What IoT Growth Means For Edge Computing

Chances are you have several IoT (Internet of Things) devices in your home (maybe you’re even wearing one right now in the form of a smartwatch). These are items that have sensors and software that enable them to communicate and exchange data over the internet. They typically operate independently of human interaction, so we’re not talking about devices like a computer or smartphone.?

As devices become more interconnected, they get “smarter” and can offer incredible conveniences and information. Think about today’s smart fridge that can send notifications to your phone or even automatically adjust internal temperatures to help you save on your energy bill.??

The Growth of the IoT Industry

Gartner predicted that by the end of 2020, there would be almost 6 billion IoT devices in use in just the automotive and enterprise sectors alone, representing a 21% increase in the number of endpoints compared to the previous year. Taking a higher-level look, Gartner predicts there will be 30.9 billion IoT devices worldwide by 2025.?

Smart light bulbs, thermostats, cars—all of these are examples of consumer-facing IoT devices, but let’s not forget other sectors, such as government IoT or industrial IoT (IIoT). In terms of IIoT, examples include smart power grids and the often talked about smart cities. IIoT technology involves data on a massive scale that helps cities operate safely and efficiently.

Why is the IoT Ecosystem So Attractive to Enterprises??

As end-users, we’re already familiar with how the IoT can improve and support our daily lives, such as a wearable medical device that accurately tracks our health or a smart thermostat that lowers the temperature when the house is empty.?

From a business perspective, tapping into the IoT ecosystem can be attractive for a number of reasons. First, IoT data can provide unique insights to help improve business operations, products, and services. As data is gathered, it’s not only the devices that get smart but businesses can get “smarter” too. More data gathered quickly and efficiently can help enterprises stay agile and make decisions sooner, rather than later.?

The IoT industry may even be an evolutionary next step for many enterprises as they develop new business models and revenue streams, especially as consumers come to expect more interconnectivity.?

The Technology Needed To Power IoT Devices

With this growth of IoT comes the pressing need for IT services to support the increased data volume being generated. Gartner predicts that IT services for IoT specifically will be a $58 billion dollar market by 2025.?

The Internet of Things is more ubiquitous than ever before, and its growth mirrors the growth of cloud computing over the past decade. Cloud solutions allow enterprises to quickly scale up their infrastructure to better support their business operations and customers. Given how data-hungry IoT is, scalable cloud platforms have been a go-to choice for many businesses.?

Data storage represents another important hurdle for IoT growth. Advances in machine learning and analytics not only mean an increase in data volume but also different types of data that need to be properly stored and retrieved. Consumers today don’t expect connectivity to be slightly quicker—they expect it to be almost immediate. One solution powering many of today’s IoT devices is edge computing.?

Edge Computing: The Perfect Solution for the IoT?

With literally billions of connected devices—a number that is only growing year over year—how exactly are enterprises dealing with this massive data volume? Another question to consider is how are they enabling data to be sent and retrieved in the quickest and safest way possible??

One way businesses are handling this data explosion is by turning to edge computing to process data as close as possible to where it was collected, whether that’s locally or at a nearby data center. Why not use public clouds? Edge computing has the added advantage of offering low latency, which is absolutely a must-have for “always-on” devices that require a constant connection to send data. A public cloud has its advantages, but for IoT, it isn’t a solution that is well suited to handle large amounts of data transfer. Traditional cloud architecture may be located too far away, causing slower speeds.?

Security is another reason enterprises opt for edge computing. The processing, storage, and applications are spread out across a wider range of devices and data centers. This means a disruption is less likely to cause significant downtime across the entire network. The processing of data on local devices, rather than sending it back to a central data center, means less data is at risk at any given moment (i.e. less data can be intercepted during transmission).

Why Edge Computing is Growing Alongside IoT

Edge computing is well situated to meet the growing demand for solutions that offer low latency while still maintaining the ability to process a large amount of data. Rather than a complete overhaul of a business’ existing architecture, I believe edge computing will be a valuable supplementary piece to their existing IT strategy. Edge computing doesn’t make traditional cloud infrastructure obsolete, but rather it offers a specific set of advantages that make it perfectly aligned for the IoT ecosystem.?

As agile enterprises look for ways to enhance their customer’s digital experiences and improve their own network speeds, edge computing stands out as one of the most effective solutions. If you’re interested in learning more about the Internet of Things, check out this article, How IoT Is Creating New Avenues for DaaS. There’s also a free ebook about edge computing you can download: The Gorilla Guide: Hybrid Edge Computing.