Edge computing doesn’t compete with cloud computing but will complement and complete it. Edge computing is part of a distributed computing topology in which information processing is located close to the physical location where things and people connect with the networked digital world.
- Bob Gill, VP, Analyst, Gartner Research, “2021 Strategic Roadmap for Edge Computing,” November 2020Gartner – 2021 Strategic Roadmap for Edge Computing
Highlights: Latency is often the main reason for deploying workloads to the edge but moving processing and storage closer to users and 'things' that are the source of data generation can also address concerns such as bandwidth, data privacy and autonomy.
Edge computing augments and expands the possibilities of today’s primarily centralised, hyperscale cloud model and supports the systemic evolution and deployment of the IoT and entirely new application types, enabling next-generation digital business applications.
Edge servers and gateways will fill the critical role of intermediary processing node and integrator between multiple 'cores' (hyperscale cloud or enterprise-owned data centers) and a diverse set of people, devices and workloads at the edge.