What are the advantages of using the edge network? Technological advances in networking have led to constant changes in organizational IT infrastructures, turning hyperconnectivity from being a luxury exclusive to the biggest companies into the norm even for smaller businesses. In addition, technological advancements have allowed cities and businesses to become more interconnected, with an example being smart city models being developed in different countries around the world.
Hyperconnectivity became a reality due to emerging networks like Cox Edge Network. Such edge networks provide an area where a local network or device interfaces with the internet. It sends computing, applications, and data away from centralized data centers and brings data storage closer to the points of need.
Integrating the edge network into your IT infrastructure provides a few key benefits. Here’s a quick rundown of the most important ones you should know:
Advantages Of Using The Edge Network
1. Minimized Operational Costs
Even though the data value stays the same, the cost of moving it around increases as it is accessed by more people. As the volume of data being moved around continues to spike, more businesses may experience a rise in the cost of connectivity.
In the past, most businesses shy away from adopting IoT services as they tend to be costly. These services require a lot of network bandwidth, computational power, and data storage that may be inaccessible at times. Most businesses, organizations, and individuals need to adopt a cost-effective alternative, and that is where edge networking comes in handy.
The edge network reduces operational costs by filtering data and sending only relevant ones to the cloud. This process reduces the network bandwidth, provides an option of device solutions instead of data centers, and reduces data storage requirements.
2. Enhanced Speed
Latency is a big deal in IT networks because even the slightest delays can have a big effect on operations. For instance, medical professionals may require machines to analyze instructions and produce important data in real-time. High latency could cause syncing issues, making it difficult for operations that require a high degree of precision.
When you adopt the edge network, you’ll be removing the need to move data from one endpoint to another through the cloud. Because data only has to go through the edge layer, you’ll be saving time measured in seconds or milliseconds, reducing latency.
3. Scalability
Most organizations tend to face plenty of scalability issues due to multiple offloading requests sent to the network from different devices. Since computational offloading is a task that requires extra energy and latency, opting for the edge network might be the right option as opposed to normal networks that can’t manage. In addition, the edge network can easily perform offloading tasks while still interacting with other servers and devices.
Data from one device has to be moved through a centralized data center in a regular network. In instances where a company has a larger or smaller load, it needs a network that can easily scale fast enough to meet the changing needs.
However, regular networks can’t do that safely and faster, leaving the edge network as the better option. Relying purely on cloud computing is not a good idea when you need a rapid response.
In addition, relying on cloud computing instead of the edge network may lower your scalability due to compromised business data. And data can be compromised as cloud computing allows hacking due to easy data accessibility.
4. Upgraded Security
Data security is every organization’s biggest concern as most of the collected data tends to be sensitive and thus may lead to serious consequences if leaked. Using cloud-based networks to store this information may put them at risk of being hacked and manipulated.
As a result, getting a network with adequate protection such as the edge network may be vital. And although an edge network isn’t entirely free from security risks, it still provides a good degree of protection for sensitive data.
Edge networks work well security-wise as they only store important pieces of data instead of all the input data into a system. This method of storing data means that hackers only get access to uploaded data in case of a data breach, and incomplete data may be useless without data stored only in the edge network.
For instance, if the full testimony was sent to centralized servers with the witness’s entire personal information, it may lead to their privacy being compromised. With an edge network, it’s possible that only part of the info detailing a testimony can be compromised, with the authentic content, safely stored in a device connected to the edge network.
5. Greater Reliability
When it comes to moving data, depending entirely on the consistency of the internet service provider is a gamble that may not work out in one’s favor. This is because internet services are prone to interruptions, especially for companies that use satellite connections. This means relying on centralized servers could cost your company time and money in case a file transfer fails due to poor connection.
With an edge network, transferring data from one device to another is less likely to get interrupted because the data only travels within the edge layer instead of going to the cloud and back. In addition, edge networks enhance efficiency by decreasing the central point of failure and increasing the reliability of the entire connection.
Bottom Line
In recent years, organizations have adapted the edge network as part of their IT structures as it provides a level of security that most networks cannot easily provide. Furthermore, by bringing the IoT and computer infrastructure close to the data sources, it also helps a company move more data, which, in turn, increases productivity.
Setting up an edge network for your place is a truly worthy investment, given the benefits mentioned above. If you don’t know where to start with integrating an edge network into your IT infrastructure, you should consider hiring a reputable IT services provider to get the job done. Hope these advantages of using the edge network was useful to you.
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