result to the central data centre.