
Virtualization and Cloud executives share their predictions for 2014. Read them in this VMblog.com series exclusive.
Contributed article by Dr. Cahit Akin, CEO, Mushroom Networks, Inc.
Cloud & Virtualization Predictions 2014
We have lived through multiple cycles of technology
moving towards centralized computing and cycles moving technology towards
computing at the edge. So far, we have yet to see super computers managing all
of our computations and feeding them to dumb terminals in our offices or at
home. Similarly, we are not yet in a world where edge devices are self-sufficient
in the services they provide.
The question always has been: does it
make sense to have a distributed approach or a centralized approach when it
comes to computing? 2014 will be the
year where finally we will start to see some real progress towards the integration
of cloud computing and compute power at the edge working in flawless harmony.
This will forever change how we look at networking, information sharing and
cloud-based services.
Take the A7 powered iPhone and its
localized and cloud powered applications. You can both play high- intensity
video games and reach out to the Siri server farm to get your vocal inquires
answered. Depending on the service of interest, local implementation or
implementation in the cloud will be the choice for application designers. The
critical delineation will move from "the processor power" being the sole
determining factor to the use of "Big Data" as part of the service. In other
words, if you need access to a giant library of music track signatures and
rapid matching of audio sampling you have on your phone (i.e. Shazam), you are
in need of leveraging Big Data, or if you need very specialized overlay data on
your map application, you again need access to large amounts of pre-stored data
searched and matched to your location. In essence, with processors becoming
powerful enough at the edge, the decisive
advantage of cloud computing is rapidly moving towards having access to Big
Data sets that you cannot simply store or update frequently enough on your
devices or computers
The reason you are not playing games on your phone where rendering is done in the cloud is because of
latency issues, i.e. the time it takes the big server in the cloud to send you
the information that your phone needs, to display on the screen. The latency of
the edge-cloud link is here to stay, however, several technologies, such as WAN
Optimization and WAN Virtualization are solving some of the pain points for the
enterprise and it's only a matter of time for those technologies to trickle
down to the consumer markets.
One company that has a good pulse on all
of this is Amazon with their Amazon Web
Services (AWS). Amazon is already planning ahead for the unavoidable merger of
cloud and edge computing tightly integrated for application performance.
Visionary companies like Amazon will continue accelerate that powerful
combination in 2014.
We are already starting to see how
transformative Big Data can be and it is not a stretch to see where the
combination of enormous amounts of data (personal and behavioral) collected and
the innovations in analytics to make sense of that data will drastically change
our digital lives. In the not too distant future cloud based Big Data combined
with powerful edge computing, will help create scenes right out of Spielberg's
classic Minority Report where electronic advertising and computer displays will greet you by first
name and offer merchandise based on your particular taste and history of
purchases.
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About the Author
Dr. Cahit Akin, is the co-founder and chief
executive officer of Mushroom Networks, a privately held company based in San
Diego, CA, providing broadband solutions for a range of Internet applications. http://www.mushroomnetworks.com