Observing major computing trends is always an interesting exercise, but as core technologies mature and become more complex, that task can be very challenging. Such is the case with edge computing, a hot new area that—though primarily associated with business and even industrial computing—is a key enabler for both consumer and enterprise applications.
As I’ve discussed in the past, edge computing essentially takes hardware and/or software elements that have traditionally lived in the cloud or private corporate data centers, and brings them out to the “edge” of the network. In other words, it brings computing hardware and applications within physical proximity of where the action is—whether that action is monitoring the production line in a factory, tracking real-time traffic conditions in an autonomous vehicle, or speeding up the performance of an application that’s highly sensitive to variations in network bandwidth.
To make better sense of the evolution of edge computing, TECHnalysis Research engaged in an online survey of 600 US business professionals who are involved in their company’s edge computing efforts. The results of the survey were combined into a report—a summary version of which is available as a free download here—that highlights a number of key attributes about the fascinating world of edge computing.
The first question of the survey was designed to get a better sense of how people actually define edge computing. Even though the concept has been around for a while, there still isn’t solid agreement (nor understanding) on what exactly it is. The top two prevailing schools of thought lean towards either traditional endpoint devices, such as PCs, smartphones, etc., or towards access devices, such as gateways, routers, or even small servers. There is a bit of a bias towards endpoints, but it turns out the largest group of people think it’s a combination of the two, which makes the most sense. Figure 1 shows the results.
Fig. 1
Much of the attention around edge computing focuses on the new kinds of capabilities that it can enable because of the more distributed computing environment it demands. While that’s certainly justified, one of the more surprising results from the study is that more work on the edge has migrated there from the cloud—either fully or partially. In fact, it’s approximately a 60/40 split between migrated cloud apps and apps that are built new for the edge, as Figure 2 illustrates.
Fig. 2
What this means is that companies are in the process of evolving their computing workloads, and are transitioning some of them away from the cloud and towards the edge. Viewed in this light, some current iterations of edge computing could be seen as transitional, with more advanced edge-specific applications and implementations yet to come.
While the range of different applications being run on the edge is enormous, one relatively consistent characteristic for all of them is leveraging analytics capabilities. Most edge applications analyze and take actions on datasets such as the real-time data coming from sensors, or incoming network or device usage data. The goal is to leverage that data to make the processes or applications in their organizations run more efficiently. In fact, improving efficiency is the most popular goal for all edge computing projects, followed by increasing security, and then reducing cost.
Despite the similarity of intent, however, the means and location by which this analytics work is done varies tremendously, emphasizing the still evolving nature of this relatively new computing architecture. As Figure 3 highlights, for example, more edge computing analytics is done in the data center than anywhere else. Doing analytics on the edge and in the cloud is still quite popular, however, and it’s likely that, as computing capabilities increase on the edge, we’ll see more analytics work migrate there.
Fig. 3
The possibilities for edge computing are enormous, and it’s clear that companies are just starting to scratch the surface of its full potential. Part of the reason that progress towards broader and more advanced edge computing efforts is taking a while is that it’s also a very complicated topic. In fact, the technical and implementation complexities of edge computing are two of the top barriers cited by survey respondents.
Nevertheless, there are some intriguing possibilities for collaboration both within the tech industry and organizations deploying the technology that edge computing is uniquely positioned to help drive forward. By enabling these new partnerships and technology combinations, edge computing appears destined to be a critical factor in the tech industry for some time to come.
(For a free downloadable link to summarized version of the report, you can click here.)
it’s awesome article. I look forward to the continuation.
I appreciate you sharing this blog post. Thanks Again. Cool.
Muchas gracias. ?Como puedo iniciar sesion?
Touche. Outstanding arguments. Keep up the good effort.
I like the valuable information you supply on your articles.
I’ll bookmark your weblog and take a look
at once more right here regularly. I’m fairly sure I’ll be told lots of new stuff right here!
Best of luck for the next!
Hmm it seems like your site ate my first comment (it was super long) so I
guess I’ll just sum it up what I wrote and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog.
I too am an aspiring blog writer but I’m still new to everything.
Do you have any helpful hints for novice blog
writers? I’d definitely appreciate it.
I was curious if you ever considered changing the structure of your site?
Its very well written; I love what youve got
to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it better.
Youve got an awful lot of text for only having 1 or two images.
Maybe you could space it out better?
I am genuinely glad to read this website posts which carries plenty of
useful data, thanks for providing such statistics.
Appreciate this post. Let me try it out.
I used to be able to find good info from your articles.
Hey would you mind letting me know which web host you’re working with?
I’ve loaded your blog in 3 completely different browsers and I
must say this blog loads a lot quicker then most.
Can you suggest a good internet hosting provider at a honest price?
Thank you, I appreciate it!
Very nice article, just what I wanted to find.
Hi there terrific website! Does running a blog similar to this require a massive amount work?
I’ve very little understanding of computer programming however I was hoping to start my own blog in the near future.
Anyhow, should you have any ideas or tips for new blog owners please share.
I understand this is off subject however I just wanted to ask.
Many thanks!
Hi there! Quick question that’s completely off topic.
Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly?
My weblog looks weird when viewing from my iphone4.
I’m trying to find a template or plugin that might be able to
fix this problem. If you have any suggestions, please share.
With thanks!
Thank you for sharing your info. I really appreciate your efforts and I am
waiting for your further post thanks once again.
Amazing blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere?
A design like yours with a few simple adjustements would
really make my blog jump out. Please let me know where you
got your design. With thanks
I am regular reader, how are you everybody? This post posted at this website is genuinely good.
hello there and thank you for your information – I have certainly picked up something new from right here.
I did however expertise a few technical issues using this web site,
since I experienced to reload the website many times previous to I could get it to load properly.
I had been wondering if your hosting is OK? Not that I’m complaining, but
slow loading instances times will often affect your placement in google and could damage your high-quality score if ads and
marketing with Adwords. Well I’m adding this RSS to my e-mail and could look
out for a lot more of your respective fascinating content.
Make sure you update this again soon.
I’m really loving the theme/design of your blog.
Do you ever run into any web browser compatibility issues?
A few of my blog audience have complained about my site not working correctly in Explorer but looks great in Firefox.
Do you have any suggestions to help fix this problem?
After I originally left a comment I appear to have clicked the -Notify me
when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a comment is
added I get four emails with the same comment. Is there a means you are able to remove me from that service?
Kudos!
I blog quite often and I really appreciate your information. This great article has really peaked my interest.
I’m going to bookmark your blog and keep checking for new details about once per week.
I subscribed to your RSS feed as well.
It’s an awesome post designed for all the online
people; they will obtain advantage from it I am sure.
Fantastic site. Lots of useful information here.
I am sending it to a few friends ans additionally sharing in delicious.
And certainly, thank you in your sweat!
What i don’t understood is in reality how you are now not
actually much more smartly-preferred than you may be right now.
You’re so intelligent. You know thus considerably in terms of this matter, made me in my opinion believe it
from so many numerous angles. Its like women and men don’t
seem to be fascinated except it is something to accomplish with Lady gaga!
Your own stuffs outstanding. Always handle
it up!
My family members all the time say that I am wasting my time here at net,
except I know I am getting know-how every day by reading thes nice content.
Consider whether personal values are innate or shaped by external factors such as culture, upbringing, or personal experiences.
pharmacies in mexico that ship to usa: Online Pharmacies in Mexico – best online pharmacies in mexico