Edge Computing – Reshaping Itself and Industries in 2022!

Edge Computing Solutions have gained a lot of traction the recent times. It refers to the paradigm of distributed computing wherein data processing and data storage happen close to the source of the data generation. This mitigates the need for the data to be processed in a remote data centre. Edge computing is a great way to leverage a decentralized IT architecture, allowing organizations to use enterprise-grade applications to process data much more efficiently and quickly.

It’s hard to think of entities who won’t be leveraging edge technologies, directly or indirectly. From very common day-to-day applications across entertainment all the way to critical requirements in healthcare, edge computing is being leveraged everywhere. Adoption of these technologies are driving markets to adapt in ways they haven’t before.

“The union of IoT, edge and networking technology will make some real results possible in the market,” Report author and Forrester Analyst said.

Edge Computing is seeing some serious advancements wherein its reshaping itself and the way organizations that leverage it work. 

For example, the technology, which allows data processing resources to move closer to where data is being analysed, is moving away from on-premises data centres. At the moment, about 10% of enterprise data is created and processed outside centralized data centres or clouds, according to Gartner. By 2025, that number will rocket up to 75%. This process is happening unbelievably fast.

While edge is present across many infrastructures in businesses, it’s going to take over even more data processing and delivery requirements. This will lead us to have edge computing and data processing in places we wouldn’t have thought before.

Let us see how edge computing is reshaping itself

Disconnected Edge Systems

Edge computing data operations can operate in a disconnected mode. For example, an edge system running autonomously in a remote place like a rural digging site. Even the connection to the internet ceases, the system that captures data is still running. When the connection is re-established, the system transfers data without disrupting operations. 

Design of edge systems for core purposes or modular features can be looked forward to as something that opens up a huge world of new possibilities. 

Edge of the Edge – or Fog Computing

Fog computing takes edge computing a step further where computation, storage, processing and other communication also happens locally at the edge, without relying on cloud.

Containers will be crucial for Edge Success

Containers and Kubernetes make an excellent edge platform. AWS Snowball, Azure Stack, and Google Anthos, all based on Kubernetes, are hyperscale cloud providers gaining momentum. Data ingestion, data storage, data processing, data analytics, and machine learning tasks are all run at the edge in these systems.

Container-native storage can provide core services, persistent storage, high availability, and durability for advanced applications at the edge. It also makes seamless migration between the cloud and the edge possible. Now that we have seen how the technology is reshaping itself, let us see how edge computing will be impacting major industries

RETAIL – Edge Computing will Transform Retail

Edge computing can optimise consumer experiences and streamline operations in retail-specific use cases where data-intensive, latency-dependent processing is required. It’s also one-use case where multi-layer security will be critical and must be included from the beginning. IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Retail 2022 Predictions reveals that “by 2025, 90% of the top 2000 retailers will employ edge computing to harness the explosion of data in stores for better workforce productivity and customer experience while reducing costs by 20%.”

SMART INFRASTRUCTURE – Smart Infrastructure Investment will Increase

A huge boom in smart infrastructure is predicted for 2022, with investment expected to increase by 40%, largely driven by investment in China, the E.U. and the U.S., Forrester said. Much of the investment in infrastructure will go into easing pandemic stress and reopening facilities, according to Forrester. We can also expect increasing interest in internet connectivity, public health initiatives, and critical resource management.

“Stakeholders will also harness insights captured from edge devices and IoT-enabled infrastructure to modify traffic patterns to reduce congestion; evaluate multimedia data to deliver insight for security applications; and combine 5G, V2X and edge technologies to enable autonomous vehicles in ports and airports,” Forrester said.

HEALTHCARE – Edge for Healthcare

Medical sensors, electronic health records, and digital imaging systems are sending massive amounts of data to the cloud, where high-resolution images rack up cloud storage fees by the gigabyte and use bandwidth. Edge solutions might be more suited for large hospitals with hundreds of thousands of sensors.

For example, a healthcare provider leveraged edge computing to create a real-time sepsis diagnostics solution, powered by edge computing. Traditional sepsis diagnosis takes time since charts are manually reviewed, and the illness increases by the hour. The provider was able to detect sepsis about a day sooner than they could with traditional methods thanks to a distributed network of medical sensors, diagnostic tools, and edge data processing, saving an estimated 8,000 lives to date. That concept, and others like it, have the potential to save many more lives when they are implemented in hospitals around the country in novel ways.

ENERGY – Edge Solutions in the Energy Sector – Preventing Environmental Damage

Consider the enormous implications of edge computing for the oil industry, which operates in remote regions throughout the world and delivers its product through thousands of miles of pipes. There just isn’t enough people to provide on-the-ground infrastructure monitoring. Pressure and electrical conductivity sensors do the hard job, detecting if a pipeline has been ruptured or if its protective anti-corrosive coating has even suffered a tiny scratch.

This large amount of long-range data was traditionally captured and relayed to a single—and often rather distant—observational hub, where operators could remotely activate and close valves to avoid environmental harm. An abnormality in pressure may be immediately recognised using the edge computing paradigm, and an AI-driven response can take the relevant actions, such as stopping valves near a probable leak.

It’s all too easy to underestimate the industry’s growth potential for edge computing. Hundreds of thousands of kilometres of legacy infrastructure can be upgraded, and many new building projects will use cutting-edge technology to assure safe product delivery in a sector that has been subjected to a great deal of scrutiny.

ESG – Edge and IoT Combine to Reduce Emissions

Scope 3 emissions are carbon emissions and other pollution produced as a result of a company’s operations by assets it doesn’t own or manage. Consider third-party freight, supply chain procedures, and other activities that take place between raw materials and completed items and are handled by a third party. It has been subjected to a great deal of scrutiny.

By next year, demand for sustainability-related services powered by edge and IoT will grow for energy efficiency and resource management. Environmental monitoring, resource management, and supply chain activities will be some of the technology’s most common applications.

“Sustainability is a great example where the capabilities that emerging technologies like edge powered AI engines will bring meaningful implementations,” Forrester analyst said.

Conclusion

Edge Computing, therefore, is a technology that is evolving within itself and affecting the industries it is being leveraged in. We are stepping towards incredibly fast data processing times that can be used in time-critical situations such as healthcare and damage control in industries. Very soon, the threshold of latency times will be set by edge computing standards. Anything above this threshold will be considered unacceptable for many industries. As Edge computing evolves, organizations should wield this sword to maintain competitive edge and also to avoid critical situations that stem from high latency periods. If you want to leverage edge computing in your business or want to evaluate the impact edge computing technology can have on your business, contact us today!

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