Return of Edge Computing to DCs

•  intelligentHQ
•  05 Apr 2019

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These things make it clear that the world isn't slowing down; rather, it's getting faster than ever. People today are aware that our world and especially technology is developing lightning fast.

Not just this, digital transformation is changing how customers engage with businesses. Customers today have become increasingly savvy about service and support and have high expectations:

• They expect their problems to be solved right away
• They want their products to arrive the next day
• They want to communicate with anyone, anytime and anywhere

This trend, however, has reflected in the increased demand for real-time data processing for businesses. And simply being fast isn't enough, especially, in a world where everything is moving so rapidly.

• Businesses need to be faster than anyone and everyone
• If they are not, their competitors will be

Further, with increase in next-generation technologies from intelligent retail to connected cars and smart drones, organizations will need to analyze more data in real time.

By 2025, almost 30 percent of data created will be real-time in nature (According to the DataAge study by Seagate).

This means businesses need to partner with data center colocation services having the ability to store securely and, most importantly, process data at the edge.

Edge Computing: A Closer Look

Edge computing is the idea of putting data storage and powerful processing as close to the end users as possible. Simply put, edge computing is a network of micro data centers with these primary goals:

• Process or store critical data locally
• Send all received data to a central data center
• Shorten the physical distance between data analytics applications, sensors, and the end users
• Minimize redundant data flow to and from data centers
• Maintain sensitive data on premise
• Improve customer experience

In the data center industry, edge computing is gaining traction as it helps organizations combat multiple IT challenges arising from:

• Data-centric workloads
• High latency stemming from public cloud platforms

Why is Edge Computing Necessary?

As per Gartner estimates, by 2020, there will be more than 20 billion internet- connected devices. Meaning, there will be tremendous opportunity for businesses, all thanks to the data explosion. And those who can readily analyze the data will, in turn, get rewarded.

Moreover, as edge computing becomes widely available, different technologies can gain a direct advantage. Some technologies which are pushing the need for edge computing include:

• Augmented Reality

In industries like medical, industrial, entertainment, augmented reality is developing at a rapid pace. As the end goal for augmented reality is to work such that end users can benefit, it is important to send and receive data at high speed.

• Internet of Things (IoT)

With millions of new devices added each year, IoT is growing at an unbelievable pace. These devices need to transmit and receive data immediately in order to please the users.

• Autonomous Vehicles

These self-driving vehicles need to gather and process huge amounts of data in a fraction of seconds. Although, some of this can be done locally, however, the majority of it needs to be sent to edge computing data centers in order to be handled by more powerful and faster equipments.

What Does This Mean for Data Centers?

Since the future of 'real-time' process relies on powerful edge computing, edge devices and data centers will have to regroup their physical structures and work amicably with each other.

In a few years we could see:

• Edge-driven systems working alongside data center colocation services
• Large number of smaller data centers being built closer to population centers to meet the demand of edge computing
• Increase in storage hubs in regional markets and smaller cities

As this trend in data center environment is set to grow, only well-established data centers providers with the right network topology, configuration of servers, and supporting equipments can fulfill this demand.

Of course, some providers are known for housing mission-critical infrastructure and optimized web environment capable of reaching the audience. One such leading innovator in the colocation services space is STT GDC India, which provides a powerful mix of industry-leading SLAs, state-of-the-art facilities, and global best practices in colocation.

Supporting the ambitious growth plans of organizations, meeting their demands of a growing customer base, and future-proofing their IT infrastructure for IoT growth remains the prime focus of this colocation service provider.

As we move forward into the profoundly connected digital economy, edge computing will play a big part in connectivity and access by broadening the options of colocation networking. By choosing the right data center colocation services provider, organizations can realize the business benefits and bring instant connectivity and services to customers and end users.

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