Many industries need to collect and analyze data in remote environments. The cloud must be able to venture out of the data center and operate where data lives: at the edge.
For cloud computing to reach the next level of technology evolution, it must emerge from traditional centralized data centers and become accessible in the remote and harsh places of the world. Namely the edge.
Dozens of industries that rely on rapid data analysis and split-second decision making still lack access to high-performance cloud computing as they venture into internet-isolated and often harsh environments. And even if they had internet access, the round-trip travel and latency for real-time decision making would be prohibitive. Some of these industries include mining, energy exploration, autonomous vehicles, warehousing, seaports, television broadcasting, film production, seismic and weather tracking, scientific research, military applications, and more. These industries need solutions that bring data processing closer to where data is generated for faster processing, lower latency and real-time decision making even when disconnected.
For this reason, more and more companies are demanding a mobile cloud experience. You need tools that provide the ability to work where connectivity may be unreliable, patchy, or non-existent, while accelerating the collection, storage, and analysis of data. The tools also have to withstand extreme temperatures, high humidity and all kinds of impact and shock.
Transporting a cloud-like experience to remote countries or deep underground means successfully merging cloud and edge computing. It also means providing edge computing products with the robustness and intrusion protection they need, while also providing the highest capacity and lowest latency. In this way, cloud and edge capabilities can successfully support large volumes of today’s data management and analytics applications.
See also: Edge computing enters the thin vs. thick debate
High-performance edge storage frees the cloud
To fully understand the importance of storage for mobile cloud computing, it is necessary to understand how cloud and edge work together.
Cloud computing has revolutionized modern business practices, but it’s not without its limitations. For example, the farther away users are when requesting information from a central cloud data center, the longer they have to wait for that information. It’s simple physics and a problem that plagues all data centers.
But Edge products accelerate this process. Edge computing is a distributed computing system that equips users with routers, servers, and other resources that operate closer to the point of data collection. Rather than performing storage and compute tasks in a central facility, edge computing devices give users the ability to work at the edge of the network. This means faster response times (lower latency) as well as faster transmission of large amounts of data to the processing unit.
Perhaps most importantly in today’s business environment, edge computing enables analysts and engineers to implement powerful analytics and real-time machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
By applying AI and ML at the edge, analysts working remotely can uncover insights and then act on them with minimal lag. This represents a significant advance over the once tried and tested methods of tamping.
NVMe is now the preferred storage interface
When it comes to high performance, NVMe has become the storage interface of choice.
The protocol takes full advantage of the parallel, low-latency data paths to the underlying media, enabling NVMe to deliver higher performance and lower latency than SATA or SAS protocols. NVMe not only accelerates applications that require high performance, but also paves the way for creating new capabilities for real-time workloads.
The unique capabilities built into NVMe can eliminate bottlenecks that hamper application performance while providing the ability to scale and meet the demands of new applications.
Edge servers, which combine high-performance processors with NVMe storage, are a breakthrough that bring the power of centralized cloud servers to the places where processing is needed – even in a rainforest or desert.
Cloud expansion depends on mobility
Without a doubt, cloud computing will continue to see impressive growth. Business and the public have developed an insatiable appetite for data and the insights it generates. You want answers to pressing questions now, not later.
Gartner researchers expect global cloud revenue to total $474 billion this year, up 13% from $408 billion in 2021. Gartner also predicts that by 2025, 85% of businesses will use the cloud -First principle will have been introduced.
The evolution of the centralized cloud to the edge will further fuel cloud growth. In the future, owning mobile cloud capabilities will become a key competitive advantage, and then that capability will simply become part of the table stakes, a fundamental and necessary part of doing business.
Businesses looking to move into the mobile cloud should patiently and carefully consider their pain points and the problems it is trying to solve. The edge is very forked, which means we’d love to find a one-size-fits-all solution, it just doesn’t exist.
Start small. If you want to make real-time decisions that give you a competitive advantage, drive a higher return on investment, or improve efficiency, stay focused and start small.
Either way, acquire the tools and equipment that won’t give up in the field, and provide the types of storage, memory, and high performance that will give you the best chance of success.
