As data centre leaders discover innovative ways to operate with sustainability in mind , Wendy Torell , Senior Research Analyst , Schneider Electric Data Centre Science Centre , offers some best practice advice on how to choose a more sustainable approach to Edge Computing .

espite the image of data centres as large , powerhungry facilities ( i . e . cloud and

While they are far less obtrusive than their hyperscale counterparts , Edge data centres contain mission-critical applications , and as such , must be designed , built and operated to similar , if not the same standards of resilience , efficiency and sustainability as their cloud service counterparts .

According to Gartner , by 2025 , 75 % of enterprise data is expected to be created and processed at the Edge . IDC also predicts massive growth , with the worldwide Edge Computing market expected to reach a value of US $ 250.6 billion , with a compound annual growth rate ( CAGR ) of 12.5 % between 2019 – 2024 .

There are several factors driving the proliferation of data and its consumption at the Edge . Among them is the demand for low-latency applications , including digital streaming from film , TV and music platforms . The rise in IoT connected devices , Artificial Intelligence ( AI ), and Machine Learning is causing a surge in Digital Transformation across almost every industry . Many organisations are designing new experiences , reimagining business processes and creating both new products and digital services that rely on innovative and resilient technologies to underpin them .

This is leading to more data being created and shared across the network , ultimately causing delays in transmission and download speeds , known as latency . To overcome such network congestion , data must therefore be stored and processed close to where it is generated and consumed – this trend is known as Edge Computing .

One of the challenges that emerges from the prolific growth at the Edge is the energy demands fuelling the transformation . The cost of energy production and the need to shift to more sustainable operations has long required designers of large data centres to embrace sustainability strategies . Now the same attention must be paid to the design of smaller facilities at the Edge .

Energy demands at the Edge

Today , various analysis suggests that data centres represent 1 – 2 % of global electricity consumption , and by 2030 as much as 3000 TWh of energy will be used by IT , doubling the potential global electrical consumption . At the Edge ,

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