The age of edge computing has finally dawned. The rapid developments in digital and mobile technologies have made edge computing increasingly more prevalent and more critical to the success of businesses across a wide range of industries.
Edge computing essentially takes memory and computing out of the traditional data center to bring them as close as possible to the location where they are needed — often in the form of handheld or local devices, appliances, or point-of-sale or physical units that are distributed across different locations. Edge means different things to different industries. For automotive, for example, it may mean the growing importance of compute capacity in smart cars or in handheld devices used by technicians and service centers. For retail, it might mean new kinds of compute capacity available at point-of-sale systems and new experiences being delivered to customers in storefronts. Even in the fast food industry, Chick-fil-A shared it was running edge devices with container-based applications in every restaurant.
Edge applications that interact closely with local devices in the field are getting more sophisticated and intelligent with every passing quarter. There’s a lot of opportunity and promise in edge computing for both end consumers and for businesses. These applications can offer customers seamless and personalized experiences, help improve business processes and more.
Let’s first examine some of the key promising use cases for edge computing. We’ll then discuss the challenges with edge computing and some of the key questions business leaders should ask themselves around supporting the intelligent edge.