Edge Computing: A Key Driver for the Economy

As companies and organizations move toward digital transformation, they organically incorporate technology in operational, commercial, and production processes. They all share the same goals: top-line growth, improving performance, reducing costs, increasing real-time responsiveness, and providing users with faster and more reliable services, no matter where the technology was created but how it is applied.

To adopt new technologies that help organizations be more competitive, it is critical for Latin American countries to develop infrastructure that supports the growth of businesses. In recent years, we have witnessed a rapid expansion of cloud infrastructure all over the world, strengthening local business ecosystems by delivering a platform in which companies can leverage their own growth.

Edge computing is a great example of how companies can benefit from these kinds of technologies. It allows organizations to use and distribute the same resource/service in different geographic locations, closer to the data source, which translates into an enhanced experience to the end-user. Every industry can benefit from this technology, including telecommunications, healthcare, utilities, and oil and gas, or even popular streaming services, such as Netflix or Disney+, and our own connected devices.

This is one of the reasons for the expansion of edge computing. According to Grand View Research, the global edge market size will reach US$43.4 billion in the next five years, with an annual growth rate of 37.4 percent.

On the other hand, the Internet of Things (IoT) has an increasingly relevant role now that people, objects, and services are permanently connected, which requires strong and reliable infrastructure to deliver better experiences to end-users. In an industrial environment, for example, it is critical to offer real-time analysis to enhance decision-making with streamlined data processing, enabling more efficient operation. Thanks to edge computing, it is possible to improve the performance of the connected devices and applications that require single-digit millisecond latency.

IoT devices must communicate the data to a core platform that converts it into intelligence. Meanwhile, edge computing reduces latency to do so in real-time. This is how customers can use technologies to accelerate innovation and become more competitive. I'm talking about multiplying the ability to create and build new products, processes, and services at low cost while achieving efficiency in diverse corporate operations.

Looking at it from that angle, improving the user experience through edge computing will bring significant business results that will have a positive effect on the economy. To continue supporting businesses, cloud companies continue investing in infrastructure development. IDC predicts that over 75 percent of infrastructure in edge computing locations and more than half of data center infrastructure will operate through an as-a-service model by 2023.

After two years of uncertainty due to the pandemic, organizations learned about the value of digitization, creating a positive environment to explore the opportunities that technology delivers to businesses. In Mexico, different industries have already experienced edge computing benefits and some of them, such as retail or manufacturing, kept the economy moving despite the global challenge.

Each industry has unique needs and different approaches to implementing the technology. However, the adoption of cloud computing is a trend that continues to grow rapidly, not only because of the benefit of eliminating the costs associated with maintaining physical infrastructure but also because cloud enables innovation and agility, not to mention the elasticity it delivers, which means that organizations have the capacity to handle their business operations at the peak level of activity, scaling up or down along with the needs of their business.

Even when cloud and edge computing adoption is advancing by leaps and bounds, we should not lose sight of the existing challenges. As organization leaders, we must develop strategies for granting resilient, safe, and sustainable energy, in addition to connectivity and cybersecurity resources.

Having trusted strategic business partners will also set the standard for differentiating your service and product offer, regardless of your location. If a problem ever occurs, you must be sure that it will be detected in time and resolved without putting the business at risk.

That is why adopting “the edge” represents a great opportunity to become more competitive and to boost the economy in the region and particularly in Mexico. Let’s take advantage of the technology we have available and deliver better services, products and experiences to our customers.