How to enable IoT agility at the software-defined edge

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Not so long ago, the data centre was the engine that powered enterprise innovation. Today, the real action has shifted to the edge. Enterprises across a variety of industries are reimagining their operations, exploring solutions like real-time AI analysis and decision-making, automation and extended reality

The edge means many different things depending on the use cases that shape it. For example, we’re seeing retail organisations deploy AI-enabled computer vision in warehouses and stores for loss prevention, manufacturers are using smart sensor data to improve machine uptime as much as 50% and healthcare providers are acquiring real-time visibility into the state of patients’ health – and the devices that serve them – at the edge.

While the edge can take on many shapes, enabling these new and transforming use cases requires the same foundations – software-defined edge.

Why software-defined edge?

Data centres moved to software-defined architectures to enable the agility enterprises are now seeking at the edge.

Just like in the data centre, the software-defined edge disagreggates the hardware and software to empower operational flexibility. It is distributed digital infrastructure for connecting, securing and running workloads across dispersed locations, close to endpoints that produce or consume data. Different from the data centre, software-defined edge brings a layer of intelligence needed to meet the scale and performance requirements at the edge – it empowers edge applications with zero-touch orchestration to provide each distributed workload with the resources and connectivity it needs, and the programmable telco network to prioritise workloads in real-time and enable services based on their unique performance requirements. This while managing everything with a software-defined overlay.

Organisations can use software-defined edge to transform operations, while VMware’s network of telco partners – the experts in distributed infrastructure – can help simplify connectivity management.

With a software-defined edge approach, you will deliver the advanced technology and edge-powered experiences that your customers and users expect – and achieve it in a low-cost, efficient way. It enables the following:

  • Right-size infrastructure provides the flexible, automated compute infrastructure for operational technologies at the edge. This edge-optimised runtime platform enables virtualisation of workloads for flexibility while prioritising hardware efficiency and performance to meet the unique needs of distributed applications and infrastructure.
  • Network programmability exposes the compute, connectivity and RAN resources available to each edge location via APIs. Applications can then access the right resources in real-time.
  • Zero-touch orchestration enables zero-touch provisioning and management of software-defined edge resources. It links distributed edge networks and edge infrastructure with the programmable telco network and orchestrates the right connectivity for each workload, automatically, to meet real-time application requirements. Its pull-based architecture allows for simple remote management, when the application needs it – empowering the applications to administer themselves.

Life on the edge is complex and demanding

It’s clear that all these innovative use cases have tremendous transformative potential – but they also demand more advanced intelligence and resources at the edge. As the sheer volume of distributed applications, devices and data at the edge soars, complexity and management challenges multiply.

An enterprise organisation may have hundreds or thousands of potential edges where workloads could be processed – connected to different networks, under different administrative control, with varying IT resources. The need to process all these diverse workloads close to endpoints makes application visibility and management difficult, especially as operational technologies evolve.

Choosing the right partners

As you roll out these transformative edge applications, the technology partners you choose are critical to achieving the outcomes you want. Complexity can grow quickly in distributed factories, branches, vehicles and other locations with limited onsite resources. Find partners that can help you simplify the management of this complexity, offering the software excellence to support IT and OT convergence.

Each use case will also require a different ecosystem to enable it. Work with partners who have an open mindset and aren’t trying to force you into a one-size fits all, end-to-end solution. To provide the flexibility you’ll need to deliver a diversified edge, your partners should offer the right tools to not only provide right-sized infrastructure, but also a holistic, unified approach to management.

Revolutionise your business with software-defined edge

No matter where you are in your edge transformation journey, VMware software-defined edge delivers a complete solution that positions you to improve the stability and performance of your next-gen applications, control costs, and focus better on your business operations.

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