Next Edge in computational power: Edge Computing!

If you have ever tried accessing metaverse platforms thru laptops or mobile phones, you would have faced two situations. First rapid depletion of battery power and secondly, tremendous heating up of your devices. Both situations are not conducive to a seamless virtual experience. You might also find Virtual spaces/Avatars taking a lot of time to lo. ditionally, avatars many times get knocked off platforms suddenly. While your system capabilities and internet capacity might be a contributing factor re is more at play here. 

Now here is thing, volume and speed of computations required in today’s world is unimaginably high. That is why when millions of instant rapid computations take place back and forth from cloud, collecting, processing and delivering data in near real time re is an overlo faced by systems. If we continue with example of Metaverse Platforms rendering smooth experiences, continuous predictable and unpredictable movements, dynamic 3D worlds, graphics and so on causes systems to heat up and burn battery power rapidly among or issues.

Similarly, organizations in various or industries too face issues such as cloud and computational latency due to centralized and outdated systems (caused by back and forth of data movement). n re is concern of huge burden on bandwidth due to massive processing requirements.

Hope organizations realize heightened security risks because of constant data transmissions creating exposure to cyber threats. ditionally, re is tremendous cost involved with so much data transfer, storage and processing requirements.

It was also found that dependence on centralized systems reduces reliability and no wonder n that scalability is tough with an alrey challenged system.

Data studies have shown that re is increased power consumption due to continuous data processing also causing Network congestion due to heightened data transfer.

Most importantly what businesses should fear is dependence on a central system increasing possibility of a single point of failure!

above is not an exhaustive list but just a few issues to give you an idea. A technological solution to se concerns was sought and indigenous human mind found one right at edge of computational network. It brought computing to where data was being generated rar than causing systems to go wild with m rush of bouncing data transfer! Yes, solution came in form of ‘Edge Computing’!

In simple terms ‘Edge computing’ is sitting at point between physical and digital.

It is a distributed computing parigm forming an IT architecture which utilizes IoT and/or or devices like edge servers, gateways, routers, smart sensors, operating systems and containerization platforms (e.g., docker) to name a few. se devices collect data as near to source as possible and process it re itself bringing computing to edge of enterprise’s network systems. This includes all variants of data, that which is collected like unpredictable user generated data in metaverse spaces or specified organizational data, including metata and every or data which requires computation or storage. 

dependence on centralized systems is removed. Inste of exposing data to external threats all time, edge distributed organizations can now store and send data to central cloud when desired or at specific times aiding in robust security.

It provides speed, resilience, scalability, efficacy and cost saving along with security.

If we think about businesses, unimaginable amount of data is being generated in branch offices, retail outlets, oil and gas rigs, manufacturing units, millions of locations globally and even by satellites. This data is only going to multiply exponentially!

A central system is outdated to manage it all.

Distributing computation is natural and smart solution.

Organizations which want to scale ir AI applications including generative AI will need to employ edge technology so that AI can be trained on data collected at edge and analysed for local patterns in real time. Will this not help in making training models simpler? Application of edge computing in this way helps improve performance of all business applications. cloud is lighter, AI is smarter, scaling is easy and enterprise runs faster and smoor.

Thanks to genius of Edge computing many organizations are utilizing edge computing in varying capacities. Be it IoT devices, Healthcare, Transportation, retail, manufacturing, gaming or any or field, edge computing provides much required support to vanced systems.

Suppose you have a large manufacturing unit, or a pharmaceutical lab. You have sensors which collect data and compute faults on site. No need to wait for data to be sent at center and later analyzed following which rectifications are me. re are millions of such processes going on in manufacturing unit at lightening speeds. A company will have similar manufacturing units spre across nation or globally. Data is being generated at staggering speeds! In such a case n will it not help that company if local faults could be found and fixed at local source itself? Without waiting for a central directive? This is how edge computing saves resources, time and increases efficiency.

