Research And Markets: By 2022, about 90% of industrial companies will use edge computing

On February 6, a new report released by market research firm Research And Markets predicted that by 2022, about 90% of industrial enterprises will use edge computing, and even before 5G coverage reaches a higher level and use cases mature, most data will be processed at the edge.

There have been three major computing revolutions in industrial applications, namely mainframe, client-server, and cloud computing. From the starting points of these paradigms, edge computing is becoming a foundational technology for industrial enterprises with its lower latency, robust security, responsive data collection, and lower costs.

The report points out that the multi-access edge computing market is still in its infancy, with telecom operators and cloud service providers conducting trials. As a new generation of mobile communication technology, 5G has lower latency and higher capacity, coupled with edge computing, which brings computing power closer to customers and promotes new applications and experiences.

Operators are now deploying smaller data centers at the edge of the network, closer to customers, to optimize application performance. However, telecom operators cannot implement and manage edge computing alone. They must build partnerships and application ecosystems to capture this growth opportunity. As a result, operators are working with cloud providers to improve the performance of existing mission-critical applications and support new applications over wireless networks.

This market impacts growth opportunities in many areas for both consumer and enterprise use cases where low latency requirements for connectivity are critical for applications and user experience. For consumers, there are innovative applications such as 5G gaming and augmented reality, virtual reality and ultra-high definition streaming.

For enterprises, telecom operators are deploying private wireless networks to enable Manufacturing 4.0, automated mining, precision agriculture, Industrial IoT, and other compelling use cases.

Analysts expect that by 2022, about 90% of industrial companies will use edge computing, and even before 5G coverage reaches higher levels and use cases mature, most data will be processed at the edge.

Edge computing refers to computing that pushes intelligence, data processing, analysis, and communication capabilities to the source of data, either at the network gateway or directly at the endpoint. The goal is to reduce latency, ensure efficient networking and operations, as well as service delivery and improved user experience. By extending computing closer to the data source, edge computing supports latency-sensitive computing, provides greater business agility through better control and faster insights, reduces operating costs, and is supported by more efficient network bandwidth.