Practical Tips: Successful Practice of Edge Computing

Edge computing raises technical concerns, such as security and scalability, as well as cultural considerations, such as how to improve collaboration between IT and operations teams. Data processing, analysis, and storage increasingly occur at the edge of the network, close to where users and devices need to access information. There is no doubt that edge computing is becoming a key component of IT strategy.

A recent report by Grand View Research predicts that the global edge computing market will reach $3.24 billion by 2025, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 41% during the forecast period. The continued development of the Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the factors driving the rise of edge computing. Grand View said that the large amount of data created by IoT devices can cause delays, and edge computing solutions can help enhance data processing capabilities to further avoid delays. Data processing is closest to the data source, which makes it easier for business users to gain real-time insights from IoT data devices.

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Edge computing is used in various industries such as manufacturing, IT and telecommunications, and healthcare, among others. Grand View said the healthcare and life sciences sector is expected to witness the highest CAGR between 2017 and 2025, due to the storage capabilities and real-time computing provided by edge computing tools that enable reliable medical services in a short period of time. The decision-making process is enhanced as network failures and delays are avoided.

For enterprises, supporting edge computing can be challenging because it involves a lot of moving parts and a change of mindset from the current IT environment dominated by data centers and cloud-based services. Here are some successful practices to consider when building an edge strategy.

Creating a long-term edge computing vision

“Edge computing involves many different components, and it requires building an infrastructure with the capacity and bandwidth to ingest, transform, analyze and process large amounts of data in real time,” said Matt Kimball, senior analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy.

On the networking side alone, this means deploying connections from devices to the cloud and data centers. While enterprises may want to ramp up their edge infrastructure as quickly as possible to support IoT and other remote computing efforts, it won’t happen overnight.

“Think big and act small — that means developing a long-term vision for edge deployments, but don’t rush to implement edge technology everywhere,” Kimball said. “The pace at which edge technology is rolled out depends on the industry, deployment model, and other factors. But given the rapid pace of innovation in the edge market, it’s very easy to be swayed by very cutting-edge technology that may not meet the needs of the enterprise, so develop a vision and execute in small, manageable steps.”

As part of planning your edge strategy, develop a business plan that will help secure your budget.

“Most organizations cite cost as the most important consideration, even more than data security,” said Jennifer Cook, research director for Data Center Trends and Strategies at IDC. “Getting budgets is difficult and requires a solid plan for how IT will deliver value to the business. With cost being so highly focused, pay-per-use offerings will become increasingly popular.”

Addressing cultural issues: Edge computing involves IT and operations

Putting processing power at the edge involves not only IT but also operational technology (OT), which are two separate businesses with different cultures and personalities, Kimball said. "In many cases, the technical staff is more technology-oriented, but the focus is on making sure the water treatment plant is up and running through the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) process control systems. These systems make sure valves are open at specific times, and the processes, tools, and the kinds of technology that are deployed and managed are different between the two businesses."

Connecting the two into one group from core data center management to the field or shop floor is a huge challenge, but it is one that needs to be solved. Culture is important, and if an organization cannot achieve the convergence of IT and OT at an organizational level, then the convergence of technology will fail.

IT and operations teams must be equal partners, said Daniel Newman, principal analyst and founding partner at Futurum Research. In a 2018 study, he noted that while edge computing is currently driven primarily by operations teams, IT teams are responsible for managing these systems in more than two-thirds of enterprises. In order for edge computing to grow and increase its overall business value, IT must become a strategic partner to operations teams. It must not only manage edge computing resources, but also participate in long-term strategy, budgeting, and procurement to ensure these systems fit into larger enterprise-wide strategies and transformation plans.

Find a partner to help deploy edge computing technology

Cooke said that many enterprises have indicated that they lack the internal skills to support the IT edge. Therefore, we believe that a lot of edge building will be achieved through partnerships with collaborating vendors and through vertical industry solutions from integrators.

IDC found that many enterprises are looking for a "one-stop solution" to provide IT services at the edge. Cooke said, "We will look for system integrators with vertical market expertise to help enterprises develop along their edge. For example, retail may want to implement a solution but don't want to put all the pieces together. Or it may want to gain insights from data at the edge site and build the infrastructure to do so, which can be complex."

“In addition to software tools for analyzing data, the solution requires connectivity as well as compute and storage infrastructure,” Cooke said. “Aspects such as controlling the physical environment (including temperature and humidity), physical security and equipment protection are also important considerations. A dedicated partner can help with all of this.”

Edge computing security is equally important

Like other aspects of IT, edge computing comes with its own set of cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities. The InfoSec Institute, an organization that provides training for information security and IT professionals, pointed out some security issues related to edge computing in August 2018.

These risks include weak passwords to access devices, which makes them easy targets for attackers; insecure communications, with data collected and transmitted by mostly unencrypted and unauthenticated devices; physical security risks, as security is often considered a low priority in the development of IoT and other edge devices; and poor service visibility, with security teams unaware of the services running on certain devices.

It’s an overarching concern, Kimball said, “not just the security of the device, but the security of the data being transmitted, the security of the servers that sit at the edge and do the data transformation and analysis, and the security of the data as it travels from the edge to the cloud to the core data center.”

The InfoSec Institute recommends taking steps such as expanding corporate password policies to test and enforce strong passwords on edge devices; encrypting data sent by devices or using virtual private networks to encrypt traffic in transit between devices and destinations; taking steps to provide physical security for devices; and identifying and protecting the services provided by devices, including analyzing network logs to identify traffic from unknown devices within the enterprise network perimeter.

“Companies need to have a security strategy in place to properly protect IoT and edge computing systems from a physical and logical perspective,” Newman said. “This includes the data that is processed and held at the edge.”

Scalability of edge computing is a must

For certain industries, such as manufacturing, healthcare, utilities, and city governments, the growth of the IoT over the next few years is likely to see significant growth in the number of connected devices and the amount of data collected and processed, so companies will need to build scalability into their edge computing initiatives.

“Not only do we expect the overall percentage of data generated by edge computing to increase, but we also expect to see an ever-increasing volume of data, especially for the future intelligent edge,” reported a 2018 Futurum article on edge computing.

The report states that as edge computing expands to support actionable IoT devices and data, the implementation of edge computing will make it easier to extract value from IoT-based data sources. Without planning for scalability of storage, data analysis, network connectivity and other functions, companies will not be able to reap the full benefits of edge computing or IoT.