The intelligent edge and edge computing are the terms used to encapsulate the way data processing has moved from a central facility such as the cloud to a local facility that is close to the source of the data – the edge of an IoT network.
Right now, the functionality provided by this development is playing an important role across the business landscape, a mission-critical role in some sectors, write Beecham Research’s Bob Emmerson and Robin Duke-Woolley
In the agriculture sector for example, on one hand financial success relies on accurate, timely data. Edge computing enables greenhouses to function as closed, intelligent edge ecosystems and edge artificial intelligence (AI) can provide farmers with real-time insights, allowing them to identify areas that need irrigation and fertilisation even when connectivity to the cloud is poor.
On the other hand, industrial automation systems rely on the deployment of smart devices at the edge for efficient, low-latency data collection. Like Industry 4.0, this broad- based sector is making smart machines smarter, factories more efficient, processes less wasteful, and production lines more flexible.
Edge IoT is also being implemented in the energy and utilities sector to optimise energy and water generation supply and demand in real-time. Smart meters provide near real-time information on consumption, which enables more efficient, demand- based electricity generation and distribution.
These and many other application areas are pointers to the size and the importance of insightful, real-time information generated by the intelligent edge on an organisation’s performance. The IoT market is predicted to encompass more than 75 billion IoT devices by 2025, reports IDC. And Gartner predicts that by 2022, 50% of enterprise- generated data will be created and processed outside a traditional data centre or cloud, up from less than 10% in 2019.
In this report, Wind River indicates how the role of the intelligent edge will evolve and grow, how devices will increasingly work together in various ways to add more value to and through the intelligent edge.
