FEATURE
James Petter , International VP , Pure Storage
processing in a core cloud , to a core cloud working hand-in-hand with a distributed cloud at the Edge .
This proliferation of smaller yet more agile data centres highlights the need for speed , flexibility and operational simplicity in each location . However , two challenges present themselves . First , these Edge sites are small and there are often thousands of them – so all the data can ’ t exist in every site .
New architectures are being built where Edge applications generate , store and interact with data at the Edge , but these Edge sites are tightly-coupled with core data centres where they sync all their data and store less frequently used data . This requires infrastructure to support data access and movement , as well as
WE ARE DUE
FOR ANOTHER QUANTUM SHIFT IN THE WAY WE INTERACT WITH
TECHNOLOGY AND QUITE
FRANKLY , WE SHOULD ALL BE
EXCITED . building and running applications in a much more distributed manner .
Secondly , Edge applications are also being built differently – generally as microservice applications , so they can easily start / stop / scale as users come and go from the services delivered at the Edge . Because Edge sites are small , every app can ’ t have its own dedicated servers or storage , they must all share infrastructure . Containerisation helps solve this problem by allowing applications and their storage to easily be spun-up and down , lasting only for the duration that that user or device is accessing a particular cell tower or Edge data centre , and run natively on heterogenous infrastructure that is shared by many Edge applications .
Where we ’ re heading
We are in an incredibly exciting point of technological development and distributed Edge Computing is taking technology to places previously unreachable by technology , allowing us to change the way we interact with the world .
Combined with adjacent technologies such as 5G , Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) and Augmented Reality ( AR ), we are moving towards a reality where we can soon let go of our interfaces , keyboards and mouse , and just use our voice or gestures to control our devices .
We are due for another quantum shift in the way we interact with technology and quite frankly , we should all be excited . ◊
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