EXPERT OPINION
Taking computing all
the way to the ‘Edge’
Edge computing
is gaining more
prominence as the
volume of data
continues to increase.
Eltjo Hofstee, MD,
Leaseweb UK, looks at
Edge computing in the
context of growing IoT
and why it should be
incorporated into a data
centre strategy.
n reference to the Internet
of Things (IoT) as a concept
back in the 1990s, little did
Mark Weisler, then Chief
Technologist at Xerox PARC, think that
his words might come true when he said:
‘The most profound technologies are
those that disappear.
I
‘They weave themselves into the
fabric of everyday life until they are
indistinguishable from it.’
Issue 06
But challenges almost always bring
opportunity and, in this context, solutions
like edge computing, which support data
processing either at, or near, the source
of where it is generated are becoming
increasingly mainstream.
What is Edge computing?
He probably had no idea at the time what an
accurate prediction it would turn out to be.
We live and work in the Information Age,
a time in which Weisler’s words have
become reality.
For cloud and associated technologies in
their current state, the sheer volume of
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data being generated and the related need
for speed is starting to present a challenge
in terms of converting data quickly and
accurately into useful insights.
Edge computing is the practice of
processing data at or near the source of
the data, as opposed to relaying it to a
centralised location, as is done with cloud
computing. The ‘Edge’ refers to the actual
space of the distribution, near the edge of
the network. In Edge computing, data is
processed by the device itself or by a local
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