Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2024. Read them in this 16th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
Edge and AI technology’s impact on orgs and devs
By Rafael Umann, CEO at Azion
As budgets are tightening, business leaders across virtually every industry will have to find alternative ways to get the most out of their solutions without the extra overhead costs and additions to their workforce in the coming year.
Today, edge computing and AI solutions can help organizations fill in the gaps and offer better service than other technologies that have been around for years, and its adoption is only expected to soar in the coming year. Because of this, organizations will prioritize using enhanced edge security solutions that will become available over the next year to combat the amount of threats that have been on the rise. The adoption of edge and AI technologies, coupled with new security solutions, will allow businesses to reap the benefits of innovative solutions to positively impact their customers and bottom lines.
Let’s explore four edge and AI predictions for 2024.
The shift toward cloud alternatives
In 2024, the challenges of cloud computing will begin to eclipse the common sentiment that the cloud is the future, and we’ll see a shift away towards non-cloud alternatives. Cloud costs are growing in line with inflation, climate-related data center outages are continuing to increase alongside increasingly severe heatwaves and storms, and cyberattacks are now often targeting the cloud. In response to these liabilities, some companies are making a return to on-premise applications, while many others will embrace edge computing because of increased resilience due to distributed infrastructure, plus the ability to protect apps directly on the edge with web application firewalls.
Better edge security solutions will become available
As the amount of data processed at the edge continues to grow, more strongly securing edge infrastructure will be a major goal throughout 2024. Expect to see more vendors offering new or augmented edge security solutions. These will likely include an emphasis on DDoS prevention, real-time data collection for advanced analytics, and a focus on compliance with regulations like the PCI DSS. A variety of unprecedented threats will lead to a greater emphasis on scoring-based detection security systems that can dynamically assess new threats, rather than signature-based systems that look for known threat patterns.
Edge AI use cases will soar
The rapid evolution of AI will collide with advances in edge technology in 2024. Edge devices are becoming powerful enough to run AI applications, and the minimal latency of edge infrastructure will facilitate exciting edge AI use cases. These include smart cities, self-driving cars, and machines for remotely performing surgery. What’s more, companies are making edge development easier, which will facilitate more developers experimenting with edge AI. This will result in a positive feedback loop; greater ease of onboarding will lead to new edge AI use cases, which in turn, will motivate greater demand for edge AI development.
Developer-friendly AI tools and templates will be on the rise
Devs are becoming increasingly interested in developing for the edge, but many are uncertain whether their skill sets are sufficient for this purpose. As a result, expect a proliferation of AI-powered design-to-code tools in 2024 that can automatically turn a graphical user interface design into code. Some vendors will further support edge migration by creating “templates” that customers can use to rapidly complete common projects like building WordPress sites on edge architecture.
It’s undoubtedly challenging to meet rising consumer demands and developer needs during periods when careful budgeting and planning are necessary, but edge and AI technology provide solutions. By combining edge computing with AI solutions, organizations and developers can become more efficient, resilient, and cost-effective. And as more organizations will move to the edge, security will be top of mind, and solutions for it will evolve, ensuring safer environments for organizations and their stakeholders. These combined solutions will enable organizations to meet the needs of their customers, and will allow developers to focus on providing the best experience possible.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rafael is the CEO of Azion. He is a serial entrepreneur and energetic leader with 20+ years of innovation in deep-tech – including software-defined networking and Edge Compute. He is an open source enthusiast and contributor, as well as a business agility influencer.
