In 2018, the research firm Gartner, Inc. predicted that by 2025, 75 percent of enterprise data would be generated and processed at “the edge,” bypassing the mainstream cloud entirely. Another research organization, McKinsey, projects that the Internet of Things or IoT may be the most significant driver of potential economic impact by 2025.
These two predictions are not unrelated, as edge cloud and IoT applications are increasingly intertwined. Edge computing involves processing and storing information at the point of its creation or close to where it’s generated. It aims to reduce latency, or the time it takes for an application or command to run. For IoT devices and sensors, this kind of performance can be mission-critical.
However, IoT is not the only sector in which edge cloud can significantly impact the coming years. This article will look at the top five use cases for edge cloud over the next five years.
Health monitors and other wearable devices relating to health must be capable of ingesting and reacting to data on or near a real-time basis. Lives may be in the balance due to the information and actions that these devices must routinely process. So, relying on a long transmission route between a wearable and remote server in the cloud isn’t viable. The same applies to robotic surgery assistants and other healthcare technologies.
Edge cloud processing and feedback from data handling facilities close by can provide the real-time response necessary for health applications. As this technology improves, we can expect these applications to become more commonplace.
The restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic have fueled the global spread of video calls and conferencing in all walks of life. However, slow and unreliable links to the cloud often lead to voice delays, poor video quality, and frozen screens.
Edge cloud deployment can bring the server-side of video conferencing software closer to the user, reducing or eliminating these issues.
The autonomous or self-driving car has become something of a Holy Grail for vehicle designers. Yet, the real-world complications of making these vehicles responsive enough for actual conditions on the ground have been stifling this utopian vision.
Using edge cloud technology could enable self-driving cars to respond to prevailing conditions near-instantaneously. The technologies could also facilitate direct communication between vehicles, allowing for better traffic and fleet management. In addition, relays of information between cars and edge processors run by municipal authorities could provide benefits at the level of city planning.
Marketers and retailers currently use personal and transactional information on consumers to craft and target advertising or product searches to the individual. Edge cloud has the potential to facilitate the data capturing and content pushing processes for commercial organizations. But in the era of heightened consciousness and legislation over privacy, edge cloud encryption also has the potential to protect consumers.
On the customer experience front, edge cloud technologies can improve the performance of AiAugmented Reality (AR) applications, such as those that enable shoppers to visualize products before they buy. These techniques could also facilitate live data transmission for corporate training and general education using AR.
The near real-time responsiveness of edge cloud deployments could heighten the threat response of security surveillance systems. In addition, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies at the edge could enable levels of automation that facilitate the management of networks, cybersecurity frameworks, cooling systems, and maintenance in data centers or any number of industries.
For edge cloud to become more viable and global, there are several technical challenges the industry must address. Among these is creating a new generation of compact devices with immense processing power and the possible construction of small-scale data centers close to concentrations of devices and users. Developers will also need to craft software that enables organizations to remotely monitor and update large numbers of edge devices from locations across the globe securely.
Several organizations are actively working to solve these problems, including Red Hat, Nutanix, and Cloudera.
Edge cloud, Internet of Things, and 5G mobility are key technology trends shaping our communities as we head deeper into the 2020s. At the core of these trends lie the networks that power the digital society.
FusionLayer helps service providers in automating processes that touch networks. Cutting-edge technologies that function as the unified management system for all network-related information enable automation.
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