Cloud computing is now ready to move to the next level - Edge Computing.
As per the research and advisory firm Gartner, by 2025, companies will generate and process more than 75% of their data outside of traditional centralised data centres i.e. at the “edge” of the cloud.
What change is happening now?
Through Cloud computing, the remote servers host on the Internet store and process data, rather than on local servers or personal computers.
Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet, the parent company of Google are the technology giants that provide cloud computing infrastructure to major corporates and governments.
They want to leverage 5G technology and artificial intelligence to enable faster response times, lower latency and simplified maintenance in computing.
[Latency – The ability to process very high volumes of data with minimal delay.]
This is where Edge Computing comes in - which many see as an extension to the cloud, but which is different in several basic ways.
What is Edge Computing?
Edge Computing enables data to be analysed, processed, and transferred at the edge of a network.
The data will be analysed locally, closer to where it is stored, in real-time without latency, rather than send it far away to a centralised data centre.
So whether you are streaming a video or accessing video games in the cloud, edge computing allows for quicker data processing and content delivery.
How is edge computing different from cloud computing?
The basic difference between edge computing and cloud computing lies in where the data processingtakes place.
At the moment, the existing Internet of Things (IoT) systems perform all of their computations in the cloud using data centres.
On the other hand, Edge Computing manages the massive amounts of data generated by IoT devices by storing and processing data locally.
That data doesn’t need to be sent over a network as soon as it processed; only important data is sent.
Therefore, an edge computing network reduces the amount of data that travels over the network.
How soon can edge computing become part of our lives?
Experts believe the true potential of edge computing will become apparent when 5G networks go main stream in a year from now.
Users will be able to enjoy consistent connectivity without even realising it.
Nvidia, a big player in the design and manufacture of graphics and AI acceleration hardware, has just announced its EGX edge computing platform.
EGX platform will help telecom operators to adopt 5G networks capable of supporting edge workloads.
The new Nvidia Aerial software developer kit will help telecom companies build virtualised radio access networks that will let them support smart factories, AR/VR and cloud gaming.
