Intelligent Data Centres Issue 40 | Page 69

THE EDGE ata has become the engine of progress .

D Private enterprises use it to optimise experiences , enhance operations , improve customer services and invent new business models . Governments use it to build the cities of the future , to plan for the consumption of utilities and energy resources and to manage crises such as the COVID pandemic .

But centralised repositories for data are becoming obsolete and legacy approaches for accessing insights will not work for future-minded organisations . Forward-thinking organisations should be planning at the Edge because it is where the data is created . Those that do not invest in the Edge risk being left behind by these new environments . According to Gartner , 91 % of data is now processed in data centres , either in the cloud or on-premises . But the analyst firm predicts that by 2025 , the balance will have shifted to the Edge , where 75 %
Fred Lherault , Field CTO , EMEA , Pure Storage of all data processing will take place . It ’ s clear that now is the time to invest in Edge Computing capabilities . Here are five reasons why organisations should do this today .
1 . Faster response times
Edge Computing architecture places apps , data and resources closer to where data is generated . Processing occurs at the outer reaches of an organisation ’ s environment instead of forcing data to make a trip ‘ back to base ’, which may be a data centre that is hundreds , if not thousands , of miles away .
By enabling data to be stored at the Edge , organisations get faster response times and can more easily deliver realtime insights . Applications at the Edge will then be able to distil , process and visualise data , displaying rich , actionable information on the spot .
This ability is critical for essential and cutting-edge applications across industries . Manufacturing firms can
deliver predictive maintenance , repairing equipment before it degrades or breaks down . Healthcare providers can leverage advanced monitors , sensors and other devices that greatly enhance diagnosis and treatment . The transportation industry is being disrupted by autonomous vehicles . Cars are their own Edge device and sending data to a remote location is a risk due to a delay in response times back to the vehicle . Then there is Augmented Reality ( AR ), an Edge technology that has applications across retail , education and entertainment . Its intense rendering operations need realtime responses to function .
2 . Greater resilience
Another key benefit of Edge Computing is Business Continuity . In the event of disruption or downtime in a centralised data centre , sites at the Edge can continue to operate independently since the infrastructure is local . That is just the beginning . Edge platforms allow faster , more consistent and more reliable services , enhancing customer and www . intelligentdatacentres . com
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