Similarly, sensors and devices in healthcare can help in remote monitoring of patients. Imagine re is an emergency case in ambulance. Luckily it has edge enabled sensors processing patient data in real-time and relaying it to hospital. hospital gets accurate information and hence is well prepared to save patient when ambulance reaches hospital. ditionally, even during surgeries important patient vitals can be me visible to doctors thru specialized glasses even as y perform surgery without having need to look around or be told by anyone else. sensors send information and edge computers compute information onto glasses. This is not sci-fi but a true possible scenario.

When we talk about automation, Autonomous vehicles can never be ignored. Autonomous Vehicles and ir route optimization require high computation speeds in real time. Edge computing along with AI are most suitable to give instant and fast optimal solutions. Tesla is an example we all are most familiar with.

Next if we look at retail, a lot of automation can be achieved on premises of retail outlets which does not require immediate center involvement. This can include inventory management or smart stores where everything is automatically managed including self-checkout stations. Here edge computing is an effective on spot computing solution.

Interestingly in manufacturing Edge computing helps with predictive maintenance and quality control by instant computation of faults and assigning corrective actions locally. Time is saved as faults are fixed without requiring later inspections like car manufacturing units for example.

Many times, remote oil rigs lose network connection. However, by employing edge computing work continues to be computed locally and later data can be shared with center

Edge computing can solve many problems of Gaming, Digital Twins and Metaverse platforms. Edge computing can reduce lo of main servers helping keep systems cooler, processing faster and smoor because of localized computing power.

Despite above vantages it is not always easy for every organization to quickly or easily opt edge computing into ir digital architecture. re are many roblocks and challenges along way.

First issue is cost itself. Imagine requirement of upgring entire digital architecture from base up and cost involved with it. Secondly, finding equately skilled professionals and vendors to be able to setup entire system effectively and correctly. Third and most important roblock comes from within organization in form of executive decisions. 

While everyone understands importance of leveraging edge computing however, decisions vary on scale of its option. Due to this some companies are using edge computing but driving everything centrally. effectiveness of distributed edge network is lost in such a case as eventually everything is managed by a central cloud and, hence providing a weak solution. Let’s hope y understand this and think about wasted effort and reinvent.

n re are companies are using edge computing in bits and pieces. Maybe in one or two projects of ir organization. When or locations are left out scaling and standardization is lost. se enterprises should really rethink ir strategy again.

However, re are some organizations which have built a strong edge deployment and are making tremendous use of its distributed network capabilities. y have employed edge computing technology effectively and stand to gain from ir competitors due to this approach.

In any case most successful organizations today are ones using Edge computing at very foundation/core of ir digital architecture. y are leaps and bounds ahe of any competition as scalability at any time will be easy and achievable without requiring rebuilding systems from scratch. 

In all importance of edge computing is not lost on enterprises.

However, y must realize that time is of essence and it’s better to incur a cost now and level up rar than struggle for survival later.

Essentially, technology is all about constant change and regular upgre! To reinvent in time is to stay relevant!

refore, it is no surprise n that top companies of world like Accenture, IBM, Tesla including Indian companies like Tata Consultancy Services ( TCS ), Infosys and Wipro are investing in Edge Computing centered solutions. 

In India, Telecom operators like Jio, Airtel and Vodafone Idea are deploying edge computing for 5G networks and IoT applications. 

India’s Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) recognizes a great future in this technology and has launched initiatives like ‘Digital India’ which includes Edge computing as a crucial component along with AI and quantum computing.

Smart cities can never be a success without application of Edge Computing.

It is a fair assessment n that time has come for organizations to le in edge computing option or risk becoming redundant. Challenges cannot be excuses; a proper edge computing strategy is vital for every organization. If we take example of metaverse platforms maybe specially enabled routers with edge capabilities might help bring better user experience. 

Edge computing brings forth a powerful solution to exponentially multiplying data processing requirements and is a technology to be looked at with interest and expectation. 

Human mind is forever inventing and reinventing. Maybe it is this entanglement with our own genius is what gives us ‘Edge’ over or beings on this planet!

About Author

Shalini Verma is a Delhi based Entrepreneur consulting on digital transformation by leveraging emerging technologies like Enterprise blockchain, AI, Cloud Computing and Metaverse as a Marketing Platform.