Operations | Monitoring | ITSM | DevOps | Cloud

Edge computing is defined by bringing compute resources out of remote, centralised facilities and putting them at the source of the data itself. Processing and analysis is done where the data is actually generated. The performance and cost improvements that edge computing delivers are based on this proximity. By situating our data centres close to major populations, we have delivered these benefits to many UK businesses. It is an inherently ‘local’ idea.

The evolution of information technology is governed by how businesses adapt to ever-increasing amounts of data. Those businesses most able to exploit more data, win. Terms such as ‘speed’ and ‘agility’ refer to how a business handles and uses this data. Given the 2.5 quintillion bytes created every day, there is a huge opportunity for businesses to create unassailable leadership.

As the UK’s edge infrastructure provider, we’ve launched platformEDGE™ — a next-generation platform that will enable regional businesses across the UK to harness the opportunity of digital transformation. PlatformEDGE is a UK-wide integrated infrastructure that enables scalable, high-performance, low-latency edge application delivery.

The direction of travel for business technology is one-way. The momentum towards strategies around decentralised, hybrid technologies is unstoppable. Examples abound, from the composable software stacks of e-commerce to the ongoing death of monolithic ERP. Modern, digitally-driven business is based on a dynamic alignment of resources, data and technology at the granular level, which is then coordinated precisely.

It is a rare pleasure to both have ones cake and eat it. But that is precisely what next generation, hybrid cloud, offers organisations looking to reduce the cost whilst increasing control of the technology that underpins modern, digital business. Hybrid cloud refers to mixed computing, storage, and services environments that blend on-premises infrastructure, private cloud services, and a public cloud.

Hybrid cloud is an increasingly popular strategy for organisations of every hue. According to a recent survey, 72% of respondents put their cloud strategy as being hybrid first. Hybrid cloud offers businesses the best of both worlds: the security, data control and reliability of the private cloud combined with the flexibility, elasticity, cost-effectiveness, and scalability of the public cloud.

Don’t forget, it’s the hardware that makes the cloud The main issues we see with clients and cloud implementations are that it can be very difficult for them to get a clear idea of what it is they are buying and how well it will perform. While the consumption and billing models are clear, it can still be hard to know how much you will pay each month. But what is hard is predicting exactly what the level of performance you will get. Some of this is inevitable.

Businesses need a new, more flexible solution to make digital transformation far easier, says Daniel Blackwell, Product Manager – Networks & Security, Pulsant Digital transformation can provide businesses with a more flexible approach to infrastructure that simplifies the delivery of services and applications. However, this journey to digital transformation can introduce its own complexities that require a new way of thinking.

You might think that colocation has been replaced by the cloud. But that’s only true in marketing terms. The reality is that colocation and the role it plays in modern edge computing has never been more important or more required. Believe it or not, cloud computing doesn’t happen in the actual sky – it happens in a data centre. And knowing where that data centre is, and how fast it links to your network and the internet, can be challenging with hyperscalers.