Edge Data Centres to Empower the Future

The next frontier to compute is edge computing, but it's not the replacement of data centers. It takes the ability to process the large data spurred by the Internet of Things (IoT) plus other hubs to the next level. To understand the technology and perspective of the Indian market, we spoke to Sanjay Motwani, Regional Director, APAC at Raritan- a brand of Legrand.

What are the Edge data centers market trends?

Sanjay Motwani, Regional Director, APAC at Raritan- a brand of Legrand

While there is a lot of discussions about edge data centers in India, it will take some time for us to become edge ready. This will be largely governed and determined by consumer behavior, which points to IoT. Technology is revolving around the changing consumer behavior. The consumer is exposed to new technologies and adoption of technology determines how much the technology is going to be used and how.

When we look at IoT, it is all about how the consumer will adopt it in different countries or regions and this depends on the availability of infrastructure and that too at a time and space which allows them to do so. When we talk about edge computing we will have more networks and compute capacity coming closer to the consumer. Soon there will be microdata centers or mini computers in each complex. Edge computing will come closer to the source of generation of the data.

Another trend that is taking shape is that of smart cities. The challenge with smart cities is that we do not have a city CIO who can look at the integration of the different utilities which are being offered to the customer. For instance, the Delhi Metro is governed and run by one authority and similarly, the road and transport is taken care by a different body. Even footpath and foot overbridges are run by a different body. Typically this creates a bottleneck where all these three points connect, intersect and interact with each other.

Similarly, with smart cities, we would need an overlaying authority or a city CIO who can take care of all these authorities. The same challenge will also arise with edge computing due to the presence of different players. We have IT giants like Intel and Dell, networking brands like CISCO and then the Telecom department who are playing a part in carrying the infrastructure. The important thing is how these various aspects of the industry will co-exist with each other and remove the bottlenecks that will arise due to the volume of data generated by IoT or the end consumer.

Another interesting trend is the Cloudlet. It is a smaller cloud which is closer to the edge, that will come into play. Mobile Edge Computing has also been touted for the big time. A lot of data which is being generated through mobile devices and I-Pads needs to be transported partially to the cloudlet and this requires a low latency, but relatively high bandwidth, like a radio network in between.

The next ruling trend is Fog computing. When we look at the networks which are emerging, we are looking at cloud network, cloudlet network, and mobile edge computing. Now there are a lot of resources which are being utilized in all these computing platforms. In any computing platform including storage, there are a lot of resources which are underutilized. Fog computing is the horizontal layer which cuts across all three networks and allows resources to be optimized across these three networks.

Can Edge data centers replace the cloud and Is India ready for this?

Edge is here to complement the cloud, not replace it. As far as technology is concerned, India is at par with the US and Europe, which are the starting points of new technologies. But when we consider the pace of deployment of technology, we are anywhere between 3 to 5 years behind. This is again governed by two factors. First, our inhibition to take the risk in deploying new technologies and second is the infrastructure associated with the technology, which has to go hand in hand. We always prefer the wait and watch approach for a couple of years by examining case studies, looking at MNC’s and global players and that keeps us behind. Post that we start experimenting with new technologies.

So where do you think we need to buckle up?

We need to buckle up with our infrastructure. Telecom infrastructure needs to be more resilient as network issues have now become persistent. We do not have networks in metros, which are typically what I call as ‘Blind spots’. Even in houses, we do not have mobile networks. The consumer is not able to use electricity, mobile network etc. adequately, though it should be available.

Firstly, the telecom industry has to take this seriously and address the issues that may be government, financial and regulatory issues in the deployment of appropriate infrastructure. Secondly, the decision makers have to ensure that technology is being deployed. Here we have both the consumer and enterprise side. In the enterprise side, we are looking at the CIO’s and CTO’s who have to deploy technologies for their organization. They also have to be bold enough to take some risks in order to deploy new technologies.

In India we still see enterprises choose captive vs outsourced model? Are we moving backward and not going towards the edge computing scenario?

Edge is still not happening in India in terms of deployment. People are talking about it and experimenting it but in terms of deployment, we are way behind.

Yes, it is largely captive but the cloud scenario is picking up. A lot of data centers including the third-party data centers, cloud service providers and the IDC’s are increasing their capacity, etc., however, edge specifically is not happening.

What kind of challenges do CIO’s tackle when data centers move closer to the end users?

Challenges for CIOs vary based on the industry, vertical or the kind of services they are providing to the customers. Let’s look at the customers in the technology-intensive and on the banking side. An ATM branch in a rural sector is a technology-intensive challenge. CIO’s need availability of infrastructures like air conditioning and electricity, connectivity, manpower, skills, and security.

People are looking at solar power batteries and lithium ion batteries for better electricity provisioning as it works for seven to eight hours. They are trying to look at technologies which allow them to manage and monitor remotely. More bandwidth related technologies will come into play. Other challenges include network availability. There is no signal at the ground level at a village. There are people sitting on trees and walking a kilometer for the network. This is what the banking sector faces while reaching out to the end consumer. These kind of issues are true across all verticals. Therefore, reaching out to the end customer is an issue.

From the CIO’s point of view, security becomes a paramount issue in a metro, even if there is infrastructure availability. Then depending on how far the end consumer is, he will think of setting up a cloudlet, mini or a microdata center closer to the data. We will have microdata centers per condominium, where again security, ownership, and responsibility will become a challenge. Therefore, the interconnections between various departments will grow as we move towards smart cities in the future. The CIO’s job will grow as they will have to ensure the interconnectedness between the various departments like Telco, electricity and consumer durables across consortiums.

Keeping these challenges in mind, we are anyway between 5 to 10 years behind to welcome edge data centers.