+
EDITOR’S QUESTION
JON WALLACE, CHIEF
TECHNOLOGIST AT IVANTI
T
he term ‘edge computing’ refers to the process where
computation takes place for distributed devices, such as
IoT-enabled smart devices, on the network edge as opposed
to a centralised cloud environment or in-house server. This process
reduces the volume of data traffic that must be moved into the cloud
as the computing takes place on the ‘edge’ of the network, which
consequently reduces transmission costs and makes processes faster.
/////////////////
As IoT devices have become more affordable and thus, widely
adopted within many businesses, edge computing will play a
significant role in enabling the enterprise to deal with the large
amount of data that IoT devices harness and transmit, without
relying purely on the centralised cloud.
Enterprise computing has traditionally managed IT assets in a
top-down model. Consider MDM (Mobile Device Management) as
an example; typically, there is some form of policy server, either on-
premise or in the cloud and said server pushes configurations down to
mobile devices.
The information coming back from the
mobile devices is often sparse and limited
in nature. IoT introduces new challenges for
enterprise organisations and ones that their
networks are often ill-equipped to handle.
Unlike traditional enterprise assets, IoT
often send back massive amounts of data,
especially when they are designed around
sensors such as a device monitoring the
humidity in a warehouse.
Over the past few years, we have seen an
explosion of IoT within enterprise as many
functions look to get automated or managed
in an unattended fashion. It's not uncommon
today to find an enterprise where IoT devices
already out number traditional assets.
These new scenarios are what pose a
challenge for enterprises. Most enterprise
networks are not prepared or even designed
to accept the massive amount of data
coming unfiltered from the many IoT devices
www.intelligentcio.com
“
EDGE COMPUTING
WILL PLAY A
SIGNIFICANT
ROLE IN ENABLING
THE ENTERPRISE
TO DEAL WITH
THE LARGE
AMOUNT OF DATA
THAT IOT DEVICES
HARNESS AND
TRANSMIT.
that may be present. In order for enterprise
organisations to effectively deal with the
data and be able to manage it, it often needs
to be triaged, filtered and sanitised before
it reaches the data centre. Simple functions
like de-duplication, or more complex ones like
running Machine Learning algorithms can
drastically reduce the amount of data or at
least establish what is important.
This can be done by IoT devices sending their
data to a local device at the edge of a network,
which has the capability to process the data
and then forward it to a centralised location.
Enterprise organisations need to look at their
networks and consider the fact that they may
need to decentralise some resources, especially
those focused on data management.
Overall, edge computing has the potential
to make an enterprise’s network much more
efficient and in a world where enabling a
number of IoT devices within one network
has increasingly become the norm, enabling
edge computing is a necessity. n
INTELLIGENTCIO
39