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Expectations of edge computing

Based on these edge environment requirements, customers have clear expectations for edge computing that are different from the cloud or a data center.

  • No special equipment for power, air conditioning or networking
  • No technicians necessary onsite to install and configure
  • Start with smallest footprint possible to demonstrate ROI
  • Easily add more compute power as workload expands
  • Run distributed software for containers, messaging and machine learning with high availability
  • Monitor, manage and upgrade centrally, even when behind a firewall
  • Can apply continuous integration, continuous deployment (CICD) developer operations (DEVOPS)

What customers want is all the good stuff of the cloud, just running on premise, that is, at the edge.

We must not forget, however, that the edge is not the cloud. There are real physical limitations that prevent the edge from being exactly like the cloud. The biggest challenge, no pun intended, is the concept I call “edge scale.” Nevertheless, we can build solutions that meet the customers’ expectations for edge computing. It will not be achieved by simply shoving data center solutions on premise. It will require innovation.