What is the
intelligent edge,
and how is it
shaping the future
of business?

Data is the fuel that powers modern business. It's increasingly being collected from smart systems distributed all over the world to improve decision-making, automate processes and enhance customer experiences. Yet, once centralized and processed, it then needs to be redistributed back to highly dispersed users and endpoints. That's hugely inefficient, expensive and a block on innovation.

This is where the intelligent edge comes in: a new architecture set to revolutionize IT and redefine the value applications can deliver to businesses and end users.

Cloud computing is great at what it does. But many computing tasks may benefit from being performed at the network edge—closer to both the end user and the connected IT and operational technology (OT) devices that are increasingly important to modern enterprises.

In fact, analyst firm IDC predicts that “by 2024, due to an explosion of edge data, 65% of G2000 will embed edge-first data stewardship, security, and network practices into data protection plans to integrate edge data into relevant processes.”¹ But what kind of infrastructure will be required?

An intelligent edge typically requires compute servers and storage—almost like a scaled-down cloud data center. These communicate with Internet of Things (IoT) sensors fitted to everything from street lighting and smart meters to factory equipment. Another important set of components are IoT actuators, which turn data into action—for example, in a smart home, they may switch the heating on or off depending on the temperature. The IoT/edge gateway is another key element—designed to centralize and analyze all data coming from these devices to decide which information needs to be sent back to centralized servers.

With so many components, no single technology vendor is likely to solve all your edge processing needs. That's why many cloud computing firms have been teaming up with networking specialists with the appropriate reach and expertise to deliver computing power plus connectivity. This is where 5G technology really comes into its own.

The 5G intelligent edge is an even more compelling prospect. The speed and efficiency of processing data at the edge can be amplified by the high-speed connectivity 5G can deliver to those dispersed endpoint devices—be they IoT sensors and actuators, OT equipment or smartphones.  5G offers the potential for secure connections with high speed, low latency and massive capacity.

With intelligent edge deployments, your business could benefit from:

• More scalable solutions, because it can cope with much higher data and device volumes without impacting performance.
• Lower data transport costs, because information is being processed locally.
• Lower cost and complexity for end-user devices, as more processing can be done off-device.
• Enhanced security, as you can minimize traffic sent to cloud data centers.
• Innovation powered by the "killer application" of artificial intelligence (AI) for near-real-time intelligent edge processing.