Organizations have begun to unlock edge computing’s potential to provide them with a competitive advantage over market rivals or improve the functionality of distributed Internet-of-Things (IoT) systems.

What Is Edge Computing?

Edge computing is akin to an extension of, or improvement to, the power inherent to cloud computing. By bringing computing power closer to data sources, edge computing can provide better system response time and more efficient bandwidth usage.

The idea behind edge computing is to process and act on data as closely as physically possible to where the data is created. Edge computing is a strategy to address the constantly growing volume of data generated by connected devices; the huge volume of data is challenging to efficiently transmit and process in centralized cloud data centers. As businesses and consumers move to 5G networks and beyond, the amount of data will only continue to increase.

How Edge Computing Empowers IoT Devices

The prevalence of IoT implementations and smart devices drives the growth in data and introduces new information streams that need to be efficiently collected and processed. As enterprises struggle to effectively use available data resources, processing them via an edge computing solution becomes an attractive alternative to in-house or traditional cloud data centers.

One of the factors that makes edge computing possible is the advancement of artificial intelligence technology in endpoint devices like security cameras, smartphones, and equipment used in industrial automation systems. These devices can perform preprocessing or sorting of data to minimize the amount of data that needs to be transmitted to more powerful computing environments.

The Benefits of Edge Computing

Organizations can expect to achieve multiple advantages when implementing an edge computing approach. These benefits may make the difference between a viable distributed or IoT system and a system that is destined to fail. One of the primary reasons that organizations use colocated data centers is to speed up data transmission.

  • Latency is a big problem with transferring large amounts of data to cloud data centers. Slow data transfer and response is tolerable under certain circumstances, such as the short delays in the response of a smartphone’s virtual assistant. In more time-sensitive scenarios, latency must be reduced to achieve the system’s desired functionality. Sensors responsible for real-time traffic control systems or autonomous vehicles cannot tolerate the time spent sending waiting for results based on data sent to the cloud.
  • Bandwidth is like latency in this regard: for certain use cases, the network resources must be available to satisfy system requirements, and bandwidth can be a limiting factor. In edge computing, the critical and most important data can be preprocessed and handled more efficiently without putting excessive demands on bandwidth. The remaining data can be transmitted to the cloud later for further analysis.
  • Security is enhanced by reducing the volume of data traveling over a network, thereby limiting the possibility of access by unauthorized actors. Having data distributed on multiple devices also eliminates the risk of a single point of failure that can cripple a sy Minimizing the distance data travels also reduces the number of routers the transmission must traverse, each of which is a potential security risk.

The power in edge computing comes from bringing compute capabilities closer to the data rather than insisting on data being processed in a centralized data center. Logically, this means having hardware and software resources situated near the endpoint devices.

This means that every organization wishing to make use of computing capabilities effectively needs a data center located near its end-users or systems. Providers are addressing this need through edge colocation offerings that connect devices located at the edge of the network to more extensive computing resources.

Essential Components of an Edge Computing Data Center

Companies that wish to make productive use of edge computing need to find the right partner unless they plan to build a dedicated colocation infrastructure. In most cases, this is unnecessary, and organizations will be better served by identifying a partner in their location that can provide the required resources.

Many edge data centers are in secondary markets that lack access to more extensive colocation facilities. Their offerings are designed to appeal to local enterprises that need a bridge between their edge devices and the power of larger cloud infrastructure. In some cases, all processing can be done at the edge data center without the need to access more substantial resources.

Size is not a defining factor for edge data centers. They can vary in size from a single antenna and server to an extensive infrastructure rivaling traditional data centers to meet specific customer requirements. Before entering into an agreement with a provider of edge computing data center services, customers should investigate the following essential components of the prospective provider:

  • The location of an edge data center is one of its most defining characteristics. To address the requirements of real-time processing involved in autonomous factories and smart city implementations, the data center needs to be located near the endpoint devices whose data it will service. One of the primary benefits of edge computing is reducing latency, which is facilitated by limiting the distance between devices and the data center.
  • The capability for customers to perform data filtering is necessary to limit the amount of information transferred to larger data centers or the cloud. This helps address the issues of high latency or insufficient bandwidth that plague edge computing implementations. Critical data should be processed rapidly, while less time-sensitive data can be transferred so it can be used for business analytics.
  • Cutting-edge technology is mandatory for an edge data center. At a minimum, it must have the infrastructure and space to support its’ customers 5G networking requirements. While 5G promises incredible data transfer speeds, its coverage area per antenna is greatly reduced. This implies that many antennas will be needed to adequately cover a given area. A reliable edge computing data center provider will need to be willing to provide the space, power, and cooling resources to enable customers to install 5G equipment.

Atlantic Net’s Orlando Data Center

If you are looking for an edge computing colocation partner in the Orlando area, you need to consider the capabilities offered by Atlantic.Net. We offer state-of-the-art edge computing capabilities to Orlando organizations at our Orlando Colocation Data Center. Our secure and reliable collocation platforms are designed to meet the needs of all types of bandwidth-intensive businesses.

Some of the features that set Atlantic.Net apart from its competitors include:

  • Our carrier-neutral facility has multiple redundant connections to the Internet backbone to ensure your data is transported over the fastest route. In the event of a carrier outage, traffic is redirected using alternate carriers.
  • Infrastructure is immediately available for customers with no waiting period required as with some other providers. Atlantic offers Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) through a blended solution for customers who don’t want to use their own carrier so they can get up and running quickly.
  • We offer 100% uptime SLAs for network and infrastructure so customers can be confident that their systems will always be accessible.
  • The Orlando data center’s hosting infrastructure is fully audited and is certified to be AICPA SOC 2 and SOC 3 compliant.
  • The facility is protected by redundant temperature and humidity controls as well as a backup generator that can serve 100% of customer peak load.
  • Our fully customizable and secure colocation hosting lets your business obtain the exact resources it needs and can seamlessly scale as your business grows.
  • Dark fiber connections are available, as well as roof space for 5G or satellite antennas, and our partnerships with fiber providers allow customers to minimize the deployment time.

Edge computing can provide businesses with competitive or operational advantages. As opportunities for computing at the edge of the network increase, it becomes more evident that robust implementations require collaborative partnerships that make the best use of all available technology. Atlantic.Net offers organizations a reliable partner with which to reap the benefits of edge computing.