As 2019 draws to a close and we all start thinking about the
future of edge computing in 2020, one thing is certain: edge computing will
become an increasingly important strategic path that will help drive digital
transformation and real business value. ... In a recent trend report, industry
analyst Gartner stated that “edge computing will dominate virtually every
industry and use case,” citing it as one of the top 10 strategic technology
trends for 2020. IDC has identified edge computing as one of them. Top 10 IT
Drivers for the Next Five Years. Forrester also mentioned the benefits of edge
computing as an approach to digital transformation.
"Edge computing will become an increasingly important
strategic pathway that will help drive digital transformation and real business value."
Looking at where we have been and where we are going as an
industry, I believe that digital transformation will accelerate, increasing
efficiency and effectiveness in organizations. Digital transformation and edge
computing initiatives will increasingly spill over into corporate divisions and
core business processes, and not just part of IT functions.
Companies are turning to edge computing in many areas of
their business, from customer service, human resources, and product
development. How we collect, analyze and use data within these functional
applications to improve business processes and decision making will be key to
future growth and business automation.
But industry leaders don't just “think” about edge computing or just plan for implementation, they actually determine what processes can be
improved and automated. This forces them to chart tangible business benefits.
Thus, creating value from the edge to the data center and beyond is fast
becoming an important part of the digital transformation of businesses.
While digital transformation focuses on technology and
processes, we cannot forget about people. By making data analytics more
accessible to people on business teams, organizations empower their leaders,
and they, in turn, improve business performance. And this is where edge
computing can really impact business outcomes - especially in organizations
with few employees or simply lack of experience in local data management.
When I consider the future of edge computing, I see a
stronger push towards digital transformation using edge computing as a channel
in 2020. Companies are already using edge computing solutions to automate and
provide safe and reliable management of oil and gas endpoints, bioreactors and
other water and sanitation processes and even building management systems. In
general, companies will strive to accelerate the adoption of edge computing across
all industries, especially large and medium-sized enterprises. These pioneers
demonstrate leadership at the forefront and show other companies that now is
the time to move to frontier computing or risk falling behind.